Friday, July 25, 2008

BODY SOX??? I Want One!!!



I found this very cool new thing, it is called a body sox. My daughter has Ataxia so deep pressure and body awareness is always something that we struggle with. My little girl would have a BLAST playing in one of these.....well actually my family is just crazy enough that we would ALL be playing in these (in the secrecy of our own yard :) ) I think it would be fun to play the dance freeze game!!! LOL



I found Terri Mauro's write up about Body Sox and she has given us five great ways to use Body Sox.

Body Sox are colorful bags made of a stretchy, see-through, breathable fabric. They have a long slit on one side that makes it easy for your child to get in and out. Exploring the boundaries of the bag provides comforting deep pressure and awareness of body position for your child. Besides the fun of exploring the boundaries of the bag, your child may find it very calming to have the world shut out for a while. Here are five things to do with that bag, for starters. You can order one through the equipment catalogs on the list of Sensory Integration Tools and Toys.
1. Have your child stand inside it and push against the sides with his hands, or lay down and push with his feet.
2. Start your child off in the bag when making him into a burrito.
3. Let your child walk or crawl around, with your support and protection.
4. Play a "dance and freeze" game, and take pictures of the funny positions your child winds up in.
5. Use it as a calm retreat when your child is in sensory overload.

For more info about this...follow the link

http://specialchildren.about.com/od/sensorystrategies/qt/bodysox.htm

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Did you know...our kids can do anything!!

I recently ran across this wonderfully uplifting report done by ABC News -Cheerleaders Find Destiny, Troupe Geared Toward Special Needs Girls Spurs Astonishing Changes. The article was written last October, but it is a reminder that the only limitations we put on our kids are in OUR mind...as far as they are concerned...they can do ANYTHING.

If you would like to read about this wonderful program follow any of these links:

ABC ARTICLE: http://www.abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=3673974&page=1
WASHINGTON POST ARTICLE: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2007/09/20/ST2007092002763.html?sid=ST2007092002763
DESTINY PROGRAM: http://www.dreamallstars.com/cd/

I hope my daughter wants to be a cheerleader, OH YEAH...she is a budding artist :)

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Wordless Wednesday....cutest little Easter bunney EVER!

this is an old picture but I just couldn't resist sharing it!

Markers, Markers, who's got the Markers???

Well, today was a hard day....isn't it amazing how much of a roller coaster life really is? I decided to fight with my oldest ALL day. If she was a teenager I think I could understand it....but she's NOT.

"L" loves to color and today she decided to color me a beautiful card. In the excitement of having some girls come over for a slumber party this weekend, when she was done coloring the card she left the markers on the couch. She ran off to her room to get it ready for the girls that were arriving.

My youngest thought this would be the PERFECT time to kick back on the couch and work on HER artwork....and have a little snack.....and do some body art.......really I didn't think she was going to be the artiest that I found out she is. In a matter of about 5 MINUTES (really doesn't take long in our house for chaos to hit) I walked back in the room to find my beige couches with scribble rainbow marks ALL over them. Green must be her favorite color because she had it ALL over her belly, arms and legs.....her lips were red and blue.....they must have appeared to be the best snack in the house because when I found them she had SUCKED the color out of them and eaten the caps! OMG!!!!!

My poor little "L" got the brunt of my anger. "HOW COULD YOU LEAVE THE MARKERS ON THE COUCH?????" I yelled.......Everyone in our family knows that we NEVER leave markers or crayons within reach of "M"......Now looking back it was an honest mistake on her part. A typical thing for a kid to do....sadly things aren't typical in our house.

I feel bad tonight for my oldest....she really is getting the raw end of the deal. She thinks that her sister gets all of the attention (therapy, meetings, special schools, bus rides...you name it), L gets in trouble for things that are really normal, but could seriously hurt her sister.....they share a room and "L" has to pick up more stuff than "M". The balancing act that we have to do as parents of a special needs child (and typical child) is fragile.......

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Speekings of a child?

All to often I forget the my little girl is getting older. I think part of the reason is because she doesn't talk. She just seems younger than she is. This weekend she got to spend the night with Grandma and Grandpa. When she came home she seemed a little standoffish, (is that the correct spelling???). Grandma and Grandpa came over a little after she came home and she didn't want anything to do with me. WOW...that is different, normally she is glued to my hip. Finally after about 3 days of her showing me that she didn't appreciate me going away for a night, she warmed up to me again. On Sunday we were playing and at a one special moment I looked into her eyes and saw that she is growing up. She isn't a baby anymore. She has likes and dislikes. It is harder to tell what they are because she can't talk yet, but she still has them. I decided that we need a better communication system...somehow I need to know what she wants, likes, doesn't want.....

I know, all of you speech pathologists would tell me to have pictures or signs....that just doesn't work very well in my home. We are spontaneous, on the go, always have things going on - we don't always know the sign or have a picture handy....I wish there was a magical device that could read my little M's thoughts and speak them....

OH, the wonderful world of special needs. It is forever adventurous.

Friday, July 11, 2008

FREE THERAPY....Bubble Blowing

My daughter doesn't speak yet and "lip rounding" is VERY challenging for her. We have used bubble blowing therapy for several years. We never realized that blowing bubbles was so therapeutic! Take some time, have some fun and blow bubbles....its FREE!

I found this great website that offers a recipe for making your own bubbles, I use some scented dish soap so for scented bubbles....have fun!

http://www.cerebralpalsy.org/category/treatment-and-therapy-news/

#1 on the list of free therapy- Blowing Bubbles!

Yes, this is one of the most effective things you can to to develop muscles needed for speech. You use the same muscles to blow bubbles as you do to form sounds in speech.

Here is cheap and easy bubble recipe :
Bubble Recipe1/2 cup of dish washing liquid (Dawn or Joy)
2 cups of water2 teaspoons of sugar
Add your choice of food coloring if you like.

Here is more information about cerebral palsy therapies.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Don't think negative thoughts

Did you know? Strong negative emotions lead to damage of immune system.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Sunrise


I love this picture. It reminds me of a VERY special place to me.

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Holding Back the Tears

It is a HOT HOT HOT day today. I walked outside at about 6am and it already felt like it was 80 degrees. UGH......smoke fills the air and the heat is smothering.....what is the world coming to? Global Warming?

My little one rides the bus to school. I spoke with one of the other bus drivers a couple of weeks ago and mentioned that the heat was affecting my daughter because her latest medication keeps her from sweating, therefore when she gets hot her temp rises and rises until eventually we end up with heat stroke or something.....who in the world should have to worry about this.....definitely not a child! I have to always carry a squirt bottle or little mister with me where ever I go. My poor little angle. Anyways, I told this bus driver about my daughters ability to over heat and she said I should request a bus that has air conditioning. I really don't like to put people out and decided not to call the transportation department. Mentally, I decided to pick my daughter up when it was to hot so that she can cool off in the nice A/C of the car. Well, today I went to put my little one on the bus and told the driver that it was just to hot and that I was going to pick her up from school myself and the driver looked at me and said......"OH GOOD!Your daughter has been on my mind for the last day or so. I have been worried about her being on this hot bus. I am glad that you are picking her up.".................I can't express how terrible I feel right now. Our bus driver felt bad for my daughter and did not say anything to me? Should I even be putting her on the bus at all? Am I a bad parent? Why do I worry about putting others out, I should have told them I WANT an A/C bus for my daughter?

Sometimes I just need a little break and with the price of gas, I thought I was doing the right thing........

Monday, July 7, 2008

Adversity

If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant;
If we did not sometimes taste of adversity,
prosperity would not be so welcome.

~Anne Broadstreet

Right now this fits right into my life. I can't wait until the adversity passes so that I can have a taste of prosperity!

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

I am having a special needs moment!

OK....I just can't kick myself back into gear. I am SO overwhelmed right now. We have this construction project that is literally making me sick to my stomach and is TOTALLY over budget now AND now to top it off my little one had 5 SEIZURES yesterday....what the hell? Now I have to tell her Neurologist and he is probably going to mess with her medications and try to get them back under control. I think I could literally scream.

My mother-in-law called me about something totally stupid late yesterday. She sat on the phone rambling on and on about things that really don't matter. I pulled the phone away from my head and literally looked at it and thought....WHAT THE HELL....doesn't she realize that some of us have REAL issues going on in our lives. Does she really think that I have time or energy to waste on stupid SH** right now? UGH.....

I am tired of my little girl having to suffer! I only really have one thing to say right now....

WHY???