90 Day Eval

I didn't realize that today was our 90 eval. These are not formal evaluations, but an informal review of the goals we had set 3 months ago to see what AJ has accomplished, what still needs work and a chance for me to bring up things I think are important to work on. So, how did it go?

First of all, Jen is so positive that I think she could tell me that the world is ending tomorrow and I would only be able to notice how sunny today is. It's awesome. On the other hand, Ayden Jane is pretty great and her progress always gives us lot to celebrate. (when parenting a special needs child you get great joy over celebrating little things). There were a few technical terms that Jen was very excited about and I was excited about the fact that Jen was excited.

Big skills she now can control, going from high kneel to half kneel, holding and playing there, putting her leg back and switching to the other... Doing the bottom half of a jumping jack. You know, legs together, legs apart, legs together... Crab walking across the room, catching a ball, kicking a ball... There are more but you get the picture.

We are keeping some big muscle work on the list and will be getting AJ to work on building shoulder girdle strength. It is still lagging behind and 'linking shoulder girdle and torso' is the first to go when growth or anything else causes a bump in the road. We are both really excited to see what will come of the next 6 months when summer returns and Ayden Jane can get back on the playground bars, in the pool, on her bike, in the ocean.... She is sooooo craving big muscle work that I am just having a hard time keeping her going. We are adding in pedaling a bike, roller skating and other play skills that are age appropriate.

One thing we both agree on is that we have gotten away from some of the fine motor work. Typically that is taken care of by an OT, but Jen is awesome and handles it all. We will be back to working on cutting with scissors and learning to trace and write letters. Ayden Jane's sensory needs just sort of over powered the fine motor work the past couple of months. It was interesting when Jen was assessing things today how willing to work ridiculously hard Ayden Jane is when she is working large muscle groups. Then when it was time to check those OT skills she becomes a master of avoidance. Yep, she will do a hand stand against the wall until she can't hold herself up anymore, but try to get her to trace an 'A' and she will turn into a silly kid who will do anything other than what you want.

We have some plans to continue to address the sensory needs. (Hopefully we can get her to keep her clothes on) I am thinking they are going to be long term.

Anyway, we have a plan for another great 90 days.