James W's quilt    (Quilt Completed)

Thank you

I would like to thank each and every stitcher who signed up for one of James squares, the quilter who sewn it altogether onto the quilt, and the people who signed up for James Card & Label. You can see all the time, effort, care and love that has been poured into all of this and it being put together perfectly aswel as the rest of the team behind the scenes who create the page, send emails, and arrange shipping etc. So much goes into each and every single one of these quilts! James absolutely loves his Pokemon quilt, he’s been quite dysregulated during this first week of the holidays and he’s gone down for a nap due to being overwhelmed. I will try get some other photos of him with his new quilt when he’s awake

Finished photos

Individual squares

Card

Stitched by: Linda Cropper

Biography

James was born in 2020. The biggest sign was him banging his head off the floor, walls, doors, tables and windows which really was, and still is, the most distressing. He lines up his toys, is very over-friendly and has no danger awareness. He runs out in front of cars or swings at the park and doesn't see the danger. He has high rejection sensitivity when someone doesn't want to play with him or involve him. He has sensory sensitivities so doesn't like loud noises or busy places and covers his ears as it's too much for him. He is also sensitive to certain clothing and materials. He sleeps by rubbing his blanket across his face, tapping his head and rubbing his foot against my thigh. He is very empathetic and can sense and recognise people's emotions and feelings but cannot recognise or control his own. He gets overwhelmed easily which results in banging his head and hitting himself. He has PDA profile and GDD. I also suspect ADHD but we have to wait until he's a little bit older to be assessed for this.

I have had so many strangers approach us and ask me if he's on the spectrum. Some tell me they can tell he's autistic. He has so much energy and is always on the go, he struggles to switch off from his thoughts and has sleep issues.

I have done extensive research into autism and realised he has so many of the signs. I have been fighting for his assessments since he was 2, only to be knocked back constantly as he's quite clever. We were eventually seen and heard when he started pre-school when he turned 4. They helped with referrals for assessments and support and he has finally been awarded an EHCP in time for him to start school. He was deferred a year so started school in September this year.