Recap of Progress

At the bottom is my list of goals from February. In a little over 6 months, there have been tremendous changes.

She now responds most of the time when I call her name. We still get ignored some of the time, but for the most part, we get her to look. When she first came home, we thought she ignored because of the language barrier. Then we thought she could have had a hearing problem. We ruled that out quickly, but didn't know why she ignored us.

One of the most puzzling things was that she didn't call us mama or dada. She was certainly capable of saying the words, she already had for a while. She just didn't connect with us enough to call us by name. This changed very quickly after starting NR. Now she calls me mom all of the time because she hears her sisters calling me that.

Personal space-hmmm, we're still working on this one, although it's getting better.

She seems to be a little more aware of dangerous situations, but is still a little reckless. Her eyes are not yet totally working together, so this makes her depth perception a problem. If you can't tell if you are 1 foot in the air or 10, then I think you would tend to take risks.

Sensitive to hot or cold-She hasn't been outside in the cold weather because we haven't had any! She did know when the bath water was too hot coming out of the spout, otherwise, she hasn't had any exposure.

Move to music-this is probably the biggest change. This is a child who loves music from day 1. I am big into music exposure for kids. She has listened to all kinds of classical music, as well as traditional Chinese and English kids songs. She can recognize songs with one or 2 notes, so she has an ear for music, so not moving a muscle to music was very bizzare. NR unlocked that for her. One day, not long after starting NR, she moved her little body to music. Now, she dances all around the room and moves her whole body! What a pleasure to see her physically enjoying the music she loves. I just can't wait until her body and brain are fully connected so she can enjoy everything she loves to the fullest.

Toothbrush-this is a wonderful one! We are finally able to brush her teeth!!!! This has been a huge concern of mine. A child with such an extreme case of oral defensiveness does not need dental problems at a later age. Imagine not wanting someone in your mouth and then needing extensive dental work. I wouldn't want her to have anesthesia at such a young age just to work in her mouth. Hopefully it's not too late for her to avoid decay. Her teeth are beautiful and white with no buildup, that is a miracle after going so long with no brushing. Yesterday was the first day that I really felt like I got a complete brushing in, how exciting.

Her fearfulness of loud noises or toys had diminished somewhat. She is still scared of loud noises and tried to climb up my leg when she is caught off guard. The good thing is that she knows where to go for comfort and is able to be comforted. She can even say she is scared or afraid. In her words, 'gared' and 'fraid'

She is still sensitive to clothing textures, but is getitng a little better. She can sometimes be distracted to tolerate it, but eventually tries to take off the offending item.

She is sticking a little closer instead of wandering off. She will at least turn around to see where we are. She doesn't have much opportunity to run off, we are always with her. I'd love to be able to test her in this situation to see when she realizes she's alone, but I don't have a safe place for that.

She still won't put a cup or straw in her mouth, but she's getting close. Sometimes I force her a bit just to see that it's safe. She's okay with that.

She will point to objects in a book now. This has expanded our reading possibilities greatly. She isn't always cooperative, but she's allowed to be a 3 year old.

She is learning compassion, although she is still puzzled when someone gets huts from something she's done. The other day, I tripped over something and hurt my toe. I made a big deal about it because it really hurt, but still went into the other room. She was in my room with her daddy when it happened. I didn't know until I returned a few minutes later that she had repeated endlessly, "You hurt your toe? You hurt your toe?" while recreating the incident for her daddy. When I came back into the room, she came up to me and wanted to kiss my boo-boo. She is role playing a bit with a doll now and acting very nurturing. That is very nice to see.

Eye contact is improving, although there is a general disconnect with the world. Sometimes, she'll look me right in the eyes and tell me a little story. I can't understand a lot of it, but she'll rattle off a string a sentences to me. I make her look at me, and she will do what I tell her 99% of the time if I insist on eye contact. I'm hoping to talk to an attachment therapist to see if we need to see one or not. I think a session or two would help us a lot and be a good companion to our NR therapy. We will go for another re-eval in November, I'm very excited to see where we are, how much time is left, and what else needs to be done.

I think the main thing we need to work on is sensory for eating and self regulation. I think a bit of attachment work will solidify her connection to us and the world, and make her want to join the rest of the world. She really doesn't believe it's a safe place, so she stays in her own world that she knows. she is very slow to let her guard down, but slowly she is learning that we are there to protect her. I look forward to a bright future with my amazing daughter. I can't wait for her to be comfortable in this world and show us what she's made of. Watch out world, she is soon to make a grand entrance!





Thursday, February 5, 2009
My List
Here's my list of things my daughter does or doesn't do that I hope to help with our NR therapy:

Ignores when I call her name.
Doesn't call us by name-mama and dada
We need her to eat more solid food and allow to be spoon fed
Show more affection
Give other little kids too big hugs, doesn't respect personal space
Not aware of dangerous situations
Isn't sensitive to hot or cold
Doesn't move to music
Won't allow a toothbrush in her mouth
Fearful of vibrating toys or toys that are too loud
Sensitive to clothing textures
Wanders away without looking back
Won't try a cup or straw
Won't point to objects in book
Doesn't realize when she hurts someone
Need more eye contact