It occurred to me that I have not blogged in over a month, so it is time to share some thoughts and pictures. With Marco just 3 and Annelies at 15 months, speech is now a very central skill we focus on in our household. Besides going to his ABA school 5 hours a day M-F Marco also goes to ST 2 times 30 minutes at the Loomis School District (this just started) and he sees a ST once every 2 weeks (Eric, who has been working with Marco -us, really, I guess- for almost a year now.) It sounds like a lot, but Marco does really well with everything. Going from a full time schedule to a part time at the ABA school has been wonderful, he used to be just exhausted at the end of a day. Now he either goes home or to Daycare, and usually he gets a nap, which makes for a much happier little guy.
I was nervous as hell bringing him back to daycare. He had not been there for 2 months, and during that time received one-on-one input at his ABA school, and I was scared to death to bring him back to a less structured environment. On the other hand, I was happy for Marco to go to a less structured environment so he could have a chance to observe other kids, interact if he wants or do his own thing (they are not really strict, it is not even pre-school yet). It turned out a lot better than I thought. When I bring him at one, the kids are settling down for their naps, so the teacher has Marco's bed all ready to go. She sets his bed up near a table so he can play or finish his lunch if needed. He has been taking at least 1 hour naps there!!! That tells me that yes, he needs that nap still. Otherwise he is doing pretty well, he participates in things quietly.
There was a time when I was hoping for Marco to start repeating things we said. I was freaking out (on the inside) that he was not doing this, because it is such an important, logical step in a child's learning. Now he is in that repeating phase, and he has days where he just talks up a storm. Of course, now I am looking forward to some receptive conversation. LOL. I guess it is a parent thing. We want our kids to do well, no matter what is going on. But one thing hit me like a ton of bricks yesterday. This came after a conversation I had with a colleague who has a 4 1/2 year old who is getting ready to start KG. She is not sure if he will be ready, and some of this readiness has to do with speech. It hit me like a ton of bricks that a child's speech level does NOT indicate his/her INTELLIGENCE level. OK, I think I knew this deep down, but it was nice to kind of have that thought come to the forefront of my conscience (Hah, I don't mean to get all weird on you here...). Anyway, I am adding a pic of Marco having a Yuki moment.
Love to All XOXOXO
