Sensory Play

I've seen this idea on lots of different sites and lots of blogs so I don't really remember exactly where I first heard the idea but here's our incarnation.

You need a large container of some kind.

We had this great cookie tin that our neighbor gave us last year. I chose it because the beans make a nice sound when stirred around in the tin.

Add your beans.

Select some small toys and/or prizes that will motivate a reluctant kiddo to reach in for the sensory play.



Bury your toys/prizes.

Hmmmmm......if you are like me and you run out of beans and your toys are not buried, add rice.

You can do surprise digging from here or you can make picture and/or word cards to give the kids a specific item to dig for.

I elected to make cards to encourage Jack to dig. I then labeled the cards with black marker and braille.

Since I had cookies in the "sensory tin", I waited until after lunch when the inevitable cookie request would be made. I explained that we were going to play a game to get his cookie.

I showed him the cards to show him what was buried.

Then I introduced the tin....



Hmmmm....I am not impressed.

He was a little hesitant to stick his hand in so I helped him move the rice and beans around hand over hand.



Got what I'm after!

 Once he found the cookie, he was all done! Well, at least he did not fuss and did reach his hand in. I'll save our rice and beans in the tin for play another day.

Introducing "Cane"

Jack has a new constant companion. No, no, Irish has not been replaced. Where Jack goes, Irish usually goes too but now you'll be seeing Jack, Irish, and "Cane". I read somewhere that it's good for a child who uses a cane to name it. As typical with Jack, he names things what they are [He's got a plush puppy named Woof woof, a barking plush dog named Barking Dog, etc.]. So his cane is Cane.

A cane? Why does Jack have a cane? He's not blind! No, he is not completely blind. I think my recent Life at Dusk post gives a fair analogy of what Jack's sight is like. The cane is for Jack like glasses are for a near-sighted child, it helps him to better understand what he sees. It helps him to better navigate the world around him.

But Jack already wears glasses! Yes, he does. The glasses protect his eyes. Jack's visual impairment is caused by optic nerve atrophy and cortical visual impairment. The problem is not the image that comes into his eyes. His eyes themselves actually do a great job and only need a slight amount of correction. So the glasses don't really help his vision in a functional way.

Here are a few more articles that might help you to better understand Jack's cane use.

Why Do You Want to Make that Child Blind?

STEP TOWARD EQUALITY: CANE TRAVEL TRAINING FOR THE YOUNG BLIND CHILD

Blind Enough for A Cane?

We introduced the cane late last week. David really got Jack's attention by taking the cane and walking around in our tiled bathroom. David didn't say a word but Jack heard that cane tapping and ran after David to see what was going on. Here's a shot of that first evening.

David's next step as Jack's orientation and mobility instructor was to take Jack on an outdoor walk. Jack is already familiar with our home so he prefers not to use the cane in the home. David knew that we needed Jack to see that the cane actually benefitted him.

David is carrying a bamboo walking stick to simulate a cane and showing Jack how to keep the cane in front of him.

It wasn't long before Jack got the idea.

Of course, he's a little boy and he wanted to have a little fun like his Uncle Noah.

Here's a short video taken during this first cane outing.

After walking around on the sidewalk for a while we decided to try locating and going up and down curbs. Jack is very used to having to stop and shuffle walk until he finds the edge of the curb with his feet. Here's David trying to help him realize the cane can help him find the curb so he can continue his normal pace.

Jack discoved on his own that the cane helped him to "see" that the white lines in the parking lot were flat and not elevated. He was fascinated by this and ran his cane over and over the area.

Here's Jack proudly posing with his cane. He told me "Achoo [it's how we used to get him to smile for pictures] take a picture."

Learning how to manage the cane in the grass.

Tap tap tap on the wall

Using the cane to explore the park

Fun fun fun

He's still a little boy so sometimes he has to be reminded that the cane goes on the ground not waved around in the air.

Still perfecting the technique for uneven ground

Crossing a bridge over the creek

Hey Daddy, come sit with us on the creek bank!

Click for more Wordless Wednesday, Wordful Wednesday, and Special Exposure Wednesday posts.

Where the Beep Beep Went Wrong

You might want to review last week's Where the Beep Beep Went Right. And then the intro....

New to the Life is Therapy series? Here's a quick blurb to tell you what it's about:

Sometimes we parents can get bogged down in the notion that the teaching of our children must be done by professionals. Parents of children with special needs are particularly vulnerable to this idea since children with special needs often have to learn and develop quite differently than children with typical needs. This series centers around the idea that learning can and does occur most effectively through everyday life experiences at home and out in the community--for children with both typical and special needs.

You might remember this and this and this

from last year's Beeping Easter Egg Hunt. I was NOT making the same mistakes this year! If he did not want to hunt Easter eggs or pose with his basket, that was fine. We would just enjoy being outside and he could run along the yellow tape to his heart's content.

*As a quick aside, anybody notice that my kiddo has had another growth spurt?*

So that's it...I did everything right and we had an awesome time with no issues at all that day! Yeah, right!

Not long after he began running around in the grass, Jack started asking me to carry him. I tried and tried and tried to tell him to walk but oh no he wanted Mama to carry him. I thought maybe it was because the sun was too bright and I forgot his sunglass clip ons. When the sun is very very bright he tends to get clingy or he gets rooted to one spot or the shade. I relented and carried him around a bit until we happened upon the trampoline and he declared, "Shoes off, jump, jump!" as he frantically pushed at his sandals.

He slowly worked his way up to a standing position on the trampoline as I snapped pictures

.

That's when I noticed how big (relative to how small they were) his feet are getting. I checked out his toes and sure enough his little piggies were rubbing against the inside of those sandals. No wonder he did not want to walk!

A fairly short time after we started jumping (relative to the amount of time we usually spend jumping on a trampoline every time we get a chance), someone announced that the tactile puppet show was about to start. I'd had my heart set on Jack experiencing the tactile puppet show. I gave him the 10 minute countdown and we went inside where he immediately began fussing about going back outside.

It was a bit loud with the live music and people just coming in for the puppet show. I told Jack that this was new and fun. I told him that I wanted him to give it a try before he decided that he did not like it.

A musician brought a drum over and Jack began banging away in about 15 seconds of pure joy but then it clicked...I guess he thought I tricked him. He began getting all upset again and the musician just did not know what to do. Frankly, I didn't either. I was playing all this by ear. I told the musician to go ahead and move on to the next participant since I did not think Jack wanted to play anymore. I tried for another eternity five minutes or so to get Jack to calm down and feel the puppets but he just wasn't having it.

A sympathetic mom offered that her son also gets overwhelmed in large noisy crowds like that one. While I thought that some of it was tantrum (about wanting to be outside), I had to agree that the environment was a bit overwhelming. I took him just outside the door in hopes that he would calm down enough to return. He did calm down but he wasn't going back and that's when we headed for the swings and he was happy again.

So where's the therapy in all this? Well there was the new experience, the jumping, the running around, the listening to instructions (sort of) but mostly there's the review....overall Jack had fun. I know the parts that he enjoyed the best. In review, I can tell you where I went wrong--too small shoes, no sunglass clip ons, not really giving him clear information about the puppet show and how there would be lots of noise and lots of people. Each time, we try something new it prepares us both for the next time we have that experience and if I take the time to review what went right and what went wrong, then I can do a better job the next time. I'll never anticipate everything. I'll never get everything right. It's part of the parenting journey. And now I'm a little further along on the journey. Each experience better prepares for the next especially if we take the time to think over just what happened.

Next time an event doesn't go like you planned, I encourage you to take a little time and review.

Recent Life is Therapy Posts can be found at:

Boring Life
Spring Break
Code Words
For more Life is Therapy Posts, check out the left side bar.

Now it's your turn to participate. This is where we share our ideas and stories with one another. We're all in this together. Let's laugh together, motivate one another, and stimulate each others ideas. If you have a blog, create your own "life is therapy" post and leave your link in the comments. If you don't have a blog just leave a comment with your life is therapy story.

Where the Beep Beep went Right

The Series will return....we're still trying to get caught up around here and that includes returning to a regular posting schedule. If you've got a Life is Therapy story, please feel free to either leave a link or leave your story in the comments.

We went to the Beeping Easter Egg Hunt again this year.
This year, I was smart. I had my expectations in line. I knew what his favorite parts would be.....

the HAMBURGERS,

just being out of doors,

jumping on the trampoline,

and swinging.

Come back later and I'll fill you in on what I got wrong...

Praises During this Small Storm

Jack threw up again sometime last night/early this morning. It's all a blur sometimes. The scary thing is that we did not wake up immediately when it happened. It seems like God usually jolts me awake for these things. But no worries God had his eye on Jack as usual and Jack was laying facedown when I woke up. ***Stop reading here and skip down to the last few sentences of this paragraph if you have a weak stomach.*** I know this is a little graphic but I just want you to know how much God takes care of our little guy. Jack was lying facedown and that caused all the vomit to exit the mask into the Bipap tubing so he did not breathe it in and cause lung damage. Our God is an amazing glorious God who deserves oh so much more praise than I will ever give!!! Anyway I don't know how long he laid like that before I woke up and turned on the light to check on him because I realized something was odd (yet another praise because I was really very sleepy and was just going to turn him over but something (shout out to God!) made me turn on the light first). Anyhow, I turned on the light and was getting him cleaned up when he began vomiting again and much more that time. He refused to eat all day and David said he was pretty lethargic until I finally dragged back home. He perked up a little when his biggest playmate and snuggly comfort item (ME!) arrived. He did eat a little dinner (some cereal and fruit bars--his choice). He's been asleep for a couple of hours and he has not thrown up yet. Pray pray!


Dave is feeling okay. He says he's feeling better since he's at home where he has his medications (Mucinex and Sudafed) and remembers to take them.

I had to work today while my brain tried to knock its way out of my skull little by little. I went to the doctor this afternoon. He says that my neck and shoulder pain were most likely the precursor to me getting sick. He says it's yet another viral sinus infection to be blamed on the ever changing barometric pressure. He gave me a shot to decrease the inflammation, particularly my throat and gave me some other meds and praise the good Lord, meds for my head to quit pounding. They are working.

Sometimes we both cry....

I hope that my wise, sweet husband and amazing father to Jack is right. Jack was just really tired tonight. In retrospect, I'm pretty sure that he is right.

Jack cried that he wanted to watch more you tube videos but it was bath time and I cajoled him to the bathroom with the offer of a piggy back ride. But we got there and it all fell apart. He wanted to take a bath. He wanted Irish. He did not want to take a bath. He wanted to take a bath. He was all done. He took his socks off but cried about getting out of his shirt. He did not want to use the bathroom. He did not want to put on his PJs. He wanted Mama. He wanted Mama to go away. He wanted to sit on Mama’s lap. He wanted Mama to go away.

My mind whirled. What do I do? He will live if he doesn’t get a bath tonight but wait! If I let him skip this bath will it teach him that he can throw a fit and get out of doing things? Is this a fit? Is something wrong? Is he stressed? What does he want? I wish I could understand everything he says. What does he want? Does it matter what he wants? He needs to get to bed. He’s so upset. How will he get to sleep? Is something bothering him?

I finally got him calmed down and got him into bed. He drifted off to sleep and the evening routine of keeping him breathing while asleep began. Then Dave brought the mail and there’s a letter from the school. It’s time to figure out if he should go to kindergarten next year. It’s time to plan his goals for next year.

Jack’s oxygen levels began to drop. We propped him up on pillows. He coughed and sputtered from the ever present night-time secretions. He tossed and turned and rolled off the pillows.

My mind whirled. Should we give him Afrin? How many days has it been since his last dose? Why is he having such a hard time these past few nights? Should we go ahead and put the Bipap on? Is he recognizing the color black? Should we take a step back from potty training for a bit? Does he need B12 supplementation? Is he stressed out? What was he saying earlier tonight?

And I cried a hard cry like I have not had in quite a while. And I prayed. I prayed and cried. I am overwhelmed and I do not have the answers. I don’t even have all the questions yet. As I cried and prayed sitting there next to Jack’s bed, I remembered what I believe. I don’t have to have the answers and it is not all dependent upon me. God has a plan for Jack that I cannot begin to fathom. I will not always understand God’s plan and it will not always seem fair to me but that does not make the plan any less good.

The Blank Stare--Word(less/ful) and Special Exposure Wednesday

Compare this

with this

.

Obviously, it's the same kid. Look again. What are your impressions? If this is your first time here and you've never met Jack, heard about Jack, or read about Jack, that first picture gives a much different impression than the second picture.

The second picture shows a child who is engaged with the world around him. He's looking at something. He is reacting to something.

But what about that first picture? He is not looking at anything. His facial expression is somewhat blank. He does not appear engaged with the world around him. He just has a blank stare.

Jack has this look. It's hard to get on camera because I'm never thinking about the camera when I see it. I went back through several months’ worth of pictures to find that first one and it doesn't capture the look completely. The look is a blank stare. You might describe it as staring off into space--like his eyes are open but he does not see anything.

Often he is very engaged with the environment around him when he does this. He is just not engaged visually. He may be listening intently or tactually exploring.

Have you ever seen a video of someone who is wandering about in the dark before their eyes adjust? That’s the look!

I worry a bit because the look might make some people jump to conclusions regarding Jack’s intellect. At first glance, he might appear to be completely disengaged from the world. It takes effort sometimes to pay attention and figure out just what he is paying attention to.

It’s difficult to explain to people that Jack doesn’t always use his eyes. But that’s what it is. If I had his vision, I hope that I would find other ways to explore my environment too. Still, he’s not fully blind so to treat him as if he was totally blind makes no sense. He has vision and he uses it. He doesn’t have good vision though so it doesn’t make sense to treat him as if he can see the world like most of us. AND it’s hard to know just exactly what he can and cannot see. It’s hard to know if he is not using his vision because he really can’t see something or if he has just adapted to not using vision that is blurry/unfocused.

Back in this post [editor's note: How ironic! That post was written one year ago today.], I said that I cannot wait until we’re on the other side of Jack’s vision issues and have things figured out. Well, we’re still on this side of figuring things out. I’m not crying for the lack of vision anymore but we still don’t have a solid plan and I still feel like we’re fumbling around in the dark trying to figure out what part his vision is playing in Jack’s overall development and what we should or should not be doing as far as adapting his school work and his environment.


Do you know someone who is legally blind and has vision of 20/300 at best? I’d love to hear from someone who sees like Jack sees.

Don't forget to check out yesterday's Life is Therapy post where you can learn why boring is good and link up your own Life is Therapy post.


Click for more Wordless Wednesday, Wordful Wednesday, and Special Exposure Wednesday posts.

Boring is Good

Nobody likes to do the same thing day after day after day, right? No, wrong. We'll get to that in a minute. First, the intro....

New to the Life is Therapy series? Here's a quick blurb to tell you what it's about:

Sometimes we parents can get bogged down in the notion that the teaching of our children must be done by professionals. Parents of children with special needs are particularly vulnerable to this idea since children with special needs often have to learn and develop quite differently than children with typical needs. This series centers around the idea that learning can and does occur most effectively through everyday life experiences at home and out in the community--for children with both typical and special needs.

Children actually do love to do the same things over and over again in the exact same way. That's why many, many parents complain that their heads will explode if they have to watch [insert friendly TV character from kids show] ever again. It's the same reason that night after night after night, kids choose the EXACT SAME book to be read as a bedtime story. That's why they ask you to read the book AGAIN as soon as you finish.

But this is so boring! Why? Why do they do it? Are they trying to drive us nuts? Make us go crazy? Yes! It's all a plot that they have all devised to bring us parents down so they can take over and eat all the candy they want. Of course not. Children just like to know what to expect. As adults when there is so much mundane routine to life, it's hard to remember that everything is new to children. They are constantly bombarded with new information and new abilities that they did not know they had.

Routines, repetition, and sameness give their world stability. When you are reading Brown Bear, Brown Bear what do you see for the fortylevenmillionth time, your child knows the next line is I see _________ looking at me. It's comforting. It helps them to feel confident that there are some things about this great big world that they do know.

AND when your child is able to draw upon that confidence, you will see them dare to do a little more.

For instance, Jack is a late talker. At 4.75 years old, he talks in mostly two to three word phrases with occasional longer phrases thrown in. But when mealtime comes, he can say an entire 22 word prayer with very little prompting/assistance. In fact, he begins by telling everyone to put their hands up, hands down, hands together. I know, "It's a miracle!" Well, yes, but it's a miracle brought about by the God given gift of routine. We say the same prayer the same way at EACH meal and it is the same one that they use at his school. Because David and I followed the school's lead and used their prayer, Jack was able to know what to expect at each meal. He ventured out a little at a time growing confident with each attempt and as the routine continued he said more and more until he did the whole thing. He even lead our small church in prayer one Sunday evening. He needed a little more prompting that time because it was a bit out of the norm but the prayer itself was so routine for him that he was able to apply it to the new situation.

So the next time, you think your head might explode by your child's insistence on doing something exactly the same way AGAIN remember he/she has a great big world to learn about and this is one way of making it all manageable.


Recent Life is Therapy Posts can be found at:
TV is NOT the Enemy
The Grocery Store
Know When to Stop

Now it's your turn to participate. This is where we share our ideas and stories with one another. We're all in this together. Let's laugh together, motivate one another, and stimulate each others ideas. If you have a blog, create your own "life is therapy" post and link to the specific post in the Mr. Linky below. If you don't have a blog just leave a comment with your life is therapy story.

TV is NOT the Enemy

Yes, I said it. TV really is not the enemy. But before we get to that--the intro...

New to the Life is Therapy series? Here's a quick blurb to tell you what it's about:

Sometimes we parents can get bogged down in the notion that the teaching of our children must be done by professionals. Parents of children with special needs are particularly vulnerable to this idea since children with special needs often have to learn and develop quite differently than children with typical needs. This series centers around the idea that learning can and does occur most effectively through everyday life experiences at home and out in the community--for children with both typical and special needs.

I know. I know. There are all kinds of studies out there that say that tv viewing is bad for children. I completely agree that plopping your child down in front of the tv (no matter what the program) for loads of unattended time is not good. Watching Baby Einstein videos alone will not make your baby an Einstein.

But TV and video viewing can be a great time for you and your child to interact and learn about things outside your world and even take a different look at everyday things around you. This is true whether your child is 4 or 40. The important part of the equation is you. Join in your child's tv/video viewing. Talk about what you see on the screen. Talk about your values. Talk about how you would have done things differently or the same as the characters. Act out the different character's parts together with your child. TV/video viewing can be a great bonding time.

Jack is a late talker. He is still trying to figure out how to tell the rest of us the many thoughts that are floating around in his head. His DVDs have been a great springboard to communication and a better understanding of the words he has been saying. When a triangle is on the screen and Jack says "Try ay kul", the light bulb goes on and suddenly that word he's been saying makes sense!

Children in the early stages of talking often have difficulty holding conversations because they don't know what they are supposed to say. They have to think about what you said, think of the words they need for a response, and then get their muscles working together just right to form the words that are needed. Playing out the storylines from videos are a great way for children to practice turn-taking speech. One of the hardest elements of conversations has been eliminated--coming up with the words. It's predictable. They know what you are gonna say and they know what they are supposed to say. It's a confidence builder and a great way for a child to learn to practice waiting for the other person to take their turn in conversation.

Instead of bemoaning your child's love of that flashing box, try joining them for a bit and see where it takes you.

Recent Life is Therapy Posts can be found at:
Try Something Old
Know When to Stop
The Grocery Store
For more Life is Therapy Posts, check out the left side bar.

Now it's your turn to participate. This is where we share our ideas and stories with one another. We're all in this together. Let's laugh together, motivate one another, and stimulate each others ideas. If you have a blog, create your own "life is therapy" post and link to the specific post in the Mr. Linky below. If you don't have a blog just leave a comment with your life is therapy story.

Update from the Eye Doctor

Jack had his 6 month check up with Dr. Cogen. The good news is that his optic nerves appear unchanged. His prescription for his glasses have also not changed. Dr. Cogen told us again that he is mostly prescribing the glasses to protect Jack's eyes to preserve the vision he does have.

Dr. Cogen told us that Jack's optic nerve atrophy is "grade 4" and at this stage of atrophy his optic nerves will not swell. He said that there would have to be dramatic changes to the optic nerves for him to be able to see a difference with the naked eye. This kind of takes out one avenue of assessing intracranial pressure (pressure in Jack's head) between MRIs.

Our biggest indicator for pressure changes now will be neurologic signs and symptoms that Jack may exhibit. Fortunately, Jack is more active than ever and he communicates more everyday. This will make it easier to notice neurologic changes.


We'll continue regular follow ups with Dr. Cogen so that he can monitor the optic nerves for any major changes and also to regularly assess for problems that are emergent but may not be readily obvious since the usual symptom would be loss of vision--something that would be hard to assess in Jack.

Don't forget to check out this week's Life is Therapy.

Literacy for a Preschooler with Visual Impairment

I snapped some shots of Jack doing a little reading the other day.

I was browsing through my pictures wondering what to write about. I saw these shots of Jack enjoying one of his "make a sound" books and I remembered that I had promised a reader that I would write about low vision.

Back in February of 2009, we learned that Jack is actually legally blind in his "good" right eye. As far as we can know from the testing, Jack can perceive light through his left eye but the optic nerve does not send a signal to the brain showing any images from the left eye. Jack's vision in his right eye tested at 20/300. We'll see Dr. DiCarlo again later this month and Dr. DiCarlo may be able to obtain a more accurate figure since Jack is much more verbal and might be more cooperative with the testing this year.

As soon as I had the chance, I began combing the internet for information and resources. I was still back in fix-it mode and I just knew that there had to be a way to make this manageable so that it would not impact Jack's development too much. Yeah, I laugh now. Of course, it impacts his development!

I digress...we are still very early in our journey with Jack's vision and it is just one of many factors that Jack is dealing with. For now, we are putting large print along with braille in Jack's environment

It actually says refrigerator and there is one on the freezer that says freezer.

Dr. DiCarlo told us that Jack needs letters 2 to 3 inches high for near work so I printed the labels with the biggest font that would fit on the surface. It was easier for things like walls and doors to rooms but I had to go with smaller than 2 inch letters for the refrigerator and freezer or else the labels would not have fit. I then used a braille labeler to label each of the printed labels with braille as well. At first, we would call Jack's attention to the label and get him to feel the braille just so he would notice it. But the idea is to just have accessible print and braille in his environment so that it will be familiar and so he can incidentally pick up on some reading skills just like a sighted child who sees written words everywhere does.

I also began seeking out resources for obtaining print-braille books. I used my labeler to add braille to some of Jack's already favorite books but it takes a lot more time and effort than you might imagine to add braille labeling to a book. Luckily, there are resources like Seedlings Braille Books for Children. They have a program called Anna's Angels. You can sign up a child with a visual impairment and he/she will receive two free books. You can sign up yearly.  National Braille Press has a program called ReadBooks!. They will send you a bookbag full of great information to get you started as well as free print-braille book for your child. The Braille Institute has a program called Dots for Tots. In this program, your child will receive a multi-sensory story book kit a few times a year. All of the above also have print-braille books available for purchase. The Kenneth Jernigan library will send you print-braille books that you can borrow for up to three months. Your local librarian should also be able to help you sign up for your state or other local agency library for the blind. You can have books delivered to your local library or to your home.

This list of resources is not meant to be comprehensive. These are the programs that we have become involved with and we have been very pleased with the quality of materials that we received from these places. Jack is not yet reading braille or print although we know that he recognizes some print words such as pharmacy and Baby Einstein. At this point, we are still focused on just having both braille and print as a natural part of his environment.

I hope you found this helpful. If you know of other resources that also provide free or low cost high quality print-braille books, please leave a comment and let me know!

Don't forget to check out this week's installment of Life is Therapy.

Life is Therapy--Videos

New to the Life is Therapy series? Here's a quick blurb to tell you what it's about:

Sometimes we parents can get bogged down in the notion that the teaching of our children must be done by professionals. Parents of children with special needs are particularly vulnerable to this idea since children with special needs often have to learn and develop quite differently than children with typical needs. This series centers around the idea that learning can and does occur most effectively through everyday life experiences at home and out in the community--for children with both typical and special needs.

This week, let's talk about videos. Last week, Mommytoalot shared a video of her son Joey dancing to a video on YouTube. Back in October, Rachel posted a couple of cute videos of Ali and AJ playing together. Go check those out if you have not already. It's fun. Most kids like to watch and/or listen to videos of themselves. They find themselves fascinating. Jack is no exception. He loves to see himself playing and having fun. Some of his favorites right now include swinging at the park, banging on pots, saying "Happy Birthday", and splashing in the tub.

Making and watching videos of your child playing can be therapeutic in so many different ways. Watching videos over a span of time can show you how your child has grown physically and developmentally. Sometimes watching videos of your new talker can help you to recognize some of the words that he or she has been trying to say. Watching a video of your child can put into context some of the silly things that you've wondered about.

If you are in the video with your child, you can use the video as a check up on your interaction skills. Do you wait long enough to give your child a chance to do things on his/her own or do you take over play? Are you directive or playful? Do you respond to his/her attempts at interaction? Do you say and do things that are possible for him/her? Are you having fun?

An unexpected benefit that we have discovered from watching videos together is that Jack uses the videos to refine his speech and other skills. When we watch these short clips of our interactions, Jack will often take over my "speaking role" in the video. He'll imitate me giving directions or laughing or whatever. He also repeats himself but often more clearly than he says the words in the original video. He watches himself playing intently as if he is studying himself like a golfer trying to perfect his swing.

Give it a try. Grab your camera or camera phone and make some videos. Watch them together and have fun!

Recent Life is Therapy Posts:

Relfecting on Where You've Been
What's in Your Child's World
Setting Goals
For more Life is Therapy Posts, check out the left side bar.

Now it's your turn to participate. This is where we share our ideas and stories with one another. We're all in this together. Let's laugh together, motivate one another, and stimulate each others ideas. If you have a blog, create your own "life is therapy" post and link to the specific post in the Mr. Linky below. If you don't have a blog just leave a comment with your life is therapy story.