Sentences

(Picture taken by Snapshot)

Twink went to full day school for six weeks this past summer. She received all of her therapy there and did some really fun activities. Her speech as of right now is our biggest concern. On average Twink has maybe 5-10 words she says on a daily bases. She can repeat about 50 words on command or out of the blue. So when we receive her progress report home from her speech therapy teacher and it basically stated they were doing play therapy, I was not impressed. I called our former ST and she confirmed it did not sound like a promising report. Given it was summer, I'm hoping it was a time to get to know you.

During the three week break between school Twinks vocabulary has taken off. It is funny because I was preparing to talk to her developmental doctor about her lack of words. Just about the point where I start to become really, really sad our baby girl surprises us. I was beginning to think maybe that neurosurgeon was right. Maybe she wouldn't ever talk. Then the Lord steps in and shows me that he is in control. Unfortunately, I forget that at times. Boy did he show us! Twink is using sentences. You see, this is what usually happens when she receives a week long break from school. For whatever reason, she has a burst in her language. Here are a few examples of what she has started saying

I hungry
I wanna eat
I wanna go
I wanna it
thank you

This was all with in one week! If you look at the sentences, these are statements to questions we ALWAYS ask her. Whenever she is upset we ask "Do you want ......?" In fact, I didn't even realize she was telling me she was hungry! It took Jewel and Snapshot telling me! Most of the time she is telling us this while whining. I'm not sure if it is easier for her to produce the word structure and to get it out while whining or if that is just her domineer.

We did talk to her developmental doctor at her appointment last week about her speech. She said that children with apraxia take a long time to gain speech. (We knew this) They gain the speech, they loose it and regain it again. We have seen this first hand. It is heartbreaking and frustrating at the same time. She did tell us that she does believe that Twink will be speaking by second grade. Are we placing all of our eggs in this basket - NO! Does it give us some hope -YES! We will not give up and will work very hard for our girl. I've joked that when she does finally start talking I want to send a video to her former neurosurgeon with a message. Never Say Never!!

We did receive a note home from her ST yesterday and it stated that if we would like daily communication to place a notebook in her backpack and she would write in it. Can you guess what I put in Twinks backpack this morning?!?! ;) I do miss our old ST she was the BEST.

Oh and I will have picture of back to school of all the kids as their first day was yesterday.

School Days

Last week I decided to go to Twink's school and hang out for the day. We brought in mini-cupcakes for Twink's birthday. I must say it was great watching her with her teachers, therapist and friends. I've worked with most of her teachers and therapists at our house but there were a few that I have not.

You can see the young lady in the picture below is playing with Twink in the sensory table. That table is full of bird seeds. I can tell you most of the kids LOVE this table. Twink really seems to like this young lady.
In the picture below the young lady is scooting her hidden hand towards Twink and she lets out a squeal when her hand pops up and out. They must have done this for 15 minutes.

This is Twink's main teacher. She is great and has been doing this for 30+ years. We've only had her since September but she is really sweet with all the kids.

Here you can see Twink is in motion and another teacher's aide behind her. Well you see my daughter has claimed a rocking chair in her class room. None of the other children are allowed to sit in it during circle time unless Twink gets up to sit in another chair. The reason she is allowed "the chair" is it helps keep her focused. She will sit and rock the whole story and listen. She used to get up and move about the room. When it is time to stand up for song she does it with no problems but also knows when it's done to turn and sit in her chair. She was rocking so hard I thought she was going to go over backwards. I believe that is why the aide is behind her.

Twink is enjoying her 2nd mini cupcake that we sent in. She really liked those. I had a picture of her drinking for an open cup but it must not have down loaded! She is doing pretty good with that as long as they don't fill it too full.

Here is her PT! :) We have been working with her since Feb 08 and I love her! She is probably the only Asian person Twink sees on a regular basis. I believe she came from the Philippines. She works Twink quite a bit but it's been great to see her progress.

I love the last two pictures, it just shows how much she loves Terry! Only once did I see her get frustrated during the day and that was because I was not doing some thing she wanted me to do. I'm so glad that she received a spot in this class. She moves on come June.

So there you have it, this is what Twink's day is like when she goes to school. Hope you enjoyed the pictures! :)

Back to School

These are our first day of school pictures! Can you believe how big everyone looks? Spitfire went off to Pre-k and I was so sad when the bus pulled away. She did great and was so excited to be riding the bus. I love our bus driver, she has been with us for the last 7 years!

Yesterday Twink went off to school also. Her video is below. She did awesome! She loves to ride in cars so the bus was nothing different to her. Now before you start to pass judgment on us, Twink is in a car seat and there is only four students on the bus. There is an aide to keep an eye on the four of them and the ride to school is only 15 minutes. I know some of you are thinking that you'd never let your child go off to school or better yet ride a school bus at her age but Twink and Spitfire both have to be at school at the same time and there is no way I can be in two towns at the same time. Twink will be receiving more therapy at school and have more interaction with children her own age. She will also receive three home visits for therapy as well. I think this will be a good thing for Twink. I hope to see some improvements in some areas she struggles in. Enjoy the pictures.