Tonight Ella was in a braver mood, and did 10 feet (17 steps) of free walking, shattering this morning's 7 foot record. And she did it repeatedly, at least 5 round-trip laps.
One other thing I neglected to mention.. She steers herself while walking. She might start off headed at a 45 degree angle to where she's going, and she'll properly curve to get where she wants to go.
This is all very good.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Walking progress..
Well, Ella's still not walking completely on her own, but she's definitely making a lot of improvements. Since Yule we've been having her walk back and forth between us for a few steps at a time, then collapse on the receiving parent. For a while, she regressed and got more hesitant, but recently she's made good progress again.
This morning, Ella will walked a bit over 7 feet ) without touching anything to go between us (10-13 of her steps). We were sitting in the hall and our hands were about 8 1/2 feet apart, but I subtracted a bit for reach-out and push-off. She also no longer needs you to "catch" her. You can simply put one hand up (in a "stop" motion), and she'll walk over, reach out with one of her hands, and grab it for stability while she turns herself around. Most of the time she can turn around with no more stability, but occasionally she gets excited, whips around and falls over.. oops.
We still haven't gotten her to do very much in walking towards inanimate objects, but she will take 3 steps or so to get to something she's really interested in (such as her mother's keyboard so she can bang out some music..). We've had no luck at all getting her to push off from inanimate objects, although we have gotten her to use one of our knees as a push off instead of our hands.
This morning, Ella will walked a bit over 7 feet ) without touching anything to go between us (10-13 of her steps). We were sitting in the hall and our hands were about 8 1/2 feet apart, but I subtracted a bit for reach-out and push-off. She also no longer needs you to "catch" her. You can simply put one hand up (in a "stop" motion), and she'll walk over, reach out with one of her hands, and grab it for stability while she turns herself around. Most of the time she can turn around with no more stability, but occasionally she gets excited, whips around and falls over.. oops.
We still haven't gotten her to do very much in walking towards inanimate objects, but she will take 3 steps or so to get to something she's really interested in (such as her mother's keyboard so she can bang out some music..). We've had no luck at all getting her to push off from inanimate objects, although we have gotten her to use one of our knees as a push off instead of our hands.
Monday, February 4, 2008
The flu and speech therapist...
Well, thinking I was "coming down with" the flu was an understatement.. both me and Karla got hit quite severely by the flu on Saturday night. Although my stomach recovered fully by Monday morning, I was still a bit sore and weak as my body was still recovering from the abdominal muscle strain, dehydration and fever. As a result, I took today off work to recuperate.
Flu aside, Ella saw a Speech Pathologist this morning for the first time. That was fairly helpful, and we got some feedback on some of the tactics we've been using, and some tips on recognizing some of her attempts at speaking so we can better encourage them.
It was also recommended we take Ella in for an audiological screen. This is a detailed hearing test, and a test with a device called a tympanometer that bounces sound waves off the eardrum and tests the movement of the eardrum by analyzing the reflected sounds.
Ella's hearing appears to be fine because she's got an excellent receptive vocabulary (she can clearly discern over 100 words that we've counted). However, because she keeps pulling on her left ear they want to screen for fluid trapped in her ear. It's probably just a frustration or boredom habit, but it could be a sign of trouble there.
Flu aside, Ella saw a Speech Pathologist this morning for the first time. That was fairly helpful, and we got some feedback on some of the tactics we've been using, and some tips on recognizing some of her attempts at speaking so we can better encourage them.
It was also recommended we take Ella in for an audiological screen. This is a detailed hearing test, and a test with a device called a tympanometer that bounces sound waves off the eardrum and tests the movement of the eardrum by analyzing the reflected sounds.
Ella's hearing appears to be fine because she's got an excellent receptive vocabulary (she can clearly discern over 100 words that we've counted). However, because she keeps pulling on her left ear they want to screen for fluid trapped in her ear. It's probably just a frustration or boredom habit, but it could be a sign of trouble there.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Biting lemons and the flu..
Sorry it's been a bit, but life's been busy. Ella's got the flu, and I seem to be coming down with it too.
As for the Lemons...
Last Weekend, Ella got together with JP and his mother. Among other things, we all went out to dinner at Applebees. While at dinner, JP was eating the lemon out of his mother's tea. Apparently he likes them, and is rather insistent upon having them if they're on the table...
So, I decided to try to give Ella a taste of mine.. lo and behold, she likes them too. She does make reel back and twisted faces right after biting it, but then she opens her mouth back up, leans forward and takes another bite.
However, in some of my recent reading, I found that giving a child strong-tasting foods, such as lemons, Tabasco sauce, etc , is actually a therapy method used in aiding children with speech delays. The idea is the alarming tastes cause them to focus on their mouth more, aiding oral motor development. This is, of course, presuming the child doesn't over-react to them.
So, shout-outs to JP's mom.. thanks for the free speech therapy :)
As for the Lemons...
Last Weekend, Ella got together with JP and his mother. Among other things, we all went out to dinner at Applebees. While at dinner, JP was eating the lemon out of his mother's tea. Apparently he likes them, and is rather insistent upon having them if they're on the table...
So, I decided to try to give Ella a taste of mine.. lo and behold, she likes them too. She does make reel back and twisted faces right after biting it, but then she opens her mouth back up, leans forward and takes another bite.
However, in some of my recent reading, I found that giving a child strong-tasting foods, such as lemons, Tabasco sauce, etc , is actually a therapy method used in aiding children with speech delays. The idea is the alarming tastes cause them to focus on their mouth more, aiding oral motor development. This is, of course, presuming the child doesn't over-react to them.
So, shout-outs to JP's mom.. thanks for the free speech therapy :)
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Omega-3's and dyspraxia..
Recently, there's been a lot of attention of how various omega-3 fatty acids, particularly DHA, affect autism. This has also spawned a lot of research into how various omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids affect other disorders, including dyspraxia.
Probably the best study on how fatty acids affect dyspraxia is the Oxford-Durham study from 2005. The study used 117 students with DCD, ages 5-12 in a double-blind random study (no crossover). For 3 months they were given a blend of fish oil (EPA and DHA in a 3:1 ratio) and evening primrose oil (provides GLA, which easily converts to ARA) or a placebo of olive oil. At the end of the study they found several improvements cognitive learning rate and behavior, but no motor improvements relative to the placebo group.
So, omega-3's aren't a magic arrow for the motor problems of DCD. That said, there are several DHA supplemented baby foods Ella still strongly enjoys, so her typical daily diet does contain 40mg of DHA and 8-40mg of EPA. (none of the products label their EPA content, but are fish oil based and there's always some EPA. How much varies with blending and processing.)
Probably the best study on how fatty acids affect dyspraxia is the Oxford-Durham study from 2005. The study used 117 students with DCD, ages 5-12 in a double-blind random study (no crossover). For 3 months they were given a blend of fish oil (EPA and DHA in a 3:1 ratio) and evening primrose oil (provides GLA, which easily converts to ARA) or a placebo of olive oil. At the end of the study they found several improvements cognitive learning rate and behavior, but no motor improvements relative to the placebo group.
So, omega-3's aren't a magic arrow for the motor problems of DCD. That said, there are several DHA supplemented baby foods Ella still strongly enjoys, so her typical daily diet does contain 40mg of DHA and 8-40mg of EPA. (none of the products label their EPA content, but are fish oil based and there's always some EPA. How much varies with blending and processing.)
Dyspraxia/DCD links...
For those who haven't noticed yet, I added a few links to websites and articles on Developmental Dyspraxia and Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD). Both are nearly synonymous terms for the disorder that Ella appears to have. Dyspraxia is primarily a term used in the UK, and DCD in America, but there is some crossover.
As for the links, In general, I'd say:
If you want an easy to understand overview, read the NCLD article. For the most part it's very down to earth and practical.
If you want a bit more detailed and technical approach, read the wikipedia article.
If you're a medical professional, or want a lengthy discussion, you might find the DCD primer useful. It's primarily targeted at educating pediatricians, and is 5 1/2 pages of useful text. This article is a little on the older side, 1996, but it's still quite good information.
As for the links, In general, I'd say:
If you want an easy to understand overview, read the NCLD article. For the most part it's very down to earth and practical.
If you want a bit more detailed and technical approach, read the wikipedia article.
If you're a medical professional, or want a lengthy discussion, you might find the DCD primer useful. It's primarily targeted at educating pediatricians, and is 5 1/2 pages of useful text. This article is a little on the older side, 1996, but it's still quite good information.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Teething pains...
Well, Ella's on another of her "how many teeth can come in at once" phases. Right now she's got 2 that have broken through the skin a little bit, another 2 that are swelling up to break, and 2 more that might be coming in, but it's hard to tell amidst the chaos.
So, Ella's got a good bit of the "teething grumpies", and it's been messing with her sleep. On Sunday and Monday she woke up for the morning at 4:30am and 4am, respectively.
For the most part it's been settling down a little, but she's still having bursts of "I want this, no that, no, wait, I want to stand and sit, and lay down all at once..." interspersed with sessions of "I want to sit on your lap and have you to read to me for 3 hours straight" and "I want you to walk me around the house in laps for 3 hours straight".
Fortunately, it's not really quite as bad as it sounds, but it's certainly bad enough that I feel sorry for my poor wife who has to try to keep her active and happy all day. (dear, you're the best!)
So, Ella's got a good bit of the "teething grumpies", and it's been messing with her sleep. On Sunday and Monday she woke up for the morning at 4:30am and 4am, respectively.
For the most part it's been settling down a little, but she's still having bursts of "I want this, no that, no, wait, I want to stand and sit, and lay down all at once..." interspersed with sessions of "I want to sit on your lap and have you to read to me for 3 hours straight" and "I want you to walk me around the house in laps for 3 hours straight".
Fortunately, it's not really quite as bad as it sounds, but it's certainly bad enough that I feel sorry for my poor wife who has to try to keep her active and happy all day. (dear, you're the best!)
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