Of elephants and monkeys
We went on an outing to the zoo yesterday. The Melbourne Zoo is a pretty big place, so we try to decide what we want to see and then anything else we manage to see on the way or after is fine.
When we arrived, Zoë saw the main entrance and got very excited, saying, "See animals! See animals!" (we had told her we were going to have a picnic and go to the zoo, but I'm not sure she associated the word "zoo" with seeing the animals, as we normally tell her we're going to "see animals"). We had lunch first while we decided what we wanted to see, and she did well (although she didn't eat all of her sandwich, preferring to stuff herself with chips until I took them away).
As it happens, the Melbourne Zoo has some new elephants (part of a breeding program for a species that is becoming threatened), and I wanted to see them, and see them we did. Zoë is lately very, very interested in elephants for whatever reason, and she was extremely excited to see them. We were fortunate to be able to see them at fairly close range, and she was just completely thrilled, to the point of getting a little "over the top" and becoming almost uncontrollable. We finally had to take her away from the elephant display because, apparently, elephants are just a little too exciting, or at least they were yesterday.
She was also extremely interested in the various monkeys. The zoo is very cleverly designed, and the monkey exhibits have "windows" that you can look through to observe the animals in a very comfortable, natural type habitat, and Zoë took great pleasure in looking through the windows to try to find the monkeys, some of which were hiding in the trees or bushes. She'd come to a new window and get up on the standing rail and say, "Look! Look! A monkey!" or if there were no monkeys visible she'd say, "It's gone!" (We're trying to teach her "hiding" to mean that it's there but not visible, but she hasn't quite gotten it yet.)
A few times during the day she got out of hand, such as when she found a small side gate that didn't have a lock on it, and decided to open in so she could go in the enclosure (I suspect the gate didn't lead into the enclosure but into a utility area or something, but still, you shouldn't open gates like that at the zoo).
This morning she was rather beastly, as well. Whether this is because of yesterday's excitement or just general crankiness I don't really know. She did settle down greatly after lunch (which was bacon and eggs), but I also gave her a dose of Kalm Kids, which tends to help take the edge off when she's being a little too excitable. She's been quite happily watching Labyrinth and been generally well-settled for a while now (she did ask about the baby in the story, but once I assured her that the baby would be okay and was safe, she settled down; it's funny, because she's seen Labyrinth many times, but this is the first she's actually vocalized that she was concerned about what would happen to the baby).
So there you go. Elephants are too exciting for words and monkeys are a pretty close second, when you're Zoë.
Autism Gene Located
In a major development, UCLA geneticist Rita Cantor recently pinpointed the location of an autism gene. Cantor and her colleagues analyzed the DNA of two large, unrelated groups of autism patients and their families. In both groups, the disorder was linked to a particular bit of genetic real estate on chromosome 17, called 17q21.
Tests and stuff
We went to the meeting with the psychologist regarding Zoë's tests. Basically, she qualifies for that which is known as a "special school", which is for children with mild to moderate disabilities, and she won't have to go to one for more impaired children. Developmentally, she's a couple years behind, but that, in my opinion, is pretty typical for Zoë, and she is still advancing and improving, so eventually she'll more or less catch up (we have every reason to expect that, at least at this point in her life and given her history).
There are now two schools on our list, and we'll be making appointments to meet with them discuss their facilities and programs, etc., and then decide which would best suit Zoë's needs.
So, well, it's about what I expected, pretty much. Now begins the tiresome process of picking a school and getting her enrolled and doing reams of paperwork...
Formal assessment, part 2
Zoë had the second part of her formal assessment today. Once she settled in an started to concentrate, she did well, from what I was told.
Afterward, we had to wait for a while in the waiting room, because we were going to meet Grandpop. Zoë was surprisingly good in the waiting room. Historically, she's been a real terror when we have to wait anywhere, but she was really very good today. I was very pleased with her behavior, and told her so.
We'll find out about the results of the assessment probably on Monday, when we go to talk with the psychologist about the results.
Empathy
We went out to the shopping center today and were waiting in line at Wendy's (an ice cream shop). As we waited, a man came along with a crying toddler girl and his older son, and the man plopped the little girl down at the feet of her mother, who was waiting in line. Dad then said to the little girl, "I'll be back in a bit," and went off with the older brother.
Andrew and I smiled at the woman and at the little girl (we sympathize with people dealing with public tantrums!). We chatted just a little bit, parent type stuff, and the little one kept on crying and was being very dramatic about it all in true toddler style...
After a bit, Zoë got out of her stroller and stood next to the little girl, who was clinging to her mother's leg and still crying. I asked Zoë what was wrong, and Zoë kept looking in the direction that the little girl's dad had gone and said, "Mom." From that I worked out that she was concerned that the little girl had been separated from her parents, and Zoë was going to stay with her until they came back.
I told Zoë, "It's okay. That's her Mama right there, see? She's with her Mama," and Zoë looked at the situation and then got back into her stroller.
She's shown empathy of various kinds with family members (asking if you're all right when you're hurt, that sort of thing), but this is the first I've seen her show empathy for a complete stranger!
Formal assessment, part 1
Zoë went this morning for the first of her sessions for the formal assessment for IQ and developmental age. I told her a couple of times before we went that she was going to see Siobhan, who she had met before, and that they were going to do puzzles, and I told her again on the way there and once we arrived.
When Zoë saw Siobhan, she gave her a kiss on the hand in greeting, and then as we went down the corridor to to room where they'd be working, I heard Zoë say very softly, "Do puzzles." I hadn't even gotten Zoë's sweater off before she was working on the first puzzle! I went to a lounge area and had a cup of tea while they "did puzzles", with the understanding that if Zoë got difficult I'd come in and be present, but it wasn't necessary. She was apparently very cooperative, and Siobhan was impressed with Zoë strong visual ability and puzzle-working skill.
Siobhan said that Zoë "did her best", so that's good. As long as she was cooperative and paid attention, we'll get a pretty accurate assessment, which, after all, is what we want.
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