School last Monday was a little crazy. Both Jen and Amber were at conferences so they were not in class and of course the other two kids both came so we were short handed.
Carson first did the stairs with Patty. This time she used a picture of a turkey on a thick poster board. The outline of where the feathers were supposed to go were numbered and the laminated feathers with the corresponding numbers were at the top of the little stair case. Carson had to go up and get a feather and then bring it down the stairs and match it with the right place for the feather to go. He was able to go about 10 times before he started getting really tired and began leaning on Patty for support. She knew then it was time to give him a break.
LaQuita came down the hallway and I was so excited to show her the video of Carson signing both mom and dad. I told her that he is now also signing eat and diaper. She asked him to show her the sign for diaper and he showed her without hesitation. He's really getting it now. It makes me so hopeful for him.
In the classroom I got to be hands-on again since it was only Patty, LaQuita and Mrs. O stepped in to help where she could. I was really happy that Carson seemed to be doing really well with the regular classroom activities. I put him on a ball and he bounced and bounced while the teachers counted the days of the month (he is getting good at humming the days as they count). He almost seemed to want to answer the weather question for the day but since the other little boy in the class is the only one who can walk without help they allowed him to be the weather watcher and go to the window. Cold and sunny. Dressing the Weather Panda was fun. Carson picked pants to put on the little guy. He put them where they were supposed to go, except he put them on upside down so the waist was at his feet and the openings for the feet were up at the waist. Oh well, it was cute.
After the classroom activities we sat on the mat and listened to LaQuita read "The Bear Says Thanks." I love this book. We have it at home and actually had just read it the night before. Every time the bear said "thanks" she wanted the kids to sign it so that Carson was included. Signing thanks is easy. Put your fingertips to your chin, all of your fingers closed, and then take your hand straight down so that your palm is facing up to the ceiling as if you are handing someone something out of your hand.
Carson worked with Patty for a while trying to jump on the trampoline. He wouldn't do it for her. I couldn't figure out why until he reached for my hands. When we are home and jumping I always take his hands in mine and jump with him. Patty was standing behind him and just trying to get him to jump alone. He won't do something unless he feels safe and I think seeing me do it at the same time makes him feel that secure feeling he needs.
After jumping for a bit Patty let him have a little free time and play with the cardboard bricks. He was trying to build a tower as tall as he was. She was showing him how to make a wide base in the beginning to assure that it would be sturdy enough to hold the weight as it got bigger but he was determined to do it his way. We both cracked up when he got it so tall and wobbly that it came crashing down on his head. He just looked at the mess and walked off.
For speech LaQuita was having fun playing Break the Ice with Carson. It took him a while to figure out how to used the little hammer thing to tap the blocks out of the holder but once he did he was a total cheater and would break out more than one at a time. It was cute. She would show him cards with three pictures on them with something in common and she was hoping that he would be able to tell her what it was (all red, toys, hot etc). He probably did about 50/50 with this. He would want to tell her the things in the pictures and not what she was aiming for. I couldn't blame him. For three years we have only been trying to get him to name things in class not families of items.
After speech they played a song on the computer that was the alphabet and Carson was actually enunciating the letters. He wasn't saying them all perfectly but the ones he did know he would almost yell them he was so excited. I was glad that LaQuita was able to hear what he was doing because sometimes I think they think I'm full of shit when I tell them that he is doing certain things but then doesn't come close when he is there. I am now trying to get more things that he does on video just so I can show them at school. I'm hoping that maybe it will help his therapists think of new things for him to try.
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