Therapy Done for the Week

I hate to say it this way, but when Wendy walked out our door today at 1pm, I was relieved to know that the therapy this week had come to an end. Don't get me wrong - I adore Wendy and she is fantastic with both the girls. It is just truly exhausting having all these people come in and out of the house sometimes. I never lose track of why they are here, but sometimes it's kind of like when you have people staying at your house for the weekend. It's just nice to get things back to normal - even if only briefly.

Today I took Raqi for her vision exam at the Regional Center. This was just a routine exam at my request. Since I've worn corrective lenses since age 11, and am technically legally blind without them, I'm always concerned about my girls having the same problem. I have to say that I was pretty much disappointed with how the exam was handled by Regional. We were guided to this room and I was instructed to sit down with Raquel on my lap. I could barely put my purse down on the table next to us, when they turned the lights completely out and started to snap pictures. I was startled and remarked that I was seeing spots. The lady replied, "Oh, I should have told you to look the other way." I was irritated because if I, a grown woman, was startled by it, what must be going through my little one's mind. Needless to say, she was not that cooperative and the lady made many, many, MANY unsuccessful attempts to get the pictures she needed. She didn't even have any toys to distract her. Finally, I told them we'd had enough and although they felt she had no vision problems, could not pass her because they could only capture one eye dilated and they needed both. They said she could be retested in 6 months.

When we were leaving the room, they mentioned that a pediatric dentist was also on call that could do a check-up. Since Raquel was already irritated, I went for it. The dentist was really great with her and said she has a beautiful set of teeth. Both girls left with new Shamu toothbrushes and toothpaste. When we left the building, we passed through a packed lobby. We were the first appointment of the morning. I understand that Regional deals with many cases on a regular basis, but I think that they are losing a bit of sensitivity because of the numbers involved, and that is really sad.

Wendy came at her usual 12pm. She had a great session with Raquel and remarked at how well she is progressing. Here are some of the weekly assignments we've been given:

Behavior: Ah, where to begin.
Physical: Walk her on unsteady surfaces such as sand, grass, pillows, etc. to continue building confidence. Encourage climbing by having her push off on my legs when I'm sitting on the floor.
Speech: Continue repeating words we think she is saying in conversation. Play "Who am I?" with pictures (Mary took pictures of me, Gabby, Raquel & Mary and we have her choose pictures by name). Work on throwing balls in to one big container such as a laundry basket. Continue the "I got it!" and "Look!" games.
Wendy: Do handstands & rolls, playdough (carefully - just mostly squishing), and do the "Up & Down" games.
Occupational (per Elizabeth): Continue the hand over hand techniques to work on fine motor skills. She also recommended that Mike set aside one toy, such as the Piggy Bank, that only he can work on with her daily.