Therapy Updates

It's been a while...my blogging takes a hit when we get busy. And, as humans, we get busy.

Ruby is still rocking and rolling at the local public school special needs pre-K. She loves her school, but she has become a little too comfortable as certain less-than-desirable behaviors are often present. Mostly it is not sitting/staying put during story time and not maintaining her personal space. We are working on it. (Story of our life!)

Aquatic Therapy
Ruby loves it. We started this a few months ago, but had some hiccups with Medicaid and insurance. We are back now though, and Ruby couldn't be happier. For those that don't know (I didn't), Aquatic Therapy can be used for PT, OT, speech...you name it. For Ruby, it's mostly PT, but also a little OT. She and her therapist move around the pool, using platforms and ankle weights and a variety of squeeze toys to engage core muscles and use the water for resistance and also balance support. After just one session I noticed some improvement in Ruby stepping over structures/thresholds. And just this week she jumped with two feet simultaneously (while waist-high in the water, on the platform) for the first time EVER. I have spent countless hours working with her on this skill on trampolines and curbs and all raised structures...who knew water was the answer!

Speech
Rock-n-roll. Ruby's speech is not clear, but her vocabulary is growing daily. And she strings words together so much now! Her latest and my favorites are:

• "Got it" (Ruby says this when she is working on something and you try to help her..."I got it".)
• "faster" (Ruby says this when you push or pull her down the hill in a wheeled mode of transportation.)
• "Caffee" (This is what she calls my mom. The big kids call her 'Grandma Cathie', but Ruby obviously feels that is a big formal because while she can say a version of 'grandma', she intentionally drops it for my mom.)
• "Baby. Want read? Ok."(This is an example of the conversations she has with her baby dolls and stuffed animals around the house while I'm making dinner.)

OT
At school Ruby works with an Occupational Therapist twice a week on specific tasks related to fine motor skills. She is getting so much better at controlling a writing instrument (usually a big crayon) to loosely trace lines and make round shapes. She is also stacking blocks and stringing beads with much more control and skill.