J loves horses! She has little plastic horses all over the house. Anytime she sees me anywhere near the floor maybe to bend over to pick up one of her stray horses, she runs and jumps onto my back and commands me to get going with a loud "Giddyup".
Lately she's been asking about riding a real horse. And a pony ride at a local fair just isn't going to cut it! I found quite a few stables that cater to special needs children in our area. There are actually horse stables like this throughout the United States because it is a hugely successful form of therapy for children with communication disorders, autism and emotional or psychological disorders. Working with horses is calming and helps children learn to focus their attention. Equine-assisted therapy is also known to help children with cerebral palsy to learn to balance and adjust their bodies as a horse moves.
I want to get in on this for a few reasons. Obviously J would benefit when she already has such a love for anything related to horses. It could also be a way for her to gain confidence in a hobby that is solely hers. Her sister does so many things before her like swimming, soccer and ballet, but getting her involved in an activity that her sister doesn't know anything about could really boost her self esteem. From my perspective, I would love to see her learn to balance and increase her coordination in relation to the horse's movements. And it would be fun!
Here is a link to a number of organizations offering therapeutic horse riding.
Therapeutic Riding
Monday, February 7, 2011
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Book Activity
My two girls love the book, Goodnight Gorilla by Peggy Rathman. It's a sweet book about a mischevious gorilla and his nighttime escapades in the zoo.
Let me just say that this activity was inspired by the following situation... one sick mommy and two sick kids who desperately needed a distraction one Sunday afternoon. It worked and kept everyone busy and sane for a long time! Success!
We started with some empty boxes from the garage. I worked with a box cutter and E worked with some scissors. We cut long strips of carboard out of the boxes to make what would look like bars. These became the animal cages in our pretend zoo.
Then E made signs for each cage and filled them with interesting creatures. I think we ended up with a ladybug pillow pet, a cat, horses and a live guinea pig.
Our zoo!
Let me just say that this activity was inspired by the following situation... one sick mommy and two sick kids who desperately needed a distraction one Sunday afternoon. It worked and kept everyone busy and sane for a long time! Success!
We started with some empty boxes from the garage. I worked with a box cutter and E worked with some scissors. We cut long strips of carboard out of the boxes to make what would look like bars. These became the animal cages in our pretend zoo.
Then E made signs for each cage and filled them with interesting creatures. I think we ended up with a ladybug pillow pet, a cat, horses and a live guinea pig.
Our zoo!
E made tickets which she hole-punched as we walked through the zoo exhibits.
Then we had a breech in animal security. The ferocious guinea pig escaped from her cage.
Thankfully, the guinea pig (E said she was from Argentina....an Argentinian Guinea Pig.) was a friendly creature and just nibbled on some toes and a couch before being caught and returned to her home.
Have I mentioned how much I love guinea pigs?
Saturday, February 5, 2011
The Systemizing Brain
I love to watch my children play. E is always in some form of imaginitive play and has preferred this type of play very early on. J on the other hand, is somewhat delayed in her ability to role play. She prefers to play independently maybe because of her communication delays. I've noticed as her confidence in speech grows, she does more imaginitive play. She has recently been interested in playing "babies"...she's the mommy and I'm the grandma! (Must be those few strands of grey hair I've discovered. I'm now Grandma-material.) When playing Barbie's or playing with her doll house, she is very focused on the characters and how they are interacting. This has been exciting for me to watch.
Even as her communication improves, she continues to display an interesting play characteristic. She loves to line up her toys! LONG lines of horses or cars...
I'll admit playing with spoons is a little strange. It proves just how much she likes to take items and line them up on my kitchen floor. She'll make lines out of any group of objects.
I wanted to know what this was about and in my research, I was pointed in the direction of autism. Apparently, lining up and organizing toys in this way is a sign of autism. It's what one researcher called the Systemizing Brain (Simon Baron-Cohen). Granted some of Baron-Cohen's research and conclusions have been criticized, but one aspect caught my attention. He believes children with autism are "change resistant" and prefer order. In this way, they make lines of their toys in an attempt to make order out of chaos. It doesn't mean that every child who lines up their toy trucks is autistic. Many little children organize their toys in this manner. But for a parent who is already questioning, this behavior may lead to a more thorough investigation. It is tough, but I believe parents must follow their intuition. If something doesn't seem right, journal about what you are observing in your child, and then bring it to the attention of your pediatrician.
In J's case, I'm just going to continue to watch her play. We have enough diagnoses to keep us busy for awhile so I'm in no hurry to add another to our list. I have a feeling as she learns to communicate better and with more control, she'll outgrow this fabulous spoon-lining trait. But if not, I've got some ideas and can follow it up then.
Even as her communication improves, she continues to display an interesting play characteristic. She loves to line up her toys! LONG lines of horses or cars...
or spoons!
I'll admit playing with spoons is a little strange. It proves just how much she likes to take items and line them up on my kitchen floor. She'll make lines out of any group of objects.
I wanted to know what this was about and in my research, I was pointed in the direction of autism. Apparently, lining up and organizing toys in this way is a sign of autism. It's what one researcher called the Systemizing Brain (Simon Baron-Cohen). Granted some of Baron-Cohen's research and conclusions have been criticized, but one aspect caught my attention. He believes children with autism are "change resistant" and prefer order. In this way, they make lines of their toys in an attempt to make order out of chaos. It doesn't mean that every child who lines up their toy trucks is autistic. Many little children organize their toys in this manner. But for a parent who is already questioning, this behavior may lead to a more thorough investigation. It is tough, but I believe parents must follow their intuition. If something doesn't seem right, journal about what you are observing in your child, and then bring it to the attention of your pediatrician.
In J's case, I'm just going to continue to watch her play. We have enough diagnoses to keep us busy for awhile so I'm in no hurry to add another to our list. I have a feeling as she learns to communicate better and with more control, she'll outgrow this fabulous spoon-lining trait. But if not, I've got some ideas and can follow it up then.
Friday, February 4, 2011
Lovey
E's lovey is "Bear". Here is a picture.
And here's a closer picture. Poor Bear has been mistaken for a dog toy once. He's been through a lot!
E showed me last night... he has holes. What is a mom to do at 9 o'clock at night when a daughter has school in the morning and her Bear is literally falling apart? I told her the following: "I will do my best to fix him. I promise." Not a good plan. I'm already regretting my promise. Bear can't be fixed. He is threadbare. He is 8 years old. He is not going to last forever. I was totally irrational and worried E will never sleep again, thus my promise to make everything right with the world. I could use a little sleep myself, but allow me to panic a bit.
E is a sensitive child. When Bear leaves this world, there will be tears, sobbing and tears....for days. Maybe months. All I know is I would do anything to prevent this from happening. I've been on Ebay searching for a replacement. My husband has searched the internet far and wide. I even contacted the company that made Bear. We discovered Bear is a one-of-a-kind. Why didn't we think about that before placing the little stuffed Steiff into her crib the day she came home from the hospital? I guess we didn't expect E to adopt Bear so quickly.
So we have some work ahead of us. After trying to patch Bear this weekend, I'm going to prepare my family for the worst...the loss of our dear Bear who kept E asleep each and every night. And after preparing my family, I'm going to get back on Ebay and contact the Steiff company because there has to be another one out there somewhere. I'm panicking again!
But in the end I think I'm headed to Build-A-Bear to bribe my little girl into sleeping with a new lovey. If it means a good night sleep, I'll buy her whatever she wants and all the accessories to make this a smooth transition. There's not a chance this will work!
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Big girl blues
It's tough to be the "big girl" in a family. The eldest child has a lot of responsibilities as compared to their younger siblings. E told me this morning that it wasn't fair she had to get her own shoes and put her breakfast plate away when J gets waited on hand and foot. Not exactly true, but J is younger, shorter (for reaching the kitchen sink) and less verbal. She just isn't able to do the same things as an advanced seven year old. Special needs and birth order are two very difficult subjects. So this morning E went to school thinking about all the inequity in her home and how she feels like "Cinderella". (Yes, she said that once.)
Especially when J is recovering from a surgery. Poor E!
In my defense, I do ask J to hand her breakfast plate to me. When we clean her room, I do ask her to help me put all her horses into their bin. Sometimes I ask her to hand me books which I then place in her bookshelf. On the other hand, E gets a note on her white board stating her chores..."Clean your room" in big black letters. That is kind of sad! But she makes such a mess!! If you are capable of making that mess, you should be able to clean it up, right?!? Well, not exactly. I do help E clean her room by giving her tips on organizing the mess. I'm like the professional organizer on Hoarders. I will even help her make piles....books, dolls, papers, etc. So she isn't exactly alone.
Regardless, it's hard to be the overachieving responsible child. A child who is expected to do more, no matter the reason. What she doesn't understand is that someday she'll benefit from being this girl who was pushed a bit and expected to do well. Not that we don't expect big things from J...it's just different.
Here are some interesting facts about first born children...
1/2 of all US Presidents were first born children
21 of 23 first astronauts were first born children
2/3 of entrepreneurs were first born children
(from Birth Order and Personality)
I totally understand what E is going through. I've been through it. I was a first born child, my brother was cute, and it drove me crazy! But I survived and like I described to her this morning, she will too.
Especially when J is recovering from a surgery. Poor E!
In my defense, I do ask J to hand her breakfast plate to me. When we clean her room, I do ask her to help me put all her horses into their bin. Sometimes I ask her to hand me books which I then place in her bookshelf. On the other hand, E gets a note on her white board stating her chores..."Clean your room" in big black letters. That is kind of sad! But she makes such a mess!! If you are capable of making that mess, you should be able to clean it up, right?!? Well, not exactly. I do help E clean her room by giving her tips on organizing the mess. I'm like the professional organizer on Hoarders. I will even help her make piles....books, dolls, papers, etc. So she isn't exactly alone.
Regardless, it's hard to be the overachieving responsible child. A child who is expected to do more, no matter the reason. What she doesn't understand is that someday she'll benefit from being this girl who was pushed a bit and expected to do well. Not that we don't expect big things from J...it's just different.
Here are some interesting facts about first born children...
1/2 of all US Presidents were first born children
21 of 23 first astronauts were first born children
2/3 of entrepreneurs were first born children
(from Birth Order and Personality)
I totally understand what E is going through. I've been through it. I was a first born child, my brother was cute, and it drove me crazy! But I survived and like I described to her this morning, she will too.
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