Monday, December 24, 2007
Comments..
I've relaxed my comment settings a bit to allow anyone to post if you do the "captcha" jumbled-text-box thing. We'll see how this works and if it doesn't cause another deluge of spam posts I'll leave it that way..
Blasted spammers, ruining the world for everyone else who just wants to make information exchange simple.
Blasted spammers, ruining the world for everyone else who just wants to make information exchange simple.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Steady Progress...
Well, Ella's still not walking, but she's getting *really* close..
She's now to the point where she'll play the game where one of us helps her walk toward the other, then lets go when she gets close. She'll usually take one or two good steps then loose her balance (at which point we catch her).
This kind of thing has been going on for a while now, but she's really improving at it. Recently we were playing this game and when I let go of her and she stopped, balanced for a second or two, then started walking towards Karla, took 3 steps, then fell into her arms. Being able to start herself moving without throwing her balance off is a very good step.
Also, about a week ago when we were playing that game she tried to stand up without holding onto anything. She got herself on her feet with her hands on my lap, pushed off and stood herself up without touching anything. Of course, she promptly toppled over and I caught her, but that was a "risky" thing to do, and it was very good to see.
She's now to the point where she'll play the game where one of us helps her walk toward the other, then lets go when she gets close. She'll usually take one or two good steps then loose her balance (at which point we catch her).
This kind of thing has been going on for a while now, but she's really improving at it. Recently we were playing this game and when I let go of her and she stopped, balanced for a second or two, then started walking towards Karla, took 3 steps, then fell into her arms. Being able to start herself moving without throwing her balance off is a very good step.
Also, about a week ago when we were playing that game she tried to stand up without holding onto anything. She got herself on her feet with her hands on my lap, pushed off and stood herself up without touching anything. Of course, she promptly toppled over and I caught her, but that was a "risky" thing to do, and it was very good to see.
Saturday, December 8, 2007
Developmental Pediatrician.
As some of you know, Ella saw a developmental pediatrician from UMMC on Friday (hence forth "the doctor"). She was extrordiarily patient, observant, and made every effort to be helpful. However, in her own words "Well, I'm at a place where I can pretty much only tell you what you already know".
She spent some time discussing with us, as well as observing for her self, Ella's current abilities and behaviors.
On the plus side, she was able to confirm many of our observations, and be a bit more specific than we could be. In general the highlights of discussion where:
Autism - Ella's not showing any signs of Autism at present. Her sociability is too high for that, and we already knew this much. The doctor was also able to point out that her chances of developing autism are quite low. According to her, normally children that are sociable, but develop into autism start off with some signs of abnormal social behavior. During her observation, Ella started off being cautious toward the doctor because she was a stranger. Over a period of a half hour, Ella warmed up a bit to her and started playing near her, letting her hold her hand for walking, etc. According to the doctor, that's very normal, and children "at risk" will tend to have either really short or really long warm-up periods. The doctor still can't be 100% positive that Ella won't develop into Autism, but it's unlikely enough that she admits her gut reaction is "no, not a concern".
Cerebral Palsy - This much we already knew quite solidly, but the doctor did point out that she has no signs of Palsy. Her reflexes and muscle tone are both normal. ( Muscle tone is a reaction thing, not a strength thing, thus related to neurological health. If you suddenly straighten a child's arm, leg, whatever they'll automatically engage their muscles to protect the joint from being jolted. A child without low muscle tone will react slowly or weakly. A high tone child will react much too strongly, or may stiffen immediately.)
Metabolic Disorders - Ella's not really showing any signs of metabolic disorders, no enlarged organs, etc. However, the doctor did say she would have Ella's pediatrician review the metabolic screen she had at birth (ie: the PKU, etc they run on the heel stick), and possibly run some additional screens if some of the ones of interest weren't in her test. This is largely a precautionary measure, and the tests are simple enough to run with a small finger-prick sample of blood.
Assessment - In the process, the doctor also performed a developmental assesment, which was a different assesment tool than the E-LAP that the county used, but I forget which one. In general she came up with Ella's gross motor skills now being around 12-13 months, and her communication is much further behind. That's a bit further along than we thought in gross motor (we've been thinking around 10-11 months), but otherwise no surprise to us. As mentioned above, her social development was age appropriate, as was her cognitive and fine-motor.
Dyspraxia (aka Developmental Coordination Disorder) - This is the "working assumption" of Ella's Physical Therapist, and the doctor agreed this is a reasonable assumption. At this stage she couldn't really rule out any other problems, but that is what is evident at present.
My motor disorder - For those that don't know (which most of you do) I have some form of mild motor disorder. Unfortunately, not a whole lot is known about my disorder, largely because it was detected but deemed to mild to worry about by the neurologist I saw as a child. I can tell you that my disorder primarily affects my fine-motor skills (as anyone who's seen me write or free-hand draw will know), but it does have some lesser impacts on my gross motor and hand-eye co-ordination (as anyone who's seen me try to catch a ball will know). Obviously, since I have some kind of motor disorder, this was a significant topic of discussion since Ella is showing signs of one.
Ella is affected a bit differently than me, as mine is primarily fine motor and Ella's is primarily gross motor. However, my fine motor wasn't really noticeable until I entered school and was doing more complicated things like writing, crafts, etc. Also, I had no obvious gross motor issues at her age, as I was walking at 10 months.
Follow-up - The doctor wants to see her again in 6 months to see how she's progressing.
So, at this point, we only have some confirmation of things we knew, and possibly some additional metabolic screening. But a little confirmation is better than nothing at all.
She spent some time discussing with us, as well as observing for her self, Ella's current abilities and behaviors.
On the plus side, she was able to confirm many of our observations, and be a bit more specific than we could be. In general the highlights of discussion where:
Autism - Ella's not showing any signs of Autism at present. Her sociability is too high for that, and we already knew this much. The doctor was also able to point out that her chances of developing autism are quite low. According to her, normally children that are sociable, but develop into autism start off with some signs of abnormal social behavior. During her observation, Ella started off being cautious toward the doctor because she was a stranger. Over a period of a half hour, Ella warmed up a bit to her and started playing near her, letting her hold her hand for walking, etc. According to the doctor, that's very normal, and children "at risk" will tend to have either really short or really long warm-up periods. The doctor still can't be 100% positive that Ella won't develop into Autism, but it's unlikely enough that she admits her gut reaction is "no, not a concern".
Cerebral Palsy - This much we already knew quite solidly, but the doctor did point out that she has no signs of Palsy. Her reflexes and muscle tone are both normal. ( Muscle tone is a reaction thing, not a strength thing, thus related to neurological health. If you suddenly straighten a child's arm, leg, whatever they'll automatically engage their muscles to protect the joint from being jolted. A child without low muscle tone will react slowly or weakly. A high tone child will react much too strongly, or may stiffen immediately.)
Metabolic Disorders - Ella's not really showing any signs of metabolic disorders, no enlarged organs, etc. However, the doctor did say she would have Ella's pediatrician review the metabolic screen she had at birth (ie: the PKU, etc they run on the heel stick), and possibly run some additional screens if some of the ones of interest weren't in her test. This is largely a precautionary measure, and the tests are simple enough to run with a small finger-prick sample of blood.
Assessment - In the process, the doctor also performed a developmental assesment, which was a different assesment tool than the E-LAP that the county used, but I forget which one. In general she came up with Ella's gross motor skills now being around 12-13 months, and her communication is much further behind. That's a bit further along than we thought in gross motor (we've been thinking around 10-11 months), but otherwise no surprise to us. As mentioned above, her social development was age appropriate, as was her cognitive and fine-motor.
Dyspraxia (aka Developmental Coordination Disorder) - This is the "working assumption" of Ella's Physical Therapist, and the doctor agreed this is a reasonable assumption. At this stage she couldn't really rule out any other problems, but that is what is evident at present.
My motor disorder - For those that don't know (which most of you do) I have some form of mild motor disorder. Unfortunately, not a whole lot is known about my disorder, largely because it was detected but deemed to mild to worry about by the neurologist I saw as a child. I can tell you that my disorder primarily affects my fine-motor skills (as anyone who's seen me write or free-hand draw will know), but it does have some lesser impacts on my gross motor and hand-eye co-ordination (as anyone who's seen me try to catch a ball will know). Obviously, since I have some kind of motor disorder, this was a significant topic of discussion since Ella is showing signs of one.
Ella is affected a bit differently than me, as mine is primarily fine motor and Ella's is primarily gross motor. However, my fine motor wasn't really noticeable until I entered school and was doing more complicated things like writing, crafts, etc. Also, I had no obvious gross motor issues at her age, as I was walking at 10 months.
Follow-up - The doctor wants to see her again in 6 months to see how she's progressing.
So, at this point, we only have some confirmation of things we knew, and possibly some additional metabolic screening. But a little confirmation is better than nothing at all.
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
All kinds of mobile...
Ella is now 16 months old, as of two days ago (the 19th), and her progress continues to be really good.
As mental mother reported, she's really doing well with walking with only one hand held. This is really less of and achievement in ability and more of one in confidence. Ella's been really good at walking if you hold both of her hands for a while now, so good that she barely puts weight on your hands. However, until recently she's refused to walk more than a few steps without the safety net of you holding both hands. Today, she was a little hesitant, but once you got her going she freely trucked up and down the hallway with only one helping hand.
She's also making a lot more posture transitions. Tonight while making dinner I left her standing at her "busy zoo" toy, when I came back out she was at the dining room table. This may not sound like much, but to do that, she had to get down from standing and crawl over to the table. She's been pretty resistant to getting down from standing without help, but that wasn't and obstacle tonight.
Anyway, there's a new Mythbusters on.. I best go :)
As mental mother reported, she's really doing well with walking with only one hand held. This is really less of and achievement in ability and more of one in confidence. Ella's been really good at walking if you hold both of her hands for a while now, so good that she barely puts weight on your hands. However, until recently she's refused to walk more than a few steps without the safety net of you holding both hands. Today, she was a little hesitant, but once you got her going she freely trucked up and down the hallway with only one helping hand.
She's also making a lot more posture transitions. Tonight while making dinner I left her standing at her "busy zoo" toy, when I came back out she was at the dining room table. This may not sound like much, but to do that, she had to get down from standing and crawl over to the table. She's been pretty resistant to getting down from standing without help, but that wasn't and obstacle tonight.
Anyway, there's a new Mythbusters on.. I best go :)
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Sick...
Well, Ella officially has her first cold of the winter season. It's been going around my work, and this past weekend Ella was at the gym daycare and a good-sized birthday party. Lots of opportunity to catch it, and it worked. Now we have a baby with a cold AND teething out a molar at the same time, ahh, what fun!
Actually, it's not too bad given the circumstances. She's grumpy a lot, coughing a lot, and waking up a lot, but that's kinda the way baby and toddler colds go.
Anyway, here's wishing all the little ones a speedy recovery from this round.
Actually, it's not too bad given the circumstances. She's grumpy a lot, coughing a lot, and waking up a lot, but that's kinda the way baby and toddler colds go.
Anyway, here's wishing all the little ones a speedy recovery from this round.
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
A lot can happen in a month..
It's been over a month since my last update.. wow.. I really need to fill you all in more often..
Ok, so here's where we are now:
Rolling - Ella's now rolling quite a bit, although she rarely rolls completely from back to stomach to get onto her hands and knees, she will do it if there is something really exciting to motivate her. Most of the time she'll roll over onto her stomach, but keep one arm crossed under her chest and use that to flip herself back onto her back after a bit.
Cruising- Ella cruises quite a bit now, going from one piece of furniture to the next, around corners, from high to low surfaces, etc. She's also done some cruising against a sliding glass door with no help, but hasn't done a normal wall yet. (glass is a bit easier since your hands stick to it better when you press them flat to it)
Walk behind - Ella is now using a normal walk-behind toy instead of a chair. We've still got a 3lb weight in it to slow it down some, and she does it a bit hesitantly, but she does it.
Getting to standing - She now "pushes" to standing on objects that are below her shoulder height when she's tall kneeling. She's proficient at it enough now to crawl up to it, get to kneeling, then stand up pushing down on it. She still doesn't have the hang of grabbing onto things over her head and pulling up, but we're working on it.
A recent addition in standing is following this weeks PT session we've been working on having her sit on a bench, with a low table about 6" out of reach. From there, she's now comfortable standing up and thrusting herself forward to catch herself on the table. This little "leap of faith" may not seem like much, but it builds her confidence level so she'll start taking steps on her own. This trick basically took her only a day to master.. Our PT came on Tuesday, and she was doing it without hesitation on Weds..
The other activity the PT has us working on is getting her to bend over and pick things up off the floor while sitting on the bench. This is to help her build balance, and while she's definitely improving and can do it, she's not very comfortable with it yet.
Receptive Vocabulary - (ie: words she understands when you say them to her) I continue to be amazed at all the things Ella can correctly identify when asked. My most recent discovery is she knows what a rhinoceros is, or at least that the gray wooden thing with a horn on her busy zoo is one. (I've asked her on two different occasions "where's the rhinoceros" and she went straight for it..)
Speech - here there's no definitive progress, however our recent vacation has led to her getting back into babbling a lot. There's also been a few times where she might have been saying a word. Over the weekend, she grabbed a ball and made a sound like "ahwl". Which might have been random, or might have been an attempt to say ball. This kind of thing has only happened a few times, so we can't say it isn't coincidence, but we're watching for it.
Gestures and signs - Our special educator currently has us working on teaching Ella basic signs. We've been using a few for quite a number of months now, but now we have some better tactics for teaching them. At present there are few gestures of any sort that Ella does with any meaning. She reaches for things she wants. If you try to give or feed her something she doesn't want she turns her head away and puts her hands up to block you.When she's excited or happy, she claps a lot. Sometimes she does claps when she's bored to entertain herself, but that's less common. She also shakes her head "no" sometimes, but that's always simply because shaking her head is fun. She doesn't associate the gesture with "no".
Well, I best get some sleep, hope you've enjoyed the news..
Ok, so here's where we are now:
Rolling - Ella's now rolling quite a bit, although she rarely rolls completely from back to stomach to get onto her hands and knees, she will do it if there is something really exciting to motivate her. Most of the time she'll roll over onto her stomach, but keep one arm crossed under her chest and use that to flip herself back onto her back after a bit.
Cruising- Ella cruises quite a bit now, going from one piece of furniture to the next, around corners, from high to low surfaces, etc. She's also done some cruising against a sliding glass door with no help, but hasn't done a normal wall yet. (glass is a bit easier since your hands stick to it better when you press them flat to it)
Walk behind - Ella is now using a normal walk-behind toy instead of a chair. We've still got a 3lb weight in it to slow it down some, and she does it a bit hesitantly, but she does it.
Getting to standing - She now "pushes" to standing on objects that are below her shoulder height when she's tall kneeling. She's proficient at it enough now to crawl up to it, get to kneeling, then stand up pushing down on it. She still doesn't have the hang of grabbing onto things over her head and pulling up, but we're working on it.
A recent addition in standing is following this weeks PT session we've been working on having her sit on a bench, with a low table about 6" out of reach. From there, she's now comfortable standing up and thrusting herself forward to catch herself on the table. This little "leap of faith" may not seem like much, but it builds her confidence level so she'll start taking steps on her own. This trick basically took her only a day to master.. Our PT came on Tuesday, and she was doing it without hesitation on Weds..
The other activity the PT has us working on is getting her to bend over and pick things up off the floor while sitting on the bench. This is to help her build balance, and while she's definitely improving and can do it, she's not very comfortable with it yet.
Receptive Vocabulary - (ie: words she understands when you say them to her) I continue to be amazed at all the things Ella can correctly identify when asked. My most recent discovery is she knows what a rhinoceros is, or at least that the gray wooden thing with a horn on her busy zoo is one. (I've asked her on two different occasions "where's the rhinoceros" and she went straight for it..)
Speech - here there's no definitive progress, however our recent vacation has led to her getting back into babbling a lot. There's also been a few times where she might have been saying a word. Over the weekend, she grabbed a ball and made a sound like "ahwl". Which might have been random, or might have been an attempt to say ball. This kind of thing has only happened a few times, so we can't say it isn't coincidence, but we're watching for it.
Gestures and signs - Our special educator currently has us working on teaching Ella basic signs. We've been using a few for quite a number of months now, but now we have some better tactics for teaching them. At present there are few gestures of any sort that Ella does with any meaning. She reaches for things she wants. If you try to give or feed her something she doesn't want she turns her head away and puts her hands up to block you.When she's excited or happy, she claps a lot. Sometimes she does claps when she's bored to entertain herself, but that's less common. She also shakes her head "no" sometimes, but that's always simply because shaking her head is fun. She doesn't associate the gesture with "no".
Well, I best get some sleep, hope you've enjoyed the news..
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