Therapy Update

It's been a while since I've posted an update on Ruby's therapies. Here we go!

Speech
Ruby is stringing together words more and more often now. Instead of saying, "Tall", she might sometimes ask, "how tall Eli?". And one of her favorites right now is "Stop mommy!" She will sometimes follow it up with something like "my turn" or "No sing".

The emerging sentence structure is a good thing, no doubt, but it is a reminder of just how delayed her motor planning is in regards to speech. That girl barely gets cut a break in our house with her speech. (i.e. When she say, "milk", we make her give us a sentence or request like, "More milk, please." or "Can I have milk, please." Repeat this with every aspect of her day, all day long!) Even though she is improving, it is a sloooow process.

Ruby is repeating everything, which is huge! I remember vividly when she was two, turning over photo cards with her and saying the words with the hopes she would make any kind of approximation. Now she will not only read words (or identify photos) spontaneously, but when she hears her siblings say things, or especially if she hears a new word or phrase, she will repeat it intelligibly.

Sight words are something we've been working on for a full year, in preparation for this kindergarten year, which is so focused on sight words. Ruby currently does 35 of 50, give or take a few, on the first try, without any prompting from me. She is starting to read more and more, but that's almost always directed by me; she has yet to discover that she can find those sight words in her books without me next to her.

OT
Ruby is buttoning and unbuttoning big buttons on sweaters and jackets! Unfortunately, most of her clothing is smaller buttons, but you have to start somewhere. Her OT at school has a few sweaters for Ruby to use as practice and her manipulation is coming along. At home we are starting to see her become more skilled in zipping up her jacket too. She has yet to be able to line up the zipper on her own, but once there, she usually holds the bottom and zips up herself.

Regarding scissors, she is getting much better at cutting shapes with scissors. Turning her paper to get the corners or curves is a challenge, but with minimal help, she is making it all of the way around shapes like circles and rectangles.

PT
We are not formally doing PT at this time, and we don't have swim or dance classes. BUT we are always looking for physical therapy opportunities in our day, so it is still something I can measure growth in. Ruby now often alternates feet when walking on stairs - up is easier than down, but if she's holding my hand, she'll do it on the way down.

Ruby's jumping stamina is still increasing. Just a year ago we finished Aquatic Therapy because she was finally able to jump enough to clear the height of a pool noodle. Now she jumps on and off curbs, over small sticks, and in place just for the fun of it!

Another big thing Ruby is doing, something she's always done, is mimicking and imitating other's actions. If she sees someone doing something of interest, she intently watches and then repeats it. This is a HUGE part of why we push for inclusion at school for Ruby, and it is helping with PT things as well, like balancing, running, riding a bike, bouncing a ball, etc. One fun way it came into play last week was during Maddux's basketball game. The players and coaches circled up for prayer before the game, and Ruby grabbed an older friend's hand, and Daddy's hand, and led them to circle up as well.