Resistance

Today we went to the Botanical Gardens and spent all morning in the Children's Garden. We climbed rope ladders, went over rope bridges, played on a splash pad, dug in a sand pit, built huge towers from wooden blocks, and generally had a great time.

The very last thing we did was visit the gift shop. My children think gift shops are places you go to play (gently) with the store's toys and then leave those toys behind for the most part. We only purchase something on "special occasions". Ava found an adorable hat. It fit her perfectly. She loved it. I loved it. It was incredibly cute. However, the hat cost $20 and we already have a hat for her. So when it was time to go, I resisted. I told her we needed to put the store's hat back and we left.

But I'm still thinking about that hat. Darn being a grown up and resisting things we don't need.

Isn't it adorable though?

OT and Oobleck

We had occupational therapy again today. Today we spent the entire time with oobleck. For those of you who are unfamiliar with oobleck, it is a simple homemade substance that is made by mixing one part water with 1.5 to 2 parts cornstarch. It makes a substance by suspending the cornstarch particles in the water. The substance is pretty unique. It behaves like both a liquid and a solid. When under pressure it behaves like a solid. Otherwise is behaves like a liquid. So you can pick it up in your palm and squeeze it into a ball, but when you release the pressure a bit it drips down between your fingers like a liquid.

First we put a pile of cornstarch on a cookie sheet and let the kids explore that with their hands. That alone was a bit of a stretch for Ava because of the way the cornstarch covered her hands and was difficult to wipe off. Then we began adding water and she wanted none of it. She mostly observed for the next 20 minutes or so. Michael was hesitant, but when he began to play with it he had a blast.

I just let Ava watch me play with it. The messier my hands got the more agitated she became. She actually broke down in tears at one point when my hands were covered in it and I refused to clean them off quickly enough for her. I eventually got her to poke at it a little bit in exchange for a spoon. Once she had a spoon she had fun scooping it up and watching it drip back down onto the pan. Some would cling to the spoon and I did manage to persuade her to use a finger to push the last few remnants off the spoon.

Another thing we did was get out some markers. The children could draw on the surface of the oobleck with markers and make pictures. When it got mixed up again, the oobleck combined with the color of the markers. Ava's turned pink. Michael's ended up grey because he experimented with so many colors. We did start with yellow and then blue which combined to make green. That was fun. The markers just rinsed clean.

We will have to play with oobleck several more times over the next few weeks and try to increase Ava's tolerance of it. Does anyone have any suggestions for activities with oobleck other than simply playing with it and then coloring on it? I didn't get any pictures this time, but I definitely will next time so I can share them with you.

Preparing for an Evaluation - Gathering Phase

First we had our second IFSP meeting about six months after the first. Shortly thereafter we had our transition meeting to talk about the steps necessary to transition from early intervention services to the evaluation necessary to see if Ava will qualify for services from the school district.

The evaluation is supposed to take place within three months of the transition meeting and the IEP meeting (if one is necessary) should be held within 30 days of the evaluation. So a clock is ticking. Before the evaluation is held, the evaluation team has to gather a lot of information. They get information from Ava's school (her current daycare teachers). They get information from her early intervention speech therapist and occupational therapist. They get information from the Parents as Teachers program about the screenings they've done. At the transition meeting I signed a lot of forms authorizing the release of information from one person or organization to the school district so that they can begin to gather all of that information.

Of course, nothing ever goes easily and smoothly. They need to know one very simple piece of information. They want to know if Ava can hear. We know she can. When they put the tubes in her ears they did an ABR when she was still under sedation and she passed. I need to find that paperwork and get it to the school district. The ENT's office says that the hospital will have those records. So, I called the hospital and they won't even tell me if they have the information I want until I sign a release form. The release form that I got in the mail today lists several types of information I could be requesting, but the results of a hearing test is not on the form. What a pain. I just need a person to look at a folder and tell me that they have that piece of paper. Then I need to give them permission to send a copy of that piece of paper to someone else. I haven't figured out how to accomplish that yet.

I'm half tempted to just ask the Parents as Teachers program to re-screen her hearing and send that paperwork to the school district rather that try to figure out how to get the hospital to give me what I want. However, knowing my daughter, that wouldn't be simple either. It's always something isn't it?