DeVoe Family: 8.15.12 The Next 3 Months

Thankful to be writing to you from home again. We got in Sunday night and feels great to be back. Of course, as you might remember from my last post, we are hoping to head back down to San Rafael in September and October for two more weeks of therapy. After seeing so much progress in Aimee's ability to learn, we feel that this is the next step for us. We don't know how it will work out with Ed's job or how we will raise the finances, but how can we say 'no' when she is blossoming with this new approach?

This week I have been working on communicating with the school district, therapists, and the center in California to work out all of the details. Overall, it is a big burden off of my shoulders to take a break from traditional therapies. We now have time for play and relationship. Except, I have gotten so used to incorporating exercises and practice into play, that I have forgotten how to just play with Aimee. What a pleasurable thing to relearn! I really didn't want to have to tell Aimee's Occupational Therapist that we are taking at least a 3 month break from her sessions. She has worked with Aimee since she was about 6 months old and has a great relationship with her. I know she is happy for Aimee, but... :( it is the one sad spot in a sea of happy.

Since last week's sessions, Aimee seems full of life. She is paying attention, vocal, and focused. She isn't napping as much during the day. She is energized. Her choices are not being constantly overridden by the need to do strenuous, scary, and overwhelming actions. She is enjoying her daily life more. There is such a deep respect for who she is in this method and I'm certain she feels it. It will be a long road to have enough progress that a stranger might see as success, but to us, the fact that she is not nervous or afraid, that she is validated and empowered to choose, is enough to show success.

So, what is different for us in daily life? Everything! No, not really, but it feels like it! The following are some changes we are implementing for the next 3 months:
-no other therapies, including all exercises and appointments for occupational, physical, speech, and vision
-no hearing aids (they have seen success with the brain overcoming hearing impairment)
-a new way to pick Aimee up
-letting her spend as much time as possible on the floor
-narrating for Aimee (we want her to participate as much as possible in activities, which at this point, simply means telling her what is going to happen and what is happening)
-giving her a huge amount of time to respond
-providing opportunities for her to perceive differences (touching hand to leg and hand to table, showing big contrasts)
-responding to sounds she makes, even imitating them, but not trying to make her talk

In order to build on Aimee's success and minimize regression, we are also planning to take her to a therapist that practices this method in Bellevue. Our first lesson there is tomorrow afternoon.