Well the big topic of the year is where should/could Ryan go to school ? So far it has been narrowed down to Pencalenick School in Truro and Woodlands school in Plymouth. We will need more information about both of them. Ryan will be 10 this April so the decision has to be made quickly.
The special educational unit he attends now has been great but we have been told that they feel they can do no more for him and he needs to move on. Woodlands School is a wonderful place and has the advantage that he could start there this year, whereas Pencalenick can not take him until September 2009. No doubt it will be the usual fight with the Local Education Authority.
As you can see
January we went skating at the Eden Project www.edenproject.com
Its difficult to take good photos in there because of the lighting but I tried
On the right Ryan is being helped by his mum and on the left he is with his sister Rebecca
He likes trying to skate but his balance of course is terrible so he needs a lot of help. He also gets cold very quickly so my job is to sit at the side of the rink by the cafe to cheer them on with hot chocolate at the ready so that he can come and sit with me enjoying the hot chocolate while the rest of the family get a chance to skate. Yes its important that Ryan gets the chance to try everything possible but it is also VERY important that he does not stop the rest of the family enjoying things too.
In February we all went to The Big Sheep . Ryan, Rebecca and their cousins loved it.
 Ryan
is wearing the red Tshirt going down the big slide with his
mum, his aunty Beth (with little cousin Bronwyn) and his sister
Rebecca who is helping cousin Tristan . |
Rebecca, little cousin Bronwyn and Ryan on the slide |
On the slide again |
Aunty Beth helps Ryan on the "Demon Drop" slide, there is a ball
pool at the bottom |
They fed the Sheep, they looked at all the animals and played in the play area . They all thoroughly enjoyed themselves.
Ryan goes to hydrotherapy when the other children from school go swimming. He has no fear of the water and the water in the hydro pool is really warm (he still cant seem to control his temperature very well and gets cold quickly in a normal pool)
He kept coming up and calling out "Did you see me
Granny". Hydrotherapy helps exercise his limbs without putting
too much strain on them.
Easter we had the annual family Easter Egg Hunt. Ryan's eggs were hidden in the same kind of places as his 3 year old cousin Tristan's were hidden. They had his name written on in large letters so that he knew they were his. He has been able to recognize his name for some time and now he can write it as well, not brilliantly, but being able to write it at all is more than we would have hoped for at one time.
He looks
He finds
so, do you think he enjoyed that ? He has a real look of elation of his face. He is so proud of himself .
I'm
not sure where the photo on the left was taken but I know that this one on the
right was taken at the Eden Project.
Playing on the trampoline at his cousin Tristan's
birthday in June. He does well playing with the little ones.
In August there was
a farm fun day with pony rides,.
face painting 
and other fun things 
In
September we had a beach B-B-Q 
Ryan wanted to learn to surf like everyone else so mummy helped.
Ryan wears a wet suit in the sea. He still got cold so he did not stay
in the water for long.
They
all played games 
Then
we had the B-B-Q and ate lots of lovely food and cooked marshmallows on sticks held in the fire.
Under close supervision (dad just out of the picture) Ryan was allowed to put
driftwood on the fire. Everyone tries to help him do the things that
"ordinary" children do 
Ryan was in the unit Nativity Play. He confused us all by telling us that he was Jason. We all know that the plays are adapted for each group and tried to find out who Jason was. Ryan told us "Jason what holds a baby". Pressed for more information he told us "you know, Jason and Mary" so here are a few pictures of our Ryan as Jason/Joseph
When the show was finished Ryan took me into the sensory room
The year ended with a happy Christmas for all of the family -
Ryan & his mum
Ryan, mum & big brother Sammy
with Becca and his aunty Beth 
with mum & aunty Candy