Hi Daddy!

Today is a memorable day of my life.  It is Friday weekend, but I went to work this morning to trim down my to-do list.  I returned home at about 1pm.  As I walked up the stairs to the upper floor of my apartment, I flashed a big smile at Shan Le who was sitting on the sofa of the living area with his mother.  Unexpectedly, he said 'Hi Daddy' to me!  This is the first time ever, since his birth three years ago, that he called me Daddy in a spontaneous and directed manner.  My heart was breaming with joy!

Yesterday, we brought Shan Le back to the Learning Resource Centre in Maadi for the development skills assessment.  Unfortunately, as he was still recovering from his cold and taking anti-biotics, Dr Eman decided to perform the assessment next week after he has fully recovered.  Not to make a wasted trip, we sat down with Dr Eman for 1.5 hours to go through the ADOS results in detail.  The outcome of the assessment puts Shan Le on the Autistic Spectrum but Dr Eman said that the results should not be taken as conclusive.  She commented that she observed quite a lot of improvement in Shan Le's language and social abilities as he played with his mother yesterday.  So, Shan Le will be going for the developmental skills assessment and followed by therapy sessions to help him overcome his developmental difficulties, in particular language and speech.  The eventual diagnosis will depend how Shan Le reacts to the intervention programme.  Personally, after doing a fair bit of research and reading on the subject, I think Shan Le is not autistic but he is displaying some symptoms of the condition, which could be due to other developmental issues.  As his father, I will want to give him all the help he can get to overcome his difficulties so that he can grown up well and go to normal schools.

Shan Le is doing well at Urban Toddlers and also attending some activities at Dados in Zamalek.  The teacher said that Shan Le has been good and he was able to sit with others in a group listening to stories and singing songs.  But he has been missing school quite often for the past two weeks as he fell sick with acute tonsillitis and cold, almost consecutively.  His nose is still dripping today and the anti-biotic is giving him loose stools.  I hope he can adjust quickly to the weather here and rejoin school next week.

Vacation in Hong Kong & Macau

In my earlier posting, I mentioned about the trip to Hong Kong and Macau during my recent relief break.  It was a very tiring break for me having to unpack and pack within a week after touching down in Singapore and unpack and pack again after a week in Hong Kong for my return to Cairo.  Nevertheless, it was a fruitful outing where I spend some good quality time with family.  Here is the photo album on my vacation to share:

新的开始

奕云和乐乐七月底回国后我全心投入工作。虽然无法事事尽善尽美，可我自问已经尽我所能把工作做好。三个月的努力换来了三个星期的假日让我可以享受短暂的天伦之乐。期间，我们还到了香港和澳门游玩。可是我没有想到这段期间的经历会让我打消原本的计划。

这次回国我们带乐乐去看了儿科心里专科医生。他的成长似乎有迟缓。我姐夫和同事也注意到他的某些特殊症状并建议我们求医。在初诊，医生也认为乐乐有自闭症的表现。不过他的症状轻微。医生建议我们让乐乐进行自闭症诊断测验 (ADOS) 或先行语言会话护理 (Speech Therapy)。

因为我们觉得乐乐患有自闭症的可能性不大，我们决定先让他进行护理，看看他的进展再思考下一步该怎么走。第一次护理乐乐表现不佳。护理师也认为他有自闭症的轻微症状。那时我的内心是十分难受，担忧乐乐的未来。护理师在了解我们的家庭环境后建议我们纠正一些不良的习惯。比如，我们得让乐了自己坐定进食，不可四处玩跑的喂他。我们也得迫使乐乐说出他的要求。乐乐也得按时早睡。在全家的配合下，乐乐在短短的两个星期内有了明显的进步。在回开罗的前一天，护理师认为乐乐不是患有自闭症，但他有些语言能力方面的障碍。他建议我们在开罗进行护理并推荐了一家护理中心。

因为乐乐需要一个稳定及健全的家庭环境，我们决定回来开罗从新开始。没有任何人可以取代我父亲的职责。如果按我们的原定计划，乐乐的状况可能会恶化。我独自在开罗也必定无法安心的工作。结果将会是两头不着岸。回来不久后我们就带乐乐到新加坡护理师介绍的护理中心。这里的医生在看了新加坡护理师的报告后建议我们让乐乐进行ADOS。这是为了彻底排除自闭症的隐忧方可对症下药。测试结果还没出炉，不过看乐乐近日来的表现，我相信他是正常的。他近日越来越活泼，语言能力方面也有不错的进步。他也不会像以前那么怕生了。

护理只是辅助，更重要的是让乐乐在开罗的生活过的充实，有优等的学习环境。我们现在正积极地寻找幼儿班还有其他的辅助课程比如唱歌，跳舞或音乐。为了让这一切可以落实，我们也聘请了一位司机，也正在张罗一位全职的家佣。这样一来奕云可以全新的照顾乐乐而我也可以更专心的工作。努力工作留下让后人赞许的基业固然重要，但家庭妻儿还是根本。优先次序我心底必须亮如明镜。