Dear family and friends,
At the clinic today, Grayson worked on following three-step verbal instructions as well as on decreasing his rate of speech with three-syllable words. Both of these are areas I work on with him at home on a daily basis.
In physical therapy he kicked and passed a soccer ball with weights on his ankles and wrists. Following this was a period of stair climbing.
In occupational therapy the focus was on coordination – specifically fine motor coordination with coins and on gross motor coordination utilizing the practical skill of wiping tables. Usually when I have Grayson wipe the table, he uses small strokes somewhat inefficiently swiping AT the table. Tonight he took the sponge, reached across the whole table wiped quite effectively. He followed that by completely drying it with a dry towel. There is certainly something to be said about reinforcing in the evening what he practices at the clinic during the day.
Following dinner and cleanup, Grayson expressed a desire to watch TV. I explained that he could watch a new episode of House at 8:00 and gave him several options for activities to fill the time until then. He helped me put new sheets on his bed, put in a load of laundry, changed clothes, brushed teeth, and then read until 8:00. At the end of the episode, I asked if he knew what time it was. His response was, "Time for bed". He said goodnight to Austin and Xixi (who were making rice cakes downstairs) and headed straight to bed.
About six days in a row of improved alertness and verbalizing. I'll take every minute of it with gratitude.
Grace and peace to you,
Regina
Improvement increases hope - such a vital part of what you are doing with Grayson. Gratitude is the echo, the wonderful echo, of answered prayer. You are using every opportunity to work with Grayson, and reinforce what he's getting during the day. I'm sure his therapists wish all their clients were as thorough.
ReplyDeleteHi Brant and Regina:
ReplyDeleteI get thrilled when I hear reports like this, because these are wonderful advancements for Grayson! I know they are encouraging to you, of course, but to him it is "payoff" for all of the work he is doing, the instruction that he is getting, the encouragement from you all, and the graceful love of our Lord, "leading him" along this extended journey. We'll be patient and prayerful, because God isn't finished with Grayson [or the rest of us] yet!
In Him,
Doug