Therapy Update

Samantha dear,

Well, we are back on track, I'm happy to report.  Yes, I took a couple weeks off doing some therapy with you, and it was hard to get going again.  We were hitting...oh 50% or something.  I hated that I wasn't doing what I should be doing, but I couldn't find the umph to do it after all of us being sick.  So, I decided to SNAP out of it.  And I called Patty.  And it did the trick.  I think I just needed to hear that it was ok to take those couple weeks off while we were sick and then just do the best you can do.  After all, she said she just did the same thing with her kids...and she informed me that Decembers in their home is pretty much therapy-free.  It's good hearing from other moms doing the same thing.  I never thought I was someone who "needed" that...a group of sorts to buoy me up.  But golly it looks like I am after all.  What have you turned me into lil' Sammers?!  Oh, I love you for it.

So, here's the official update lady.  I'm really proud of you.  You've done some great stuff lately.

Eyes: I think your eyes are officially dilating and constricting like ours.  Quickly.  They shrink up pretty fast when we can actually get a look at them.  Today, while you were eating breakfast, I flashed the light in your  eye.  I know.  We weren't in a dark room, but we were pushed for time and I wanted to do it.  Even, in the daylight, I could see an immediate change ... shrinking of that pupil. So, that's that.  We'll keep doing it until we hear differently, but I think your eyes have actually been like this for a while now.  So, yeah!  (Hopefully when Donna comes back in January she'll agree.)

Startle: Remember how before, when we'd try to startle you by banging pots and pans or blocks together you just looked up at us like we were annoying you?  Actually, most of the time you'd smile at us.  It's cute.  Well, I didn't realize what we really needed was for you to jump a little bit.  So, we've been working, and your startling has WAY improved.  We were hitting about 50% on a good day.  Now, we're getting between 70-90% of the time.  I have decided that the times you don't startle, I think it's becuase you see me and what I'm about to do...but I carry through anyway.  See, I'm supposed to be sneaky about it, and this mama just isn't always so sneaky.  Because, really, you are beginning to startle to noises just around you more often.  For example, I turned the stereo on and it was a little loud...a song was playing...and you were shocked, but then smiled.  A door slammed yesterday and you startled.  Callie threw something on the deck (yes, out of 2 year old anger).  You were inside, but the door was open.  You had been concentrating on some task and when you heard that, you startled...immediately popped your head up and had a look of concern.  So, I call this improvement.  But, again, we'll continue to do it.  I'm not confident that you have it yet, but I think you're making fantastic progress here.  And let's be honest, it's kind of fun to scare you.:)

Textures:  This is the hardest for me to do because I don't think I have a really good variety of textures...so I'm working on that...but also because it takes longer.  I know, we're talking seconds here, but still.  You're not too cooperative during this either, so it's just the exercise I dislike.  Ok?  There it is.  I don't like doing this one so it gets put off.  In terms of progress?  I think it's about the same.  I can tell you like or dislike certain textures, but I'm thinking it's not enough. 

Sound Location:  Hello!  Huge improvement here.  Really.  You are starting to be able to locate sounds almost 100% of the time...quickly.  I've only been focusing on periphereal, above and below.  But, I've noticed you turning to sounds that are behind you.  These aren't sounds that I'm creating for therapy, but just sounds.  So, you're more quickly picking up stuff behind.  Yeah.  I'll be starting to work on that next.  I want to finish the week off strong and I want to practice with some more higher pitches this week.  It seemed like there was one that you were slower at finding...and I want to make sure you get that.  I'm not sure if it was the pitch or the distractions in the room.

Smell:  Well, I've discovered you don't like cloves.  Either does Callie.  I don't get it.  mmm  Cloves.  Oh well.  We'll keep introducing you to smells though until I get some more, real distinguishable likes and dislikes here.

Hands:  I love your hands.  I feel like, again, they are just so much more open.  I'm trying to work on having you USE your open hands now more effectively, but ya know.  In time.

Babinski Reflex:  Same.  You are in new DAFOs now that are set to neutral.  Before you were in a heel kind of, which I totally hated, but you had lost so much range that we had to put you in those stinky heeled DAFOs.  But now, you're in neutral and are standing up so much straighter and are a super star.  We are working on integrating your Babinski reflex.  Your new neurologist actually thought that you had an integrated babinski in the one foot, but then you didn't do it again.  So, maybe that's a sign of improvement...headed in the right direction.

Keep working Sammy.  You are awesome!  You impress me everyday.

I love you,
Mommy