She's really, really getting it
Zoë seems to be understanding simple commands much better now. I've asked her simple things (such as, "Where are your shoes?") and she'll respond to the question or command. She knows phrases like, "Give that back," "Bring it to me," "Put it in the rubbish," and so forth. She also understands things such as "Wash hands," and "Let's clean our teeth," and "Let me brush your hair."
She's still not speaking a great deal, but the quality of her speech is improving. She's making connections on her own, without being taught.
For example, she saw a picture of a dog and said, "Dog." I agreed with her, and confirmed it was a dog. Then she grinned at me and said, "Cat." I'm not sure if she was making a joke (she does seem to be making jokes lately, believe it or not) or if she was associating dogs with cats. Either way, it's a great sign.
Then, yesterday, she saw a digital image of a teapot and she looked at it for a few moments and then said, "Milk." Andrew and I were both amazed at this. We've never told her that milk comes in a teapot, certainly, but she does know that you pour liquid from a teapot. I suppose in her mind, a teapot's not that different from a milk jug. In any event, that was completely unprompted and it was an image she had NEVER seen before!
We have an appointment tomorrow to meet with one of the early intervention centres. She's actually gotten an invitation to attend a specialty centre/school for autistic children (although she hasn't yet been determined to be actually autistic, she fits enough of the criteria that she'll do well at that school), but we're going to see if we can get her into early intervention over the summer break before the term starts at the other school, or see if maybe this intervention centre may have some sort of other program that would benefit Zoë more or in addition to the other school program.
Catchup
Well, it's been far too long since I updated this. Our server was offline for a while and things have been hectic for various reasons and it just all got away from me. But I'm going to try to catch up now.
Zoë's doing quite well at pre-school. She's gotten very used to the routines and the people there and she's been, to quote her teacher, "good as gold."
She's also communicating with us much more significantly. The quantity of her speech isn't really increasing, but the quality of it certainly is. She's started to shake her head for "no" and also to say it (in answer to questions), and she just seems to be understanding that communication is desirable.
She is using some words spontaneously and in surprising ways. She saw Ronald McDonald and said, "clown", which is one of the words on her language videos. She also said, "coos" about a field of cows. She occasionally will say words we didn't realize she knew or which she doesn't normally use, and she's using them correctly and in context.
Her moods are improved greatly since we started the concerted vitamin and mineral supplements. When she doesn't have her supplements, she gets quite out of sorts and difficult to deal with, but when she has them regularly, she's very pleasant most of the time. The difference is VERY noticible.
Zoë's speech therapist is on holiday for a few weeks, but when she comes back in mid-November, we're going to be starting a new, intensive program with weekly sessions. I don't know how long we're going to be doing that, but the program involves picture cards and other objects. I'm not 100% clear on it, but as it progresses, I'll report.
Next week, we have an appointment at one of the nearby early intervention centres. No idea what sort of programs they have or what Zoë will be able to get or anything of that sort, but at least we're moving foward there.
It's definitely been decided that Zoë will repeat the three-year-old program at pre-school. All professionals involved and Andrew and I feel that the extra year will give her a good chance to get somewhat caught up. Since she's quite petite, she looks younger than she is, so it won't be troublesome later on.
Zoë has been very naturally affectionate lately. With me, with the cat, with her Dad, even with her sister (although, like most siblings, that's a push-me-pull-me sort of thing). Since lack of affectionate behavior is one of the things to look for in developmentally delayed children, this is one area we can report that she seems to be entirely normal.
Another area to watch is "imaginative play," where she's definitely not lacking. She makes her toys "talk" to each other, she turns shoes into boats or cars, she uses objects imaginatively in many ways. Last night she was cuddling with her Dad on the couch and his shirt got pulled up. Zoë rubbed his tummy and then decided to make his bellybutton sing! Funniest thing I've seen in ages. Now THAT is a good imagination.
We're still working on the potty training. She's been waking up dry in the mornings, so we put her on the potty first thing, but she hasn't worked out about that at ALL. Last night, though, she did voluntarily go to the toilet when she needed to do a poo, and that's a good thing. It's sort of two steps forward and one step back with these things, unfortunately. She has the physical ability to control her bladder/bowels, but not the developmental ability to know why she'd want to do such a thing, and she lacks the language skills for us to explain it to her.
So, well, all in all, she's actually doing well. Her sunny little personality (so long as she gets her vitamin supplements and enough sleep) is lovely and she's slowly adapting to the world around her and making more sense of it all, as far as we can tell. Hopefully, the more intense speech therapy and involvement with the early intervention program will help break down some barriers there.
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