Exploring/driving the West Country

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Welcome to Matty’s diaries. Matty is a 16 year old complex character from the English Riviera who just so happens to be my son. Matty started time-lapsing and recording at the beginning of his isolation in March 2020. I have no idea where the idea came from, he just grabbed his IPad one day and started recording his jigsaw progress. This then expanded to diamond paintings, Lego and then our drives out. They became a way of Matty giving his news to loved ones and school friends who he no longer saw. As of today 16.10.2021 writing this update we have been isolating/Shielding 589 days so far. Matty’s just had his first vaccine and we hope to get him back to school in January once staff have retrained. Wrap around care is just me (Tracey) and Mattys dad Mike. I do the waking night shifts and sleep in the morning, this has given me hours of lonely time during the night to edit Matty’s creations and try and make them watchable. It’s almost become a therapy for Matty and I. I’m not going to list Matty’s health record but take away the obvious artificial airway he actually has more complex issues you can’t see. He is really a very innocent, unworldly 4-5 year old who thrives on routine and positive praise. So please be kind, we never imagined that anyone other than family would ever see the videos and to be honest the family stopped watching and commenting a long long time ago. However we have made some lovely YouTube friends who have been such a huge part of Matty’s shielding life. Each day Matty checks his comments to look for his regular viewers who he has come to rely on. They make him happy. Matty cannot reply to comments independently so as much as he reads them every night, I reply with him once or twice a week. We are grateful.
Matty’s drives are split in to smaller parts which makes them easier to find when he sends his weekly links to his class mates.
At this moment in time Matty is home schooled 5 mornings a week for 2 hours by his favourite TA from school, this stops and starts depending on Matty’s wellbeing and on covid/illness in school. This takes place In the garden or behind perspex to keep matty safe. The school have been amazing and we are very lucky.
Any questions please just ask me, I’m happy to answer. We travel within a 2 hour radius of Torbay and are happy to drive somewhere on request, it gives Matty a task and he loves a task.
Matty is in the van with headphones on watching/Listening to his beloved carnival dvds. It’s his happy place, the only place he doesn’t tic, rock, pick and pace. It’s also the closest Mike and I get to down time as Matty will be relaxed and not have any anxiety.
At the moment we stay in the van driving and people watching, rarely get out, Matty in general refuses to. We can be out for 3 - 4 hours on a longer drive so we purchased a Porto loo which is a bucket with a lid. Does the job and keeps Matty safe. It really is the basics and smallest things that are keeping us plodding along until we can be with loved ones again.
Seriously be kind please, we really are just winging it and I’m so exhausted that negative stuff effects me, it shouldn’t but it does.
Anyway stay safe, we hope you like our little videos, but if not that’s fine. We made them for Matty so as long as he is happy, life is good.
We watch the videos on tv everyday that we are stuck at home Which Is 90% of the time, they show us the outside world. So not for critics just for us to enjoy and reminisce and share with like minded souls.

Update Matty started his special needs college on the 14th June 2022, It’s going well. 👍🏻👍🏻
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#driving #paignton #englishriviera #GoPro #devon
#bekind #autismawareness #England





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