we went to balboa to have BJ's pizza with eric's parents. we met them there. we haven't seen them in a very long time so it was nice to be able to meet up with them, have a yummy dinner and take a walk along the beach with 'the big wheel' (a bike trailer that converts to a stroller that we use all the time to walk with the girls)
tooth number 2.... made its way out. with the help of mom. caelan's tooth had been loose for months an
d the baby tooth wasn't making its way out so the dentist said we could pull it or he would have to... caelan opted for me to pull it out. i went days hoping it would just come out because that is not something i signed up for, dentist... nope. I'm mom.... but lately i have realized what 'they mean' when they say mom's wear all the hats. taxi driver. doctor. and a thousand other things i have been and now now i can add dentist to the list.
me she looses all of her teeth. tooth fairies don't have that much money so i don't know where that darn tooth fairy is getting that! shooooot. I've contemplated pulling mine out to see what i would get :)
character was, then 2 days later come to school dressed up as that character...
oth napkins and cut it for the 'shawl'...
make them the right color... yes, i know, olivia is a pig not a rabbit, but olivia's ears look more like rabbit ears so it worked.
...
caelan has been in school over 100 days now. she had a huge party at school on february 10th.
the class all had homework to bring in that was a chart of 100 and you had to glue 100 small things on each square representing a number- all the way to 100... some kids had macaroni, buttons, etc. caelan broke up sticks and glued them on!
the class made several crafts.
and quite a few other things. the whole day worked around the number 100!
we are so proud of you caelan! great job! you are doing so
a-mazing in school!
______________________________
since the beginning of the year, caelan has learned to color, and like it. she is doing a great job staying in the lines and the beginning of the year she started school with 'chicken scratches across a page...
she can count to 110+, she calls it to infinity and beyond... where as in the beginning of the year she could only count to 50 and then she would need help.
she can write her first and last name, where as in the beginning of the year she could only write her first on her own until needing help.
she went from reading 'step 1 into reading books' to step 2 and 3 (1st and 2nd grade level) which is amazing! she is reading especially well, this is for certain, her strength! writing is coming right along side that since the two go hand in hand with spelling, sounding out words etc.
she has progressed very well and thrives at school. she is in an amazing school and we are privileged to have her in that school, since it is tough to transfer into. God is good. He knew her needs and the school has met her needs and she has met a lot of great friends and i have gotten to be very close with a few of the moms which has been especially nice for me!
riley loves her yogurt parfait's from mc donalds. this is quite possibly the best treat in her book, even over an ice cream cone- which most kids might opt for.
riley loves cars from the cars movie. her collection spans with over 50 of them and she is still collecting. she has the drag strip track, she has 'flo's cafe' she has the car wash, and many other attractions. we are so appreciatve to all who have been helping us on the search of these cars!
riley loves her naps. she still takes an afternoon nap that lasts over two hours.
riley has a new love, and that is her deigo game for her leapster from mimi and grampy. she has had her leapster for a long time, but has recently gotten the hang of one of the games. she has been caught up late at night when we think she is sleeping soundly, she is playing the game! :) and this isnt the cause of the 2 hr naps, although it has made it more important that she gets one :)
another new love for riley is her 'new bunny'. her old bunny has been retired. she now has a new bunny, and she calls it her new bunny.
riley loves to help. she loves to help in the kitchen, she loves to help wash the car, water the yard, plant seeds in the garden.
we love riley to pieces. she has challenged us. she has caused a great deal of growth between eric and i, which is a closeness between us now i cannot explain. she has brought us to our knees in prayer, which both of our children have, as much as any parent could attest to. she has taught us how to love unconditionally. she has shown us that we have a lot of patience to learn. she has given humor to our family. she gives a smile when she really means it, where as a lot of children smile on command or give a smile that isnt reflective of feeling. she desires a closeness with others that others will never comprehend. she desires understanding which she cannot express.
having a child with special needs is a mind blowing experience. at birth we noticed delays during milestones. then at 2 years old we were referred to the regional center of orange county. she went through vigerous tests. once thinking it was hearing then discovering she hears better than she should at this point. basically, through a long road of tests and trying to figure out 'what it is' we learned at an age close to 3 years old we learned the diagnosis, 'apraxia'. we have talked to many of you about this, and some may not have heard about this.
for her apraxia, the site we have been referred to many times by her therapists is :
Thomas Powell, Ph.D. puts it like this,
"Most of us take our ability to communicate for granted. We think of something to say, open our mouths, and the words come out. Although it may appear to be a simple thing, the communication process is actually very complicated. The complexity of human communication becomes especially apparent when we consider the diversity that exists among individuals for whom communication is difficult.
Childhood Apraxia of Speech is a deficit in the ability to plan the motor movements for speech and is considered an oral motor planning disorder. Children with CAS have difficulties transmitting the speech message from their brain to their mouths. Children with significant weakness of the lips, tongue, and jaw may be diagnosed by a neurologist as having Dysarthria. Many children with cerebral palsy and multiple sclerosis have Dysarthria. CAS is usually of unknown origin. Whether or not we know the cause, SLPs can treat the disorder.
Oral-motor disorders are diagnosed by the SLP directly observing the child and completing an examination of both the childs speech and oral mechanism. The oral mechanism exam involves the SLP asking the child to do a variety of tasks (such as pursing lips, blowing, licking lips, elevating tongue, etc.), looks inside the child's mouth, observes the child eating, and listens to the child talk. The therapist will also listen for the child's ability to produce rapid oral movements. A diagnosis of CAS involves consonant and vowel distortions, distorted sound substitutions, errors consistent in type and place, and prosodic errors (prosody refers to pitch, rate, and rhythmic features of speech). Some other behaviors seen in CAS include groping, perseverative errors, and increasing errors as the length of utterance increases. The SLP will determine how "intelligible" the child is (how much of what the child says can other people understand?), and may complete a formal test (like the Kaufman Speech Praxis Test). Like a detective, a good diagnostician looks at many variables before making a diagnosis.
For children who have CAS, therapy should address the movement patterns in syllables, progressing from the simple (one-syllable words with similar sounds at the beginning and end, like "pop" "mom" and "cake") to the complex (multi-syllabic words with many different sounds). There may also be a need to teach more functional responses (e.g. yes, no, I want, I dont want, I need, etc.). In more severe cases of CAS, a child may require an alternative/augmentative form of communication, such as sign language, a communication board, or an AAC (Augmentative/Alternative Communication) device. These are not intended to replace oral speech, but in fact, to facilitate it and to provide the child with a means of communicating with others. Therapy also needs to address prosody. Frequent drill and repetition is required for therapy to be successful. Intense, individual therapy is ideal for CAS. Group therapy is not recommended for CAS, and children with moderate to more severe deficits will require therapy for a number of years."
riley has a moderate to severe case of apraxia.
i'm gonna be totally honest with you, hearing you have a special needs child sort of went in one ear and out the other for us for a long time. we have been advised that it is a sort of denial a parent goes through. because of this denial, or the feeling of wanting to make something certain before we got all wrapped up into it, we began searching second, third and fourth opinions and through out it all, we heard she had this disorder, then we wanted to understand all we could. we read article after article.
it has been such a process. she goes to therapy 3 x a week and they want to up it to 5 x a week. it is very tiresome for riley to go to therapy. the words that flow from our lips becomes a natural process, whereas for riley she constantly has to re-think what she wants to say, and it usually doesnt come out how she knows it needs to sound, and then comes frustration. a lot of the time she will keep quiet in fear of causing someone else frustration since she knows the person she is wanting to speak to wont understand what she wants to say, which is heart breaking for us to watch.
the more that time passes, the more evident it is she is in fact, a child with special needs. as she gets older the more obvious it is. it is so hard as a parent to watch your child struggle, it is hard being the parent that can't do anything about it, but know that it will take time, a lot of time, and a lot of therapy.
every child has their corks. every child has their own set of struggles. rileys are greater than some, and less than some, but why is society so interested in counting? hand picking those with special needs. picking them out of crowd. and often in such a negative manner.
i struggle. i struggle to help my riley. i lean on eric, he is my rock. he brings so much knowledge. so much encouragement. i lean on her therapists for answers, for help, direction, etc.
but the most important thing. i thank Jesus. I thank Jesus for our riley. she a beautiful child of God. with the most beautiful heart of gold. i thank jesus for her, for all of her. she is perfect in every way. just as God designed her to be. and i am becomming the parent God is designing me into. life is a process. and everyone learns in that process.
i love you riley. you stole my heart from the day you came into our world. and you are my buddy and i love being with you on this journey. you have the most incredible sister too! she is so amazing and wants to teach you so many things and loves to introduce you to what is going on in her life.... she loves having you come into her classroom and she brags to others constantly about your greatness and how much she loves you. she is such a great friend. we are greatful Jesus gave you such a perfect sister for you! i want you to know that daddy and i will always do our best. we will do all we can to help you, guide you, and learn more about your amazing-ness that makes you riley!
