Wordless Wednesday: jammin'.

wordless wednesday: my artist

 

the little things...

Today I was walking with Maya to her music therapy. She was walking right next to me.  I held out my hand and she immediately grabbed it and held onto it.  At that moment I remembered when there was a time when she would not hold my hand while walking.  In fact she would often not walk next to me at all.  That wasn't that long ago actually. Now don't get me wrong there are still many times that I have to carry her, but those times are slowly disappearing little by little.

That moment made me think of other moments that are changing with Maya.  The other day she sat to put on her shoes and when I said put them on, she tried to slip her feet in her crocks.  She was almost there.  After months and months of trying to get her to put her shoes on, she is starting to try.  That is a big step for her.

The biggest step we have taken happened last week when, on a whim, I decided to pull up the rugs in the house and put Maya in her undies.  I am uncertain if she is ready, but I lean towards thinking she is on the verge of a breakthrough.

Since she was 13 months we have been putting her on the toilet and soon after that she started to sign potty and actually poop and pee on the toilet.  Set backs of illness, mine and hers and laziness on my part stopped me from pushing her further.  Still, since 15-16 months she rarely poops in her diaper.  It is however a struggle to get her on the toilet, sometimes she arches her back or just doesn't want to go into the bathroom.  Worse, when we are out she refuses to go potty if she doesn't have her cushy toilet seat.  I have to say though, that since last Tuesday she hasn't refused to go to the bathroom.  She gets on the toilet even if she doesn't go potty.  And she's had a few accidents, but most of the time it's been very successful.  The first day she went 7 hours without an accident.

Like most things in my life I consider this an experiment.  I heard of many techniques for potty training but in the same fashion as sleep training I have decided to take it slow and ease.  I don't know how long this process will go on, I just try and keep my expectations low and so far I'm feeling pretty good about the whole thing.  Low stress for me and for Maya, this is a good thing.

These are the little things that matter in my life right now.  It might seem trivial to some but to me, it is what my world is comprised of at the moment.  I am so proud of my little rascal. 

Bring on the rain!

Breakthrough!

Over the last few months we have been working hard at Maya's speech.  At times it's been hard because there has been little to no progress.   It's hard for me not to worry now that she is 4ish years old. We have been paying out of pocket as well as having the state provide therapy.  The diagnosis of Apraxia has really helped us work with Maya in a totally different way.  She just wasn't responding to the typical way of working with speech therapy, the visual hand cues has really done wonders.

I'm writing today because I am listening to Maya try and pronounce words.  This feels like a miracle.  Before she didn't even try.  It was like pulling teeth to get her to get her to say B.  She responds so much better to music.  But now, I hear her trying to say words like Broccoli.  Without any prompting.  Wow!

The other day she was watching Elmo, the scene was winter, and Elmo was wearing a jacket.  She turned to me and said "Cooooold"   And signed it at the same time.

I couldn't believe my ears, so I asked her to say it again, and she did.

Sometimes I forget how resilient she is.  She adjusts to change so easily.  Unlike myself.  We have gone through so many changes in the last few months, different music therapists, new respite, saying goodbye to her sensory OT and having a new one work with her.  Yet through all this, she is growing.

In the last few weeks I've seen a breakthrough.  The words are there.  She is trying.  They aren't
perfect, but she is using her voice.  And her voice is amazing!

playground work

Some of you might remember I mentioned that Maya is a bit scared when it comes to playing on the jungle gym.  These are thing that many of us take for granted.  Sometimes we might rely on one sense over another to guide us.  In this case we are speculating that Maya relies on her vision more than her other senses and so when she is looking down at the platform, the holes which allow her to see down to the ground, confuse her.  After looking down at the platform myself, I could see what she is experiencing.  It is scary.

So Maya's physical therapist and I thought we would try and go to the playground together.  It's really helped especially to get another perspective on how to help her get through this.

At first Maya was very resistant but just by using beads to play with on the platform, while sitting, has really helped.  Rolling a ball or throwing a ball is another way that keeps Maya's mind off of being on the platform.  Each time it seems better, but always at first she is afraid.  By the end of the session she is confident.  Last time she was so confident that she crossed a wobbly bridge.  Then she stood up on the platform all on her own without a hand to hold.

These are small triumphs for our daily lives.  They remind me that she is growing right in front of my eyes.  It makes me fall deeper in love with this little girl of mine.

1st time ever sitting on the platform.  She loved the beads.

After about 40 mins, she stood up on her own.

Exploring the step.

Getting adventurous on the wobbly bridge.

horseys and birthday parties

Around this time of year there seem to be many birthday parties that we attend.  Almost every weekend there is one and sometimes two. Maya has a very busy social calendar.  Sort of like her mama I guess.

Most of the time Maya does pretty well at birthday parties.  Depending on what they are doing.  It is a lot of work because sometimes she just wants to do, what she wants to do and not what everyone else is doing.  She's gotten better over the years in interacting with the other kids though. 

There is one thing that always seems to upset her, even in her own birthday party.  Ironically it's when they sing Happy Birthday and at the end everyone claps and yells hooray or something similar.  It really upsets her and sometimes I just take her away even before they sing to avoid the discomfort.  I'm thinking this is only a typical reaction for a person with sensory issues.  Slowly but surely she is getting better.  

There are a couple of birthday parties that we have gone to this last month that really stand out as successful events.   One was a party at a gymnastics center.  I've been to this gym with Maya before when she was young and she really wasn't that interested in it.  Mostly because she was just starting to walk, I think.  This time I was utterly impressed with how well Maya did.  First off I could really see how preschool has been helping her with following directions.  When the kids lined up and were waiting to take turns for each station (the trampoline, the balance beam and high bars), she actually stood or sat in line with the other kids. 

When it came to an obstacle course of tunnels and balance beams, I was so happy that Maya seemed interested in it and followed the others.  I think that her sensory OT has really been helping her with motor planning.  She loved the trampoline run also, but the cushion pit freaked her out.  It was a good party and I'm even thinking it would be good to start taking some gymnastic classes over the summer.  

This weekend we went to a birthday party at a horse stable.  I was a bit worried that Maya would not like it but I really wanted her to have the experience.  She LOVED it!  Honestly I don't know why I thought it would be any different.  She loved being on the horse.  Of course I was concerned that she would want to get down or fall off, but she didn't move at all when she was on the horse.  She had a smile on her face the whole time.  All the trainers were so sweet to Maya.  They could see the happiness she had from riding.  When it came time to get off, Maya kept signing "more".  It was so cute.

Later on after cake and snacks, we all went over to feed the horses apples and carrots.  Many of the kids were a little squeamish about it, but Maya picked up a carrot and raised her hand to feed the horse without a fear in the world.  She wanted to keep doing it over and over again.  Not until the last carrot and apple was gone did she let up. It was so amazing to see how she reacted to the horses.  She was so calm and happy.  I can see why horse therapy is so good for our special ones.

Here are some photos of the parties and all the fun we've had in the last couple of months.

content and happy.

checking out all the horses.

feeding her new friend.

A natural.

patiently waiting in line.

balance beam with Dada.

parachute play with her friends.

A new year, in February.

Happy New Year!

I know it's rather late to say such things, but I did start this entry back in January.  And now it's the end of February and I still haven't found the time to finish this thing.  In some ways maybe I needed a little break from reading and writing blogs but I've never stopped thinking about what I'd say. Although I have wondered if writing my thoughts down amounts to much.  It's made me question why I do this.  I know I'm not a great writer, I'm not poetic like other bloggers I read, hell sometimes I just don't even know if anyone is reading this thing.  When I really think about why I write here, I think that I just don't want to forget.  I want to always remember the things that Maya does, and to share this with her family and friends. 


I often describe myself as being a hands on mother.  I say this because I can't sit back at the playground and watch my kid play on the jungle gym with the other kids.  I have to be right there with her because she has a hard time dealing with the height of the platform and her sensory issues kick in. At that point she usually holds on to me for dear life.  She doesn't always know what to do with the sand toys I bring with us.  So I remind her how to play. And although she loves to watch the other children playing at the park, she doesn't know how best to interact with them. But these little moments remind me of the upside to being a stay at home mom.  See needs me.  More than that, I am grateful that I can be there as her support and comfort.

Otherwise, Miss Maya is pretty independent.  I say independent but really I mean she doesn't do anything she doesn't want to do until she's ready.  Including go to the potty when mama wants her to go.  Hold hands on the side walk or even walk on the side walk for that matter, (she rather be carried).  She has always done things in her own time.  This of course has been a learning tool for me.  Let's just say everyday I learn more and more about patience and acceptance.


With Maya at preschool and 9 therapies a week, I don't have to tell you it's been really busy here.  Results from a new speech evaluation shed some light on Maya's speech delay.  They said Maya leans towards having Apraxia.  So we added three more sessions of speech therapy per week.  The center we go to has specific techniques that they have developed and so far we are seeing very good progress. 

One day at therapy she was trying to mimic what the speech therapist was telling me.  It was so cool to see this happen.  To recognize that she IS trying makes all the difference in the world.  She is mimicking what barney is singing, what the fresh beat band is singing.  It's so wonderful.  On top of this, for the last few months she has started to say "kay" as her yes. She is learning to communicate not just though ASL but through her voice.  It's slow but everyone who knows her, sees the difference.

I know that Maya is smart in so many ways, I know she understand us clearly.  I know little about Apraxia, but what I have been told is that the connection between the brain and action are lost somewhere along the way.  She knows what she wants to say I'm sure, but she just can't make her vocal cords and mouth do what it needs to do.  The fact that she is not talking sometimes makes me sad.  But I have learned to read Maya's body gestures, facial expressions, ASL signs and even her babbling sounds.

To hear her say words, like kay, go, bye, and of late we are working on Barney, more, and potty.  Well you can imagine how my heart races.  I'm also learning to accept that Maya is where she is meant to be.  It is a challenge but she will learn to communicate with others, whether it is through ASL, a speech device or her own voice.  I do think that her personality is strong, she is a strong person and she will succeed in anything she wants to do.  One thing is certain, I don't take anything for granted with Maya.  Every little milestone she makes I take note and I hope to always share them here with you.