It was parent-teacher interviews at school last night and I’m so proud of the kids. They’re just amazing in every way. Elizabeth, according to her teacher, finishes her maths work in class then goes around from table to table helping other pupils with theirs. Her writing is also exemplary and she is spelling to the level of someone 4 years older.
Daniel’s report is just as glowing. He’s spelling to the level of a 14 year old (he’s 11), he’s in the top group for maths, he was recently selected to compete in the Lit Quiz with 4 other pupils in his year against high school students, and he’s running for house captain. For house captain he had to stand up in front school assembly to make his pitch and encourage his peers to vote for him. He made slides for it and each one had a picture of a cute animal on it because everyone knows if you want to grab someone’s attention you show them kittens. Maybe he’ll be a politician when he grows up? His slogan is “Keep calm and vote for Daniel“. He made posters and stuck them up around the school.
I’m not sure whether it’s good luck, good management, or good genes but probably it’s a combination of all three. More importantly for us than academic achievement is that they’re happy, they both have friends at school, and they’re both kind and fair – these things are all true. Daniel has come such a long way. Sometimes I wonder whether he’s even still on the autistic spectrum. It’s not so obvious now and he certainly doesn’t need any extra help at school.
On Monday this week I was on BBC news at 6:30pm. They ran a story on the recent Sustrans review of their National Cycle Network. Sustrans have made some good recommendations in this review including removing barriers on cycle paths, reducing the speed limit on urban and rural roads, replacing existing on-road sections with new traffic-free paths, adopting a new quality standard, and improving signage – as well as other things. The BBC thought the lower speed limit on rural roads was the most controversial and news-worthy and rang me on Monday wanting input from a cyclist. I took a recording of it:
rachel.blog 
That’s awesome – I ended up watching the entire story, because – as you probably know – I cycle to work every day 🙂 I tend to see more problems with motorists blatantly ignoring me at junctions, than passing me at speed – thankfully it’s rare though.
Junctions are dangerous for cyclists but there’s so much potential there if we build the right infrastructure. It will take time but we’re heading in the right direction.
Congrats on the TV appearance, points well made. Regarding Daniel, that is good news and Christine, my wife, dealt with many autistic children when she worked and still helps a few in her retirement, so understands how Daniel could move within the autistic spectrum.
That is great to hear. I wasn’t sure whether this was normal or not – to move within the autistic spectrum – but we’ve noticed big improvements from year to year starting since he was about 4.
“they’re both kind and fair”. I love that this is a priority for you. They sound lovely! Congrats on the TV appearance!! Love seeing you again!
It is a priority. I think ethics should be compulsory in education but until then it’s up to parents to make sure kids understand the importance of kindness and consideration for others.
A couple of my friends have had enormous improvements with their autistic sons, both at special schools. Will probably need a lot of support to have jobs and they’re always worried about whether their sons can ever live independently, but they’ve gained so many skills and coping mechanisms over the years.
I think there is a lot to do with you being a fantastic example, with the way your kids have turned out.
That’s great to hear. I’m sure the additional support they’ve had while they’re young has made a big difference. We had help with Daniel when he was little and I’m sure things would be different now had we not had that.