Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Tot School--Catching Up


Isaiah is 50 months

Well, my blogging has been rather sporadic as of late due to the fact that we've been enjoying some amazing weather and some extra time with friends since we can all get around the city a little easier with our little ones now.  Public transportation is not easy with lots of snow and strollers or wheelchairs (in our case) and moms with broken arms.

Hooray for spring at last!

But, my lack of posting doesn't mean a lack of learning!  Isaiah has been making some great progress in some areas of life skills, things that he can do for himself.  My pictures (though few) represent the past couple of weeks--better late than never!

enjoying some time with Slava--they actually play together really well!

Dressing Himself:

Pants work well as a scarf, too, right?



Isaiah has actually made some great improvements in taking off and putting on his shirt by himself.  We help him with his balance, and he does just about everything with his shirt on his own.  He still requires some verbal and physical cues, but he's doing great!  Another fun part of this is that he will tell me what he wants to wear:
What shirt would you like today, Isaiah?

Truck! (or) McQueen!

He has also started undressing himself when we come in from our walks.  He'll take off his gloves (which we really don't need very often any more now!) and his hat on his own.  Oh, and he has to wear his truck hat, too when we go out.

Communicating Needs:

Isaiah has made a jump lately in his communication skills!  Naturally, it's hard to take pictures of him talking, so you'll have to take my word for it.  Whenever I try to take a video, he of course clams up!

We've been told that children with spina bifida often communicate in a manner that's called "cocktail chatter".  This simply means, I think, that they understand certain responses to certain questions, but they don't always completely understand what is going on in such a way that they can volunteer information or creatively participate in a more "advanced" conversation.  They can be good at "small talk", but perhaps don't always understand beyond that point.  As Isaiah's communication improves, we sometimes see signs of this, but most often we are pleased with his comprehension of what is going on around him. His responses to our questions are improving, and we just keep consistently working with him on conversation skills.

So, all that to say, here are some of Isaiah's new phrases (usually ending with Mommy or Daddy):

I'm ready!




I wait, Mommy.
I read. (as he turns the pages to his book, magazine, or most often requested Bible)

In response to "did you" questions he will answer, I did.

He will also try to sing along with us by repeating words.  I LOVE THIS!

And he still says Honey, all the time, which is absolutely adorable, especially since he says it with the cutest little southern accent!

His Russian vocabulary is increasing a little bit, too, as we are able to spend more time with our Russian friends.

He's also seeming to communicate physical needs a little bit, as I wrote about here.  And the other day he even seemed to know when he was pooping on his own (other than his normal pooping time).  This may seem strange, but I've never been so thankful to clean up a mess as I was that day when he was trying to tell me that something was wrong!

Walking:

Isaiah had several weeks without using his walker due to my not being able to put him in his big braces. :(  Thankfully, this is changing!  He had several long walking sessions.  At first he seemed to forget a little bit, but the skills are quickly returning, along with his communication of where he wants to go or not go and when he wants to move or not move!

and yes!  he's balancing on his own here while using both hands to play with his little frog that then had to ride permanently on the walker

Counting:

Isaiah now consistently counts to 3, and he has on several occasions gone to 4!  M&M's are a great incentive!

So we've been busy, even if it doesn't look that way.  I get my cast off Saturday, and we're looking forward to some more activities to do together!  I love hanging out with my Little Man!

Check out the other Tot School fun at 1+1+1=1.

2 comments:

  1. What a joy to see all the special things Isaiah is doing ! Love the picture of him standing and holding the frog. His expression is priceless !! Give him a big squeeze hug from Mimi.

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  2. So glad your cast is finally coming off. Congratulations on the self-dressing. Thats a big one.

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