A Larnaca girl in Paphos - Paula Manoli-Gray

My family and I had a weekend away in Paphos last week, and as I always do, I found myself comparing the region with Larnaca. Not in a negative or competitive way, but more in a curious 'how is life in other towns' way.

It is always interesting to visit the other towns of the island as both a tourist and a local of the island, as you get unique take on the area, and I like to holiday on-island: 1) to make the most of areas I don't see much of, and 2) to support local tourism. But that said, it is in no way cheap or particularly cost-effective, and probably costs the same as holidaying abroad in the long run.

My first comment is that we felt very harassed along the harbour, with every restaurant vying for our business. The restaurant's staff do not specifically target tourists with this horrible behaviour; they knew we were locals and spoke to us in both English and Greek. I have to say, this relentless pressure put me in a bad mood and tainted my experience, but it was dinnertime and we were hungry so we chose a fish restaurant despite wanting to scream at the staff to stop talking to us! We were very disappointed in the size of the meals for the price of them, to the point that we would call the food portions 'positively stingy'! I suppose that is neither here nor there as we probably have our fair share of such places in Larnaca, but being that I know where to eat and stick to my favourites here, I wouldn't know which of our restaurants are also guilty of this practice. Answers on a postcard please!

That aside, Paphos - like the areas Limassol and free Famagusta - does have something that we are sorely lacking in Larnaca, and which would be a most welcome boon to parents... child-friendly restaurants with some form of entertainment. Whilst our chosen restaurant disappointed us meal-wise, it was one of the few dining-out experiences hubby and I have managed to enjoy at a relaxed pace thanks to the kids being occupied and very happy at the restaurant's play area. The other few times have been outside of Larnaca where the majority of restaurants have fabulous big play structures. Even a popular island-wide chain that we also have in Larnaca had a play area and children's character plates and plastic cups in the Limassol mall branch, whereas our Larnaca branch does not.

And, as all parents know, happy children equal happy mealtimes! Larnaca really needs to take a leaf out of the other town's books when it comes to child-friendly dining… I wonder if this has anything to do with the fact that we are not a touristy resort, and therefore our restaurants are not fighting for the tourist trade? Or are we just behind on this concept? Of course, if you are not a parent, or your children have flown the nest, you probably quite like this lack of chaos when you dine, but with my two still young, it is certainly something that I would see as an improvement to our region.

Talking of malls, we visited the malls in both Limassol and Paphos, and whilst I enjoyed both, I still remain grateful that we do not have one in Larnaca. I think a mall would spell the certain death of the high street and I would hate to see our town centre suffer. And as we have Nicosia's mall just a twenty minute drive away, it is nice to have that 'going-out-for-the-day-to-the-mall' feeling and having to leave Larnaca to do it.

So, whilst I do not envy the malls of other towns, I do envy their child-friendly dining… just as long as I am not harassed to eat at them!

First appeared in The Cyprus Weekly, 01/05/15

Angela's Activities

Soulla's - Family Fun Day

On yer bike! - Paula Manoli-Gray

It's a good time to be a cyclist in Larnaca!

I personally don't cycle myself due to not being confident with these kind of things, but I am certainly encouraged on behalf of those who do at how much progress has been made.

The island – and Larnaca – have always been favoured by cyclists from abroad as a place to train, as well as a fantastic destination to hold major cycling tournaments, thanks to our favourable weather and terrain, but locals didn't particularly take cycling seriously as a mode of transport in modern times.

Fast forward to today and in a short period of time, cycling has exploded; not just as a mode of transport or a hobby, but also in terms of conditions for cyclists. The municipality is doing much to encourage the environmentally-friendly mode of transport and is participating in European initiatives that highlight the benefits, and it should be applauded for its efforts. Furthermore, we now have organised cycling groups that meet regularly; many families go on weekend rides; people with cars actually opt to use bikes to get from A to B instead, and the network of cycle paths keeps growing and growing and growing.

So why oh why is it that I still find myself stuck behind cyclists on the road, who are riding parallel to the cycle paths? Is there something wrong with the paths or is it a case of 'careful what you wish for, it may come true'? Maybe it is just me, but I have driven past countless cyclists who are cycling on the road, right next to one of the nice new cycle paths – two or more abreast, and it does not endear them to me at all.

Cyclists have always moaned that motorists are oblivious to their right to use the road, or fail to acknowledge them, and in turn, motorists have found cyclists a nuisance – especially when they do ride two or more abreast and take up the whole road. So I think it is fair now to say that motorists should stick to the road and cyclists to the cycle paths… isn't it? Or am I missing something?

The only thing I can conclude is that maybe the cycle paths feel restrictive to cyclists, being that they are raised up like a pavement and narrow. I can only guess that maybe seasoned cyclists like to ride at a fair pace and feel unrestricted; therefore the road is a more attractive prospect?

If there are any cyclists out there who can enlighten me, I would be interested to hear their views – did the municipality get it wrong with the paths or are they just not used to using designated areas? Is it that they prefer the thrill of the road, or something more?

In the meantime, it is still fantastic to see more and more people embracing alternative means of transport and enjoying our lovely weather and scenery. It is also great to see that international-calibre cycling tournaments continue to take place in the region, putting us on the world cycling map.

As for me, if I ever have the courage to get on a bike, it's the safety and confinement of the red paths for me all the way… with training wheels on!

First appeared in The Cyprus Weekly, 24/04/15

Where is the Therapist Unity?

With the treatment jungle out there, it is hard to know what advice to take; what advice is useful and what advice is detrimental to your child's development.  Everyone is an expert in their own field but not each others.  Through conversations with other Special Needs mums and dads, I have found that many therapists heavily promote their own field of expertise, criticizing other therapies, even telling parents that other therapies are not necessary.  Or the one that really infuriates me - diagnosing a child with something e.g. ADD, ASD or ADHD without going through the correct testing process, for example watching a child for 20 minutes and deciding they are ASD (this actually happened by the way).  One parent even confided in me that her child was diagnosed with ASD by a well known psychologist/psychotherapist, who told her not to send her child to any therapies until he was 8 years old (but obviously to come to her once a week). Oh my God!  I really wanted to go to this psychologist's office, turn into a banshee so that I could scream at her
HOW DARE YOU!!!
How dare you diagnose something you are not an expert in and not refer the child to someone who is!  How dare you tell a mother not to take her child to therapy so that you can line your own pocket!  How dare you delay the correct therapy and not allow a child to reach his full potential because you think you know everything, taking advantage of parents that are trying to process the news you have just broken to them!

Taking a short course in ASD (autism spectrum disorder) or ABA therapy (applied behaviour analysis) does not make you an expert.  I mean does doing a first aid course qualify someone to work as a doctor in a hospital? Of course not! So parents please, if you want to truly diagnose your child, go to someone who specializes in Developmental and Behavior Pediatrics.

I admit, I am lucky.  We have managed to find therapists who have gone out of their way to help our child, but more than that, they have been willing to work with the other therapists to help my son generalize his skills (as ASD children tend to acquire a skill with one therapist but do not know how to transfer that skill to other parts of their lives like school, home etc...).  And this is thanks to our Developmental specialist who recommended we have a communication book that we pass around all our therapists and teachers (both in the morning at school and in the afternoon at his private therapies),  Each person involved in his development has to write what they have done with him that lesson, his behaviour, the outcome, goals, etc...  Then everyone else can read what he has been working on, adapt it and consolidate it in their lesson. 
It has worked beautifully, allowing my son to feel confident and progress in leaps and bounds.

In October 2013, I attended an extremely interesting seminar about bridging the gap between ABA and Speech/Language therapy.  She explained the main misconceptions these therapists have about each other and then the strengths and limitations of each.  What I understood was that these 2 therapies were like pieces of a puzzle.  The Language therapy part of the puzzle understood the anatomy/physiology of speech production, the challenges of motor speech disorders and the components of language, whereas the ABA therapy part of the puzzle had formal training in behaviour management strategies, specialized in autism and had expertise in instructional design.  When these two pieces of the puzzle join together, learning and collaborating with each other, the benefits for the child are immense.  In the UK and USA there are schools that incorporate all therapies under one roof on a daily basis, because they recognise that one therapy does not hold all the answers.  But here....

So to all the therapists out there, please recognise your limitations (we won't judge you on them), leave your misconceptions at the door, and find your therapist unity...for all our children's sakes.