Disney

We had a great trip to Disney World this past weekend. Rides that S was formerly afraid of-she wasn't afraid anymore. Each of her 3 older sisters wanted a turn to sit with her on a ride because they wanted to see her enjoy it. They are so thrilled and proud big sisters, they share in our joy at seeing their sister overcome her obstacles. I've been trying to think of a list of things to discuss with Bette, and I am thankfully coming up short!!! How exciting is that? We went to a new OT last week and I was pleasantly surprised that she seemed to "get it!" I didn't like how she wasn't sensitive to saying negative things about S in front of her, but I willl have time to tell her that I prefer not to say things in front of her. She is 4 1/2 and knows exactly what is being said. We're re-visiting OT because I wanted a new eval to see where we still needed work. The only thing I want to work on is self-regulation. The only place we are really seeing this is with pre-school where she is with a lot of activity and other children. When she is at the park, she plays beautifully with other children. She used to be right up in their face and invade their personal space. That's not really an issue anymore. We still have sensitivity to sound, but she is really good at covering her ears. We are doing well with potty training, I still don't know if there is a physical reason that it is taking so long. I accepted long ago that she is on her own timetable and that I am just going to enjoy the ride rather than wonder when we're are getting off the ride. Of course I would love someone to tell me the endpoint, but who can complain when their child is pure joy. I have dealt with so many things with my daughter, and our entire family is totally immersed in this because families experience everything together, good and bad. I am so grateful for what I'm not dealing with. We have never had a sleep issues or rages. We don't have manipulation or controlling behavior. When people say God never gives you more than you can handle, isn't that the truth? I never expected this journey, but I am a better person for it. It has taught me more patience, more compassion, more understanding, less judging, and gratitude. I hope I can assist others through our trials. I wrote on the Neuro-network group today about 'lasts' being more important than 'firsts." I am so happy I read about the lasts when my older children were still young. The hardest last has been when then turn mommy into mom. Since I have 3 children older than S, she calls me 'mom'. I told her, "I'm mommy to you little one!" My almost 20 year old will still call me mommy on occasion. I think the lasts for our kids who struggle are very important. The last time that S covers her ears when fireworks go off will be a reason to celebrate. The last time she asks me to carry her up the stairs will be a huge reason to celebrate. My aching knees will be happy! Last week at Chinese class, she said to me, "I'll go get the snack myself!" This was a huge deal since we were in an auditorium type room on a college campus and the snacks were as far away as you can get from where we were. She always surprises me with the things she wants to do. I have been in such a protective mode with her, I know I don't give her all of the opportunities that I should. I think since she's my 4th child, I just have no pressure for her to meet traditional milestones. I love to see her with other children her age now because the gap is closing between them. I wish I could see into the future to know if she will eventually be like her same age children.

While I write this, she has been beside me. She loves to play with cars and she turns them on their side to show that they are sleeping. She said to me, "Look at the Z's coming out." She calls the ZZZZ's 'symbols' to show they are sleeping. I think I wrote about this earlier when she first said it, but I will tell you again just in case I didn't write it before. I asked her what the letter Z was for(meaning the sound) and instead of telling me the sound she said, "Z is for snoring" Ahh, the benefit of reading.

The OT said since she was so attuned to sound, she was probably more of a visual learner. This OT is very observant, I can't wait to see how she can help us. We will go weekly for a while and see if it helps. She said she will work closely with the teacher, which is very exciting. Maybe if the teacher hears it from an OT, she will belive it. Sometimes she wants to treat S like any other kid, I'm not sure if it's because she thinks she can help any child, or she doesn't quite buy the SID reason for behavior.

That's all for now, we go for our re-eval next week. I can't wait.