Not So Vocal Today

Raquel was pretty quiet today. She's still cutting molars and has been pretty miserable because of that so maybe her discomfort was interfering with her talking.

She had a good session this morning with Cari. She is just so stubborn and does not like having to repeat the trials over and over again. But that is required of the ABA Program. The problem is that she scores lower than she should because we all know she can do something - and she'll do it 2 or 3 times in a row - and then the next time will reply with, "No way". Even though it's pretty cute when she does this, it's very frustrating. For instance, the interverbals. They now require Raquel to say "go" during the "ready, set, go" section. Before, they would acknowledge any sound Raquel would make. Now she has to say it first - and she won't sometimes, just like today. She would say, "no way", "come", "more", "come on", but not go. When Cari would move on to something else, then Raquel would start saying "go". It's like she's taunting us - and she probably is!

She was really happy to see Mary when she arrived this afternoon. But, again, not very talkative. Mary commented how she just wanted to do her own thing today. Then Mary got out the balls. Raquel absolutely loves playing ball and this is how Mary typically ends each session. At one point, Mary started immitating Raquel's actions and Raquel got irritated and said, "Go away!" It was so funny. And then she started talking more. Mary has a way of bringing out her communication, even if only briefly.

The hardest part with all of this is still trying to figure out what Raquel wants. Yesterday, Mike left at 5am to go fishing and just him not being here when Raquel woke up in the morning completely threw off her routine and made for a very intense day. The PECS Program is supposed to help with all of this but I have to say, I'm having issues with the PECS. I don't understand why she has PECS for words she is already saying. I asked Mary about that today and she said that she thinks they are trying to get her to be consistent with the PECS process - Raquel coming up to me and handing me a picture of what she is trying to communicate. Wednesday night we have our first ABA Team Meeting after Raquel's session. This is where Janine, Cari & Jennifer sit down with me and Mike for two hours and review her progress to date, and answer any questions/concerns we are having.

One great thing - Raquel is consistently coming up to me and tapping me on the leg when she wants or needs something, such as a diaper change or a cup of juice. The crying and whining are decreasing in this regard big time so that is very encouraging.