Summer therapy is going well. When we arrived at OT last week, the therapist told me that she and the Speech therapy were ready to graduate Nea out of therapies. Her progress has been so good, and she continues to move along the continuum at a steady rate. Of course I panicked a bit. It felt odd to think that we would leave these people who have been with us from the very beginning.
When Nea is done with OT, she goes to the Speech Therapist's room for her session. The OT will then come and talk to me and tell me how things went. She came out into the waiting, looking somewhat exasperated and like she just wrestled an alligator saying....
"I changed my mind."
Nea's focus is still skitchy. She's consistently inconsistent. She may need the extra help when school comes to have the extra OT time. So we decided to keep OT on the books for awhile longer and see how the transition back to school goes.
However, she's ready to graduate from speech therapy. Nea has learned tons, she does well and she will do just about anything that Diana asks of her. She astounds us all with her receptive language and connections she makes that the rest of us don't quite get at first. But Diana believes the next rung on the ladder for her is one that involves pragmatic communication. Nea's motor planning has improved tremendously, and she will repeat a word correctly if you break it down for her. What she needs now is using all of that language in social situations. She needs to be part of group activities with peers and talking about toys, sharing items and exploring new things. Diana can't give her that in 1:1 therapy. She's beyond that now.
It's exciting and scary all at the same time.
Something new I'm noticing these days is more extensive pretend play. Her stuffed animals are starting to play part of a scene where she does introductions. "Hi, I'm Nea. How are you? Okay? Do you want to play?" It's amazing to watch this part of her unfold. She still doesn't like me to insert myself into her play. But she will have that little party very near me, or even on my lap. If I try to play a role with one of the people she gets very frustrated. So I quietly observe and try to work on "who, what, when, where and why" as she's playing. "What are they doing?" "Who is the Mommy?" "Where's the dog going?" Sometimes I get answers, sometimes I get totally ignored.
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| Dressed as "the princess" |
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| Pretend play |
She also has been doing a little more singing. The ABC's are a favorite as well as "Itsy Bitsy Spider". She can do the ABC's easily from start to finish. Itsy Bitsy is only the first phrase, and then start all over. Singing utilizes a different part of her brain, so I'm happy to see her doing more of it. Both are repetitive songs, so it's not too surprising she has caught on to them.
But tonight she surprised me.
Since Nea was just a couple weeks old, I have been singing her the same lullabye. I would sing it only when she nursed. I wanted the song to be associated with something so wonderful and pleasurable for her so that long after our breastfeeding relationship was over, the song would be connected to some very deep memories. (Yes, I'm that crazy woman down the street) And I have to say as the years have gone by whenever I would sing that lullaby, Nea would look at me and smile. It was something that passed between mother and daughter. Only her and I shared the memory. Of course she can't tell me what she's thinking when she hears it, but I always felt that our hearts spoke to each other as I sang the song. (Yes, I'm that crazy woman too).
Here are the lyrics:
I'm the body of the ocean
The roar of the sea
I can swim with the dolphins and they sing to me.
And I roll on the waves
And I wash through the deep
As I go to sleep
And here is a link to the clip of the soundtrack from the CD:
Click on Track 4 (Ocean Lullaby)
I fell in love with this song the first time I heard it. I had no idea how much Nea would love water and how much comfort water brings her. Or maybe, somehow, on some unconscious level as I was nursing my newborn......I knew that life-giving water would soothe her for years to come.
Tonight while sitting in our rocker/recliner, Nea climbed into my lap with her pillow and her blanket for some cuddle time. She didn't want to cuddle chest to chest, but she likes to lay her back against me (as if I'm part of the furniture) and "rocka-rocka". She seemed a bit restless so I thought that the lullaby might be a good idea.
.....and she started signing with me.
Every word.
I'm not sure I made it to the end, the tears started and I couldn't stop them. I never dared to dream that she would ever sing this song with me. I always just assumed that it was going to be a nice memory that her and I had together. She proved me wrong. Again.
And for a few brief moments mother and daughter rested in the serenity and safety of each other.
Letting their hearts sing the only song it knows......
Pure love.
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