My last several posts have made February sound like an awful month. Here are some of the good things that happened in February.
1) Patrick started speech therapy. His new therapist is wonderful! Our previous therapist was very negative and critical when Patrick couldn’t attend well to a task. This new therapist is SO kind to him! She is very patient. When his attention wanders, she redirects him or allows him a change. When he throws things to get out of a task, she simply stops and waits for him to pick up what he threw. We’ve been using picture exchange with him, a method where he trades pictures for toys or games or activities he wants. It’s not words, but it is language, and it’s teaching him to respect and obey her. I’ve never seen him so attentive in therapy. Not only that, but in just our second session, she noticed that he wasn’t using the front of his mouth for most words. She taught me a simple physical prompt and already he’s improving his pronunciation.
2) Patrick discovered sign. I mentioned Signing Time, but I don’t know that I can emphasize this enough. In just a couple of days, Patrick learned he could use sign language where his words were maybe not enough. He is probably using at least 20 signs now, REGULARLY, to communicate what he wants and needs.
3) We learned to make Dr. Pepper chipotle pulled pork. This was the result of a Sunday sick at home. It was easy and it was SO yummy. And, it makes me feel like a much better cook because I know how to cook a roast in the oven instead of the crock pot.
4) We got to tour Papa’s work. Brian’s dad is an engineer in a company that manufactures printed circuit boards. They had an open house last week. It was really neat to see and learn about, and Patrick got an evening with one of his favorite people on earth, eat his new favorite meat: hot dogs… AND he got to play with a magnifying glass.
5) Patrick learned to tear. This is something they’ve been working on at school.. tearing paper. I know that sounds bad, but for Patrick, it means that he can now tear tortillas and bread or bread up chips into pieces that he can manage. This gives him much more control over his eating and is a HUGE step towards independence. Also this month, he learned to put his legs in pants. Learn to pull them up, and he’ll be able to do it all on his own. He learned this at home, not at school.. But in other school fun, a police officer visited the school and gave Patrick a toy police car and that made for a very fun week.
6) After several hours on the phone hunting down as much information as possible about the speech therapy bills that are still screwed up, I called the manager of that office again and got an apology from her! And a promise to personally follow up and fix the problem. And a promise to never, ever bill two separate kids of service for Patrick together again. Meaning I might just, maybe, kind of dare to consider going back to that clinic for physical or occupational therapy again.
I dunno, though. I’m on the fence for that subject. But the ball is back in my court. And that feels good.
7) We celebrated three years as an eternal family. The next day, we celebrated valentine’s day with cookies, candy, flowers, toy cars, balloons, and a quiet dinner at home.
8) Oh, and we finally made it off the wait list for the neurologist. Sorry to leave you with a cliffhanger, but the actual visit happened in March, and besides, deserves its own post.
So yeah, February wasn’t all bad. Still, I’m glad that particular set of trials is over and excited to see what good things March will bring.
Patrick Hoopes 