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Original poster

Do you remember I was trying to find an activity that ds1 could actually do?

36 replies

gess · 02/09/2007 14:05

Well, bit of a shock this one, I'm still beaming.

I decided I had to work on his sprinting off and dragging us all over the place this summer. Growing Minds gave me a program to try (which required 2 other people- luckily my direct payment girl's fiance was happy to help). So we spent about an hour and a half doing the GM stuff. And to my surprise- that was ll he needed. I don't dare let him go near roads, and he does dart off a bit, and we occasionally have disagreements about which direction we're walking in (I end up bruised then!) but his behaviour is so much better. I can tell him to wak with me, or at my speed or to stop and he does 99 times out of 100.

Feeling more confident in his behaviour I've started taking him on Dartmoor. Not on the low paths and things we've stuck to before but up onto the proper moor. He has to behave well up there, and so far he has & he absolutely loves it. A lot of the Tors are used by the army and have metal flagposts on them, which he likes to walk towards, then climb up to examine. So he now has a pair of walking boots, I've dusted off my map and compass. We'll be gaiter and waterproof shopping before the weather gets bad and stocking up on kendal mint cake Fingers crossed his behaviour will remain good. I've been itching to get back up onto the moors since moving back down here.

This was unthinkable even 6 weeks ago. He was unmanamageable out and about at Easter. (Remember I was looking at Major buggies as a way of containing him to improve access). If ds1 can mamage it, I think there's hope for all really (of course I know in posting this I risk all going pear shaped..... )

OP posts:
staryeyed · 02/09/2007 16:00

Wow gess that's excellent Im really pleased for you. Its amazing what you can do by tackling a problem from a different angle. So I guess you would really recommend this growing minds stuff then gess?

Original poster
gess · 02/09/2007 16:07

I like Growing Minds yes, they use a number of different approaches (which means they can fit the therapy to the child rather than the child to the therapy), and most importantly - they have an awful lot of experience and are very professional.

OP posts:
LIZS · 02/09/2007 16:10

Wow, what a turn around. So pleased for you and well done to ds1

mymatemax · 02/09/2007 17:42

fantastic news, you'll be Devon's fittest family.

tobysmumkent · 02/09/2007 17:56

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aloha · 02/09/2007 18:00

How fab! And what freedom. Enjoy the Kendall mint cake

Blossomhill · 02/09/2007 18:23

Aww great news Gess. lovely to hear you sounding you so positive, long may it continue

magsi · 02/09/2007 18:39

Great news gess. Its just such a long hard slog sometimes and you feel like you will never get there so when you finally do make headway with something, it feels 10 X times better doesn't it!!! Well done to your ds1 .

Mmmmmmm............Kendal mint cake......might have to buy some tomorrow just for old times sake .

sphil · 02/09/2007 19:00

How fantastic! What kind of thing did GM get you to do with him?

Blandmum · 02/09/2007 19:07

Great!

And you are going to be soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo fit and healthy!

You will be singing 'The happy wanderer' song in your sleep and a day pack will be big enough for the pecs cards as well as the Kendel's Mint Cake!

chonky · 02/09/2007 19:29

That's brilliant gess . LOL though at thought of gaiters, it's a long time since I've worn a pair of those (goes misty eyed at thought of years in venture scouts).

coppertop · 02/09/2007 19:53

Brilliant news!

Davros · 02/09/2007 21:04

How great Gess and so good for where you live. DS is a lazy lump who doesn't like to walk too far without "direction" iyswim. He's otherwise extremely active

Original poster
gess · 02/09/2007 21:06

I made him carry his own PECS book and waterproofs yesterday MB Of all the things he could have chosen to get into this would have been my first choice, for the locals I did 10 Tors, helped train teams for 10 Tors and did The Abbot's Way a number of times. So spent a lot of my teen years on Dartmoor. Nothing like a wet and windly day on the moors. Letterboxing too of course, although ds1 wouldn't have the patience to poke around under stones for a poxy ink stamp.

tobysmum- ds1 has engaged in some telegraph pole hugging and likes the photos I took of him doing that Growing Minds use son-rise and ABA/VB- anything that works. They spent 18 years as son-rise practitioners then added the ABA/VB stuff. Their programme was for me to let him go then call commands such as "stop" or "some here", or "walk with me" and then to be physically prompted to do that by the other people. In fact we didn't quite do it that way as he wouldn't stay on our practice field and ended up on pavements, so we had to kind of herd him. I told him that if he walked as told then I didn;t need to hold his hand and he seemed to understand. It did need the 3 of us to do it the first time.

OP posts:
onlyjoking9329 · 02/09/2007 21:09

great stuff Gess

saggarmakersbottomknocker · 02/09/2007 21:11

That's excellent Gess I'm really actually, I love walking; dh and I used to walk in the Peak District most weekends. Having dd sort of curtailed it.

She's recently started playing the electric guitar (thanks to the DLA)- if anything is going to drive me out of the house it will be that!

TotalChaos · 02/09/2007 21:58

glad its been going so well recently. happy moor walking

tobysmumkent · 02/09/2007 22:03

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Original poster
gess · 02/09/2007 22:09

HAve you tried a harness. I still use this when I have ds1 AND ds3, or if we need to queue somewhere, or I need to pay someone.

Don;t be jealous- see it as hope. Honestly, do a very recent search on here and you'll see I was asking for advice about Major buggies as ds1 was sooo uncontrollable. This compliance out and about it sudden (and I think corresponds with a) learning to imitate- so he notices what other people are doing at last and b) better receptive language and perhaps c) learning some Makaton so becoming more confident about communicating. I also taught him to point and say 'this way' ("deedai') rather than try and drag me off in any old direction. I did that by stopping him every time he tugged and said "which way? this way? or this way?"

We DO dtill have fights about direction, but he is getting better and better. Moors probably easier than towns as there are few distractions.

OP posts:
tobysmumkent · 02/09/2007 22:24

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tobysmumkent · 02/09/2007 22:28

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Original poster
gess · 02/09/2007 22:28

ah well we're not quite up to coping with camping yet

Have a look at the harness on the link. Its much better than a wrist strap (which ds1 never tolerated ever anyway).

OP posts:
tobysmumkent · 02/09/2007 22:40

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tibni · 02/09/2007 23:06

Thats brilliant Gess. you give me hope.

Pixel · 02/09/2007 23:46

Well done Gess! I'm so pleased for you, you seem so excited .
We do the camping as we can't afford any other kind of holiday but I must admit it is getting more difficult. Not sure how we'll get on next year at all!
I'm too (but in a good way as well ). We've got the South Downs literally outside our back door which I used to know like the back of my hand as I love walking, but I have the opposite problem with ds. It's not running off or direction necessarily (although this happens sometimes) but getting him to move at all! I've spent hours going out for little walks with him to try and improve things and he was making good progress. At half-term he walked all the way down Clovelly and back up and for lots of walks on Exmoor. Now we seem to be back to square one for some reason and I'm out of ideas.