Skip to main content

Pigs In Jackets

By
We walk out of the shop. I ask the Lodger for his hand but he refuses. I explain, as you do, the dangers of traffic and that he must hold Mummy or Daddy's hand when near the road.
He's frustrated and tries to explain to me what's wrong. But I just don't get it. 
Then the Mummy steps in to understand the problem. 
The Lodger explains using his range of words and signs that obviously he cannot hold Daddy's hand as he is carrying a pig.

Yes, a rather large invisible pig.

So the situation is resolved by Mummy taking the pig and the Lodger holds Daddy's hand and is happy. He keeps checking behind us as we walk and after some questioning I'm informed that he's just making sure the other pig is following.

Apparently we have 2 pigs.

We hop in the car, close the doors but Mummy has forgotten to let the pig in. The door is opened, the pig is let in, disaster averted. 
We're good to go, the Lodger and pigs on board.

Watching My Pet and Me (The Pigs episode!)

The Lodger loves animals. He has little interest in cartoons but would watch episode after episode of The Zoo. He's recently started watching My Pet and Me, a show in which we are introduced to children and their pets of all shapes and sizes and how they look after their pets.
In the absence of real life pets the Lodger has channelled his inner imagination and looks after many animals around the house.

His uncle on a recent visit was brought on a tour of our invisible pet farm, from the pigs sleeping under the piano to the cows who live under my bike (small cows).

Feeding the Invisible Stairs Monsters!

From early days during the Lodgers early intervention sessions with his home teacher we were always asked if we thought the Lodger used imaginative play. 

The reason for this is that children with PWS can show impaired pretend play abilities.
Imaginative play is important as it enhances the capacity for cognitive flexibility and therefore creativity. It is also another no pressure opportunity to learn social skills like communication, problem solving, and empathy.

So now we're off on a trip. The Lodger puts on his jacket and hat. He makes sure the pigs have their jackets on. We head for the door, me carrying 2 large invisible pigs in their jackets, the Lodger following. The Lodger hops into the car, makes space for the pigs and we're good to go. It doesn't actually take much longer to get the pigs ready so I don't mind too much.

I'm sure all parents have stories about there child's early imaginative lifestyle and most probably take it for granted. 
But to us this is another important step reached. 
It counts as another milestone the Lodger has achieved, no matter how invisible it is.

Playing Row, Row, Row The Boat! 
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

To lock or not to lock, that is not the question anymore.

By
It’s approximately 4421days since we got The Lodgers diagnosis of Prader Willi Syndrome.   To save you doing the maths: twelve years and almost 2 months ago.  We’ve learned a lot in those twelve years- strategies to help distract him from food, tools to help transition from task to task, methods to help him calm down, strategies to keep us all going day to day….  We’ve met many experts in the field of PWS- from doctors, nurses, psychologists, researchers and a range of therapists from speech and language to occupational and physios.  We talk with many  PWS families- both with children older and younger than our boy, The Lodger.  I’ve often been asked if we lock our kitchen. Up until yesterday the answer was ‘not yet.’  Today I sat with him as I was helping him put on his socks. It’s still a tricky thing for him to do- even with all the helpful tips from occupational therapists over the years. Somedays he’ll do it easily, other days he needs h...
Post a Comment
Read more

Turn around and go home.

By
Prader-Willi Syndrome. It raises its head when you least expect it. Although in hindsight it was totally going to appear because we did everything we weren't supposed to.  The Lodger and Little Bro walk in the woods (not today!) I'll set the scene. It's a lovely autumnal Sunday. The sun is shining, it's not raining and it's not cold. A walk would be just the ticket before The Lodger has his Sunday movie. As you know, routine is important. Movies can't be missed.  We decided on our route- the route we call the castle route. You guessed incorrectly, it doesn't feature a castle but if you go off path and really crane your neck you might just glimpse one.  However when we got to the woods, I switched the route up. I don't know why. I just did. A moment of spontaneity. Anyway Hindsight. Lesson learned.  The new route meant a bit of climbing, so a lot of helping The Lodger and for The Lodger he wasn't able to continue his telling of the story he paused ...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Calm Before the Big News: A Quiet Moment, A Bright Future

By
When things are quiet, we don't tend to write. There's the odd update on The Lodger and Us instagram but there hasn't been a blog post in a long while. I'm happy to report that things are quiet at the moment. Quiet means all is calm and well in the world of The Lodger. When we're in this moment, I'm always half on edge waiting for a curveball but in our almost 13 years of the PWS world, you in a way get used to the quiet times, while waiting for that  inevitable PWS unexpected but expected twist.  The Lodger is watching his Friday movie, had the best yoghurt he has ever tasted (Plain and Greek if you were wondering, and yes he has had it many times before) and is looking forward to the weekend of not a lot planned.  When I say all is quiet, it's our quiet, our unique normality of quiet that unless you're in the PWS world you probably wouldn't describe as quiet.  Our kitchen remains locked. Our routine is our routine. Food happens at food o'clock....
Post a Comment
Read more