Hounslow PCT - disabled children don't matter

A year older this week and full of arthritic twinges, I think I need to start saving for my hip replacement surgery now - Hounslow PCT won't have dug itself out of its financial hole any time in the next twenty years.

I have just been trawling the Hounslow PCT website to find its Autumn Statement which should have been published by 30 September. Such a thing in Hounslow, I'm sure, does not exist.

So £340million from the Department for Children Schools & Families, matched by £340million from the Department of Health. Hounslow's share of the DCSF funding is nearly £1.4million, and so far a mere £40,000 has been identified within the PCT.

This has a flavour of theft about it.

Local Hero!

Phone call today to confirm that I'd won an award from Bank of America for all that's been happening at PiT.

It's been hard work with slivers of time snatched at odd moments, mostly late at night, but I've enjoyed all of it. Thanks to fellow PiT member Michele for nominating. She must have written a cracking application.

Nicolaides-Baraitser Syndrome

Never heard of it either, but it could be us. It's a list of symptoms so far, with only a handful of people in the world having them. There is a professor carrying out research and Zack is under further investigation.

If it pans out it would explain more than a few things and give validation, at long last, to the lack of progress on toilet training (I knew it wasn't me).

I'm back!

Well I was considering finding out how name your home officially as it really did seem that we were living in Viral Lodge. Hannah with a temperature of 39.6 degrees C spending the entire day in the First Aid room at Legoland just about sums it up.

Then there was the special school transport saga which evolved over a new pupil on the taxi route having trouble making the transition from classroom to taxi at the end of the day and my own dear boy taking personal affront at what he perceives as 'naughtiness'. This has spilled over into home life too, with my 'naughty' daughter having to get out of the car and walk home whilst I stalked her by driving beside her.

So that was my summer. Thankfully we are in recovery and have much more positive things to post.

Post-Bercow, Speech Language and Communication Needs

News just out of Hounslow's success as a pathfinder:

Hounslow

How do commissioned services best meet the needs of all children with SLCN? Looking at phases 1 and 3 commissioning to develop good practice parent and child engagement in commissioning services.

And the organisation that will be supplying the families? Our very own Parents in Touch, of course.

Swine Flu?

Zack, my autistic son, has been home from school for a week, which means a halt to work at PiT, more or less. I was on a training course with Participation Works last Thursday when a series of texts flew backwards and forwards. Thankfully my mum came to the rescue.

Zack and flu* (now where's the rolly-eyes smiley?) - very feverish and insisting on going out into the garden to sit on the swing seat at 3.30am on Friday. The joke wore a little thin when he woke me at 4am, 5am and 6am to rearrange his blanket.

Friday was a bakathon for the school fair, Saturday was spent selling cakes (we took £200+), Sunday was a family day with my nephew and his girlfried, Monday was Hannah's 10th birthday so a birthday tea. In the meantime Zack still not well and needing support of the 10-minute attention-span kind. Exhausted by Tuesday, so flaked out on the sofa in 30 degree heat for most of the day.

Both Zack and I recovered today (Wednesday), so he's back at school tomorrow, and I got through a stack of things for PiT. And in a work avoidance tactic I looked through the photo albums at Activenture to find the above gem of a photo. Spot the autistic person with the humongous personal space. Made me laugh, anyway.


* not confirmed that it's swine flu, but definitely viral, and it went through the school (who have adopted a Blitz spirit) pretty swiftly.

I love Lion Television

We had a call from them today and they want to send us some money! That's all I know, but certainly the best phone call of the week.