About Felicity

Hi,
My name is Felicity and my mum is writing this on my behalf as I am not able to speak yet, but hopefully one day I will! I live in two homes, my mums and my dads and I also have amazing support and love from my step dad and step mum that look after me as well. We are a Son-Rise Program family and everyday I do my Son-Rise Program. I am home-schooled as this environment supports my sensory needs and is not too overwhelming for me. It is far easier for me to learn in a loving, accepting and nurturing environment and I need one on one support. I found my special needs school very stressful and I shut down because it was too overwhelming and I could not cope.

I am really happy! I laugh and giggle, play with my brothers and sister and I have some other very special people in my life as well. These people are my volunteers, but really they are my best friends and I love them. I have so much freedom in my Son-Rise Program to just be me. There is no pressure and I am getting better at looking and communicating with my gestures and sounds. I have learned so much in the past 7 years and my biggest accomplishment is my comprehension. It is really good now and I can follow 2 step instructions more and more. Woohoo! I am also slowly becoming more independent and I can pretty much tell you, without words, what I want.

I want to tell you that I love to sing and I have an old piano at mums that I give a good bang. I can sing many tunes pitch perfect! What a joy to make such a great sound and it is a fun game to play. The other thing, which is kind of my "ism"or "stim', the thing I just have to do, is throwing. I love throwing and I've got some great things that I can hurl into the air. They go everywhere and my neighbours are really cool if I throw my toys into their yards, which of course, I love to do. It is important for people to understand that when I throw I process my world around me. It really helps and I need to do it every day and I will continue to do it for as long as I need to. If I could not do it, I would burst and life would not be OK!

Mum says I am cheeky. I do like to get a good reaction out of someone. If I throw an object and it lands on the roof with a loud bang, that is brilliant. Sometimes I pinch my brother and pull his hair and he yells out. It is so much fun to get the big reaction. So I guess my social interaction still has a way to go.... but now I can play for a very short time with my brothers and sister which not long ago, I would have been happier if they just stayed away. Social interaction is not so scary anymore, but please, I can't take too much of it yet.

I have yukky vitamins (all that bio-med stuff!), important sensory exercises to do each day called "Handle" which I don't mind and I see a homeopath, which I like because homeopathic remedies do not taste yukky. I also have a special diet (not special for me) which I am totally used to as I have had this for as long as I can remember. Life is good and I am growing up, getting stronger and more connected to the world around me every day. Thankyou for reading my letter....all about me.

LOVE Felicity