What an exciting and busy few weeks it’s been! I keep trying to stay on top of updating but it seems like time is just flying by! I know I owe videos too, I need to get them off my camera and organized, hopefully soon! The trio had a great 1st few weeks of school! They’ve been very busy so far, learning colors, working on their therapies, and getting to know the other children. I can tell that they’re learning – the other day on a walk pointed out the stop sign saying “that’s a stop sign”. I asked “did you learn that at school?” and she said “yes”. Thus far the teacher and therapists have been very happy with how well all 3 are adapting and all that they’re learning! They have been very tired at night and their appetites have gone up immensely! On the downside, they are acting naughtier at home but I know they’ve been very good at school so we can handle it! : )
On 9/9 we took the kids to a local playground and boy did they have a ball! There’s both a smaller and a larger playstructure and of course Johnathan and Madelyn preferred the larger structure! Mady is by far our most daring thus far. She climbed the rock wall by herself, twice! She truly has no fear, whereas Johnathan is a bit more timid with some things.
On 9/10 we took the kids to the Saline Fair. They rode a few rides, Johnathan and Madelyn finally being big enough to enjoy the swings, the train, and a few others on their own! I did take them on the submarine, their eyes were HUGE but they enjoyed it! Mady LOVES all the animals, she goes right up to them and feeds them, pets them, hugs them, again, no fear! Johnathan, however, likes to look and is curious but is not in to the touching like she is. There was an area with baby animals and a play area, they were even able to “milk” a cow. They had a ball! My mom entered their 3 year old profile pics in the fair and Johnathan received 1st (same as last year), this Madelyn placed 2nd in the girls, Annabel did not place. I realized that in the future I need to send a different background/pose between the girls or else it will always be that only one can place. Maybe next year Anna!
On Saturday 9/11 Johnathan and Madelyn started gymnastics again. Mady got right in and remembered the stretches and positions, Johnathan needed a bit more reminding. This session there is one other boy in the class, although he’s young and not doing much of the structured challenges yet. There are 3 Madelyn’s (all spelled different) in the class! After gymnastics we took the kids to the cider mill for a brief visit (mostly so I could get some honey crisp apples). They played on the hay bales for a bit and had a ball, definitely have to go back again and spend some more time!
On 9/15 we took Annabel to see Dr. Bowers (a behavioral doctor who’s part of the PLAY Project in Ann Arbor) to work on some of her behavioral issues (self-gagging, tantrums, etc.). The appointment went very well (albeit Annabel either crying or sleeping on Daddy the whole time – she had a rough week fighting the nasty cold that’s been going around The other two always seem to be able to fight thru it easier than her) and we have a plan in place for correcting some of her issues. Dr. Bowers said it might take a few weeks to get her past her gagging desire but it can be done with persistence so we are sticking to it and praying it will work! During this appointment we also talked about her level of play and that she still prefers sensory play. I started her on 9/23 with Lindsay at Leaps and Bounds, the OT that Johnathan was first seeing. Lindsay is PLAY Project certified so one of her goals will be developing her levels of play, which I think is a major frustration for her. In addition she will be working on oral/eating skills and strengthening as well as strengthening/utilizing her left hand. As a result of her eval with Lindsay Annabel will be having a modified barium swallow study done on 10/15 to make sure she’s not aspirating at all before we proceed with intensely working on increasing the thickness/solidity of the foods she’s eating. The good news is that Lindsay observed that while she does have some weakness in her mouth, her ability to move food around with her tongue and her chewing are much better developed than initially anticipated! Her 1st real session with Lindsay went so well, I am very excited for her to work with Annabel!
Annabel is officially in the CHAMPs program (constraint therapy to force-use her left hand) in October!! This will be a repeat session for Annabel. She is very aware of her left hand and has been making more motions with it as if she’s attempting to use it. I am praying that this program helps her to at least be able to reach/support herself with her left! I took her for her eval for the program on 9/22 – let’s just say she was NOT happy when they constrained her right! Knowing Annabel, this did not surprise us, just praying she can get past it to allow the program to help her. She will start CHAMPs on 10/12 and it will last for 3 weeks, 3 mornings a week.
On Monday (9/20) Annabel started eating up at the table with us and is now eating off her own plate, just like all of us! It was so cute how she just took off with it! She does get pretty messy with some foods but overall is doing a good job with it! I think her self-gagging and willingness to sit at the table while everyone finishes has changed dramatically, I think she’s pretty proud of herself! Annabel has continued to get stronger and stronger in her walking (with a very nice gait) and has been standing still with no support for longer and longer periods of time. On 9/22 I was walking with her around the block and she decided to let go of my pinky and took some independent steps!! She amazes me!! In her PT session on 10/5 Tracie commented that it was her best session thus far! She was very happy, chatting up a storm, had good eye contact, stood for a solid 5 minutes independently, and walked with hardly any support all over the facility! Annabel’s speech has also continued to improve. She is now saying “I’m not”, “Anna”, and many other strings of sounds that you know have meaning to her. I’m just waiting for the day that she will start talking and not stop!!
My parents had gotten the kids a Ford truck power wheel for Christmas last year but they weren’t tall enough to reach the gas pedal yet. We got it out again a couple weekends ago and they finally could, boy did they have a ball driving around! I also tried Annabel on the 2 seater bike that B.J.’s parents had gotten the kids. She finally has good enough balance that she can make it go and I think she really enjoyed it! The bike is very nice because its solidly built and ergonomically very good for her!
Johnathan has been doing so good with OT, he’s now chewing so well and very rarely pockets, at least not to the point that he can’t chew and clear his food. Yesterday in OT he ate 4 gum drops like it was nothing and would have eaten more, previously his jaw/mouth muscles tired out with 1! His visual tracking has also improved immensely. I think I’ve hit some very important areas at just the right time to really help them!
Our schedule currently looks like this:
Monday- therapy free day
Tuesday - Johnathan has OT (with Jennie who’s been great with him) while Annabel has PT
Wednesday - Annabel has speech
Thursday - Johnathan has speech while Madelyn has OT. Annabel also has OT but at a different facility
Saturday - Johnathan and Madelyn have gymnastics
They also have preschool Monday-Thursday in the a.m. and next week we’ll add CHAMPs to the mix for a few weeks! We are definitely busy but it is all well worth it, watching them continue to develop like they have!
1 comment:
I love these kids! They all look awesome and developing so great! Go Anna, Mady and John!!!
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