I want to spell out to anyone new reading this blog exactly where Sarah's development is at the age of ten. It can be hard to tell by looking at pictures :) So just to give you an idea...Sarah can stand with a lot of assist. She can initiate steps. She has no standing/kneeling balance. Her left leg is very tight and weak so she cannot weight-bear much on it. She can sit. But she cannot get herself to the sitting position from lying down. She can roll. She cannot crawl. She rarely uses her left hand. Her right hand is pretty good but she cannot isolate the 'pointer' finger to activate buttons/toys. She must use her whole hand. Her trunk tone is low so she slouches forward when she sits and tends to lean to the right. She does not have scoliosis. Yet.
She does not speak. She makes vowel sounds. She has a great belly laugh. She cannot chew but can bite a piece off a sandwich or french fry :) She does not have seizures. Yet. She is very nearsighted and wears contacts or glasses. She is considered legally blind. Her hearing is excellent. She has some autistic features.
Sarah is a good learner. She is reading and learning sentence structure. She observes and listens at all times, like a sponge. I use flashcards to teach her. She does not forget what was previously taught. She has huge sensory defensiveness in the areas of touch, light and sound. She tires easily, requiring 2 'rest periods' a day. She goes to bed at 6pm and sleeps through till 7 am :)
Sarah is 'full care' in every way. She must be fed, dressed and bathed. She has a wheelchair, a stander, a trip-trap chair and a bath chair. There is ONE kind of gait trainer that is appropriate for her but it has been discontinued so I must find a used one......
I guess that's mostly it in a nutshell, except for 'school'. I teach her at home. A teacher comes to the house twice a month to brainstorm with me on my teaching sessions with Sarah. Twice a week Sarah goes to OT. Twice a week she has Theraputic Horseback Riding in the good weather. Sarah loves outings to the mall and restaurants. She enjoys car rides and music. And more music. Music. Music. Music. And bed. She loves her bed :)
