Summer Fun

I have umpteen posts in my head... Just going to start with one and do my best to get back to writing regularly.

Ayden Jane has had such an amazing burst of social skills. I really don't know what has brought it on, but I am guessing it has been a magical combination of MCT, growing up and neighborhood friends.

I'll start with the MCT oil. It is interesting stuff and I honestly don't understand it. (which always makes me a little nervous). There is no denying that it really keeps her brain going though. With it, she just processes pretty much everything faster. What does that mean? It means the fast paced conversations of kids, the rules to games she wants to join, the ebb and flow of the day are understood and followed quickly enough that she can keep up and not frustrate others.

I do think that some of her skills are just the result of getting a bit older. She was a little delayed with speech and it seems like the slower processing and challenges getting her words out put her behind in this area. She has been gaining ground for a good while and now she is partially just catching up finally.

Neighborhood friends have been a huge help as well. Ayden Jane has had friends but none she can just run out the door and find and play with. Growing up in a world of therapy, older siblings, doctors and lots of medical talk does not exactly give you good peer relation skills. Being that I am an old mom, most of my friends don't have kids Ayden Jane's age and I just haven't made myself find others to spend time with. I feel bad sometimes as I think back to the families we just did life with when the big kids were little and how much time they spent with great families of friends... The neighbors have a daughter AJ's age and a son 2 years younger and the three of them have become quite the trio. The parents are wonderful as they are not worried or bothered by Ayden Jane's extra needs and they have taught their children to be the same way.

So, how do I know there are new social skills pouring forth? That it's not just comfort with neighbor kids? I see it in new situations. I see it at the beach when just AJ and I are there and she meets up with new kids or even just kids she only slightly knows. She catches on much more quickly to games and is relaxed and happy, and the other kids are inviting her to join in. I see it on the sidelines of the soccer games as she joins in and kicks a soccer ball with a new friend or I watch another friend run by and say, "tag, your it" and Ayden Jane immediately respond by taking off running after her.

She's relaxed and 'on the same page' with the other kids. She is not trying to analyze things or asking a million questions on the rules of the game. Even just the body language of the interactions is that of mutually enjoying playing or chatting together.

It feels strange that Ayden Jane didn't always have adequate social skills. It almost seems strange to remember that she has spent most of her years a step behind the action. I am excited to see how these skills play out in school next fall with a new classroom of students.