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.

There's More to Our Story

It has been a tiring, stressful week in the All Access Pass to Jack household. We thank you so much for your prayers and support. Jack did not vomit again last night and he settled into a restful sleep a little after midnight. He did not wake up crying any after that.

Apparently, Jack's recent stomach virus has temporarily (we hope) slowed down his ability to move food through his stomach resulting in nighttime vomiting. And he has a viral sinus infection and another ear infection.

This morning, he was a little irritable but he's usually that way when he has a new ear infection. He was fine after a little motrin. He went to school today. Ms. Sunny reports that he spent most of the day laughing. Ms. Denise was happy to report that he identified mini oreos as the black cookies.

Jack has had several rough nights from the vomiting that have left his parents completely exhausted. Children, however, bounce back from exhaustion a lot quicker. We were too tired to think of anything else wanted Jack to see what other children do when they are not at school so we let him watch a few You Tube videos. He has recently developed a fascination for little Ali so we watched her You Tube videos a few times. He was fond of her rendition of the ABC's but the Alabama Tutorial really got him moving.

 

It's 10 pm and Jack seems to be resting well and has not vomited. We are praying for a restful night's sleep. Good night!

Impromptu by Request

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

Gotta Know When...

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.

Who doesn't get excited when a child surprises you with a new skill? And what kid isn't excited to learn a new skill? Most of the time kids are pretty excited to show off their new skills and we (their parents) are very excited to see them do it and will ask them to do it again repeatedly.

Jack has recently begun jumping with two feet off the ground. He was joyously jumping one evening and I was, of course, excitedly encouraging him. He did this over and over and over again. When suddenly I remembered that I needed to get it on tape so that I would be able to use it on the blog in order to preserve this precious moment for posterity.

When I reviewed the tape, it reminded me of something very important. Sometimes you gotta know when to stop asking for more more more more. Jack WAS having fun jumping and had been having fun jumping. Then I got the camera out and wanted him to perform even MORE so I could show off so all of you could delight in his accomplishments too because I knew that he would enjoy watching himself on video later. But really when the new skill is getting old or your kiddo is just plain old tired, give it a rest. The skill is not going to go away overnight and they'll be much more willing to do a repeat if you don't wear them out. So just remember, if it's not fun anymore and it's just a performance try backing off. You will get to see it again. Just give it a little time.

Jack's still jumping and getting better at it all the time. I'll get more video of it later when he's in a jumping mood!

Recent Life is Therapy Posts can be found at:
Going to the Movies
What Happens at Home
Try Something Old
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.

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.

Jack's Rockin to Charlie Brown Christmas Today

Don't forget to check out the latest installment of Life is Therapy.

He's on His Way Now....

We have some friends who were nervous about their first meeting with Jack because, you know, he's a rock star! I laughed when they told me about that and said, "Oh, he's just a kid." Some of our friends have decided that Jack really should be a rock star so they gave him his first guitar.

It was supposed to be a Christmas present but I knew he would love it and couldn't wait.

This short clip is made up of a bunch of pictures from the first time we opened the guitar case and showed it to him.

And here he is giving a performance of his skillz a few days later, surpisingly in the exact same outfit. Rock Stars are funny people.

Thank you so much Rodger, Carol, Ethan, and Adam! Sorry that we did not wait for Christmas. :)

Check out the newest Life is Therapy installment here.

PS. Anyone who wants to donate carpet cleaning to us so that these pictures and videos will be more aesthetically pleasing to the eye, please contact me at empwrn@bellsouth.net.

Life is Therapy--How to Get Started

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.

It occurred to me that there may be some people reading this series that may be very much like me and have difficulty with spontaneity and just plain old playing. You can see from my examples how the different things we do work on specific goals that a child needs to accomplish but you don't really know how to apply it to your situation or the things your child needs to work on. You need to be told exactly what to do and exactly how to get started. Don't worry! I get you. I AM you.

The very reason I created this series was to get some interaction and sharing of ideas going. If you have a specific situation or question that you'd like to see addressed, leave a comment with your question. I will answer--maybe even do a whole post about it--and others can see your question and answer too. You will be amazed at how other people's ideas and similiar situations will light a spark in your brain.

First things first. How do you get your kiddo to play the way you want them to so you can work on those goals that you and/or kiddo's teacher or therapists have set for said kiddo?

I have mentioned before the work of Dr. James D. MacDonald. He teaches you how to become your child's Communicating Partner. One of the most basic yet powerful things that I have learned from Dr. MacDonald is that you must first enter your child's world before you can expect him to engage you in yours. The world of children is fun and playful and imaginative not full of rules and set ways of behaving like the world of adults.

So, the very first thing you must do to get your child working on your agenda is to put your agenda aside for a moment. I know that seems counterproductive but I promise you that if you do it, you will wonder why you never tried it before.

Pay close attention to your child and how he/she plays. What is he/she interested in? What is he/she doing? Don't worry about whether he/she is doing whatever it is right. Whatever he/she is doing (that is socially acceptable behavior) is right. That's where you start.

Here's a short video that illustrates the difference between putting forth your agenda and joining your child in his chosen activity.

My agenda here was a pretty simple one. Jack needs to work on interacting with others more and doing more of a give and take kind of thing. I wanted him to splash with me.

Did you notice how I started out not paying attention to what Jack was doing and trying to get him to do what I wanted? It did not matter how many things I threw in that tub or how animated I was in saying "Splash!" Jack did not care what I was doing. If you think about it, he was actually copying my behavior. I did not seem to care what he was doing so he did not care what I was doing.

Jack was spinning Irish in the tub. Once I started singing about spinning, I had Jack's attention. Notice how he perked up? He then told me what to sing and then sang along with me.

Once I had his attention and said, "Splash!" he enjoyed splashing for a brief period*.

*Now let me say that I would have been able to hold Jack's attention a lot longer if I had been physically interactive as well as verbally interactive but I knew the camera was rolling and I was feeling like a bloated whale with stringy hair having a bad body image day and did not wish to be on camera.  

I entered Jack's world of spinning Irish and then showed him a next step of singing about it. He followed right along with me.

Other Life is Therapy Posts can be found at:
Introductory Post
Prepositions at the Park
Rainy Days

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.

Thank God and All of You

When I shot this video, Jack had been asleep for about 40 minutes. It's now been almost an hour and a half and he still doesn't need the Bipap yet. It's been weeks since he's been able to sleep at night for more than 30 minutes without the Bipap. Thank you so much for all your prayers. Our God is an awesome God!




Don't forget to check out the latest installment of Life is Therapy.

Thank You

It used to bug me that a local radio station started playing Christmas music BEFORE THANKSGIVING a few years ago. Not anymore. Thank you local radio station for the lulling music. We needed a nap.
*Yes he is dressed in his PJs still comfy play clothes. Doesn't he look adorable napping with Elmo?


Don't forget to check out the latest installment of Life is Therapy.

Life is Therapy

I am starting my first ever blog series. I hope that it will be informative, encouraging, helpful, and fun.

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.

The other piece to this puzzle is that just about everything can be therapy of one kind or another. Jumping in a pile of leaves? Sensory therapy (crunch of the leaves, feeling of fall after the jump), emotional therapy (joyful exuberance), play therapy (work out some pent up energy), social therapy (turn-taking as you wait for your chance to jump in the pile), physical therapy (gross motor skills required in jumping), vision therapy (identifying the pile), kinesthetic therapy (using combined senses to know when to jump), speech therapy (talking about the leaves, saying boom or crunch), and occupational therapy (picking up leaves). Get the picture?

Here's some more examples. Back in this post, I joked that Jack was getting blue speech therapy by sucking an icee through a straw. Well, it actually is speech therapy. Sucking through a straw works the muscles required for speech and sucking up an icee requires the recruitment of more muscles than say water. This post was an example of how swinging can be used for speech therapy. Of course, swinging is also sensory therapy. Riding a tricycle is physical therapy. Every bite of every meal or snack can be vision therapy and fine motor therapy and sensory therapy as the child finds, touches, and tastes their food. Get the picture?

This series is not just for children with special needs either. Parents of children with typical needs don't really call it therapy when their children practice their skills such as potty training but it's basically all therapy. We're all trying to help our children to develop skills to help them have the best lives they possibly can.

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.

After that long-winded introduction, here is therapy at breakfast starring Jack!


***More Life is Therapy:
Prepositions at the Park
Rainy Days

NOISE is fun!

What happens when you let go of expectations and follow the fun? You may find yourself emptying the dishwasher and then....



:)

"Speech Therapy" at the Park

We learned about Dr. James D. MacDonald and his approach to helping children learn to talk from one of Jack’s speech therapists last summer. We began applying the things we learned but didn’t really truly “get it” until after we joined his Yahoo Communicating group and a similar Yahoo group called Natural Late Talkers. I combed through the resources of their file section and dove headfirst into Dr. MacDonald’s book Play to Talk. It changed the way we began to think of not only Jack’s speech therapy but all of his therapy. It made us remember that every person has to go through stages of development. You can’t leap through development. You go through each part before you get to the next. I can post more on that later….
Anyway, we’ve put Dr. MacDonald’s ideas into practice and Jack’s speech continues to flourish. Here’s a little sample of Jack and I having a communicating partners-style conversation at the park. In this video, our conversation does happen to be with words but you can interact with your child non-verbally before words and even after words begin to build a foundation for a child to learn to stay with people, to enjoy people, and to be interested in people.
I’ve included a transcript here of our conversation since some of it is difficult to understand.


M: You gonna swing? (Great vocab, Mom!)
J: Whee
M: (laughs) Whee!
J: Highlights from 5 symphonies (sometimes he smooshes lots of words together. I recognize what he says because it comes from the beginning of Baby Beethoven). Hamster. Hamster (When he thinks of his favorite videos, he thinks of his favorite parts and Baby Beethoven has a hamster that spins on a wheel. These days anything that spins reminds him of the hamster.)
M: Hamster?
J: Doo doo doo doo (more Beethoven)
M: Doo doo doo doo
(Notice we continued to do the “musical exchanges”. These may not be real words but Jack enjoys interacting back and forth this way. See how many “turns” he takes with this?)
J: Swing
M: Swing!
J: Hey shhhh….Hey hey swing
M: Swing!
J: Help
M: Help?
J: Stop
M: Stop?
J: Stop
M: Push? (I was suggesting that he stay on the swing and I push him some more. Since he was using one word phrases, I did too.)
J: Push

J: Stop stop stop
M: Stop?
J: Stop
M: Stop?
J: stop
M: Stop yes? (This is a little bit of a technique called recasting. We are trying to get Jack to learn to answer yes instead of just repeating what he wants.)
J: yes (He’ll answer yes but right now it usually requires prompting. He’ll get there.)

J: Swing. Push.
M: push?
J: All done get out (again smooshing of the words)
M: All done?
J: Da (that could have been stop but sometimes he goes Russian on us and says Da instead of yes.) All done.
M: Stop?
J: Stop. Irish. (It’s his lovey—a green basketball with “Luck of the Irish” on it for those of you who aren’t familiar with Irish.)
M: Now what?
J: Searching. (Jack has visual difficulties and used to just ask us to bring him stuff he wanted. I began encouraging him to help me look by walking around with him saying, “Searching, searching, searching for _____”. It stuck and now whenever Jack wants to look for something he says “Searching”)
M: We didn’t bring Irish.
J: Go go. (There are certain words and phrases he tends to repeat. Go is usually go go and sit down is usually sit down sit down.)
M: You want to go? (Sometimes he’ll actually say “I want _____”)
J: Irish. Please (we were kind of overlapping here at the end)
M: Go get Irish?
J: Please. (Instead of saying yes he will either repeat what you say or say please.)

Fall Festival

If you follow my twitter feed, you know we went to a fall festival a few weeks back. We had a good time just being out in the fresh air. Although, we made a critical error when we chose our first ride. We all rode the tilt a whirl first. Here's Jack watching it go round and round.
We were actually a little dizzy so we took a break to get something to eat and drink. That took a whole lot longer than we thought it would.
Jack got to drive a couple of older boys around for a bit. Then he drove a boat. I thought he liked the boat. David wasn't so sure. You decide!

Kashi--Part of an Active Preschooler's Lifestyle

He he so we're doing a Kashi commercial. :) Not really. In the interest of full disclosure, I purchased the product consumed in this short clip and we are in no way associated with Kashi. Their fruit and grain bars are good though. Jack was enjoying a Pumpkin Pie Bar while running around our yard and our neighbors' yards. I thought it would make a cute commercial and so I taped some of it and here you go....

Babies Love Watching Other Babies

Here's Jack watching the "Laughing Baby" video from Youtube. Click on the little laughing baby pic at the top and you can watch it too.