Joey off to a nutritionist with Anne.  Would be great if we were able to identify a change in diet that would calm Joey down and help him focus a bit.  His confidence is really low sometimes.  He is aware that he is not quite the same as other kids but he overstates it and it has become a real problem.  He IS a smart, good kid, who is good-looking and healthy and very fit. He is starting to be good at lots of things.  But he does not realise it and puts himself down too much.  It is heartbreaking to hear him say that he is no good, that he is sad, that he has an empty heart.

One example.  He has started to do some drawings to accompany the story that he wrote about Mike the snail.  Really good efforts.  Not Picasso, perhaps, but certainly as good as I could have done at that age.  But he thinks that his drawings are 'rubbish'.  We are putting together a photo books, with the text and the scanned drawings which I think will look really good.  But he doesn't, at this moment, want anybody to see it because it is not good enough.

Yesterday we were playing at the playground.  He tried to jump for the third bar of the monkey bars, reached it but didn't get a good enough grip and fell on to his back.  He was in tears and angry, which is understandable.  But he also was upset because he felt that the other kids would feel that he was useless.  No matter how often we told him that none of the other kids there would even try and do what he did, it didn't make a difference.  It is a bit of a slog.

Then this morning he had a good hour with Mrs H then went off with her to school where she had some bits and pieces to do.  By her account, he was great company and very helpful.  He will stay in her class next year and there will be 4 other kids, all new boys.  Mrs H hope that Joey will step up and act as the senior boy, her lieutenant.  Being the oldest and most advanced kid will hopefully help his confidence.