Faith's Mom's Blog

Oh boy! These last two mornings have been tough ones as far as Faith getting ready for school. Everyone seems sort of perplexed by her behavior. She cries and screams and throws a fit as soon as I start getting her dressed for school. She tells me repeatedly to "Stop it!"  I seriously wonder what the neighbors think during all of this. At some point she does calm down but why does she even do it in the first place? Does she seriously think that by throwing a fit we're not going to send her to school? Both her morning and afternoon aides say that when she is in the classroom, she is a little tense, and her arms are bent up and she can't totally relax. I'm hoping this gets better as she acclimates to her new classroom.  It can be a challenge to get out the door in the morning!  Despite her bits of anxiety, her feedings are going well at school for which I am very grateful. Last year we kept having episodes of gagging and throwing up. We decided to take her to a nu...

Well, just as I thought, this morning didn't go too well getting Faith ready for school. She was in tears for most of the time we were getting ready. I tried to sit with her and console her and through her tears she said, "I'm not ready for school." When I asked her why she replied through even more tears, "I want to stay home with you." It was sad and endearing at the same time. I'm not sure what finally brought her out of her tears, but she did calm down as I was fixing her hair. Then when her dad tried to talk to her, she told him she was busy getting ready. Rob and I both walked her to school and since her morning aide was nowhere to be seen, I took her downstairs to her classroom. On the way, we ran into several teachers who gave Faith a very warm welcome back to school. She received many compliments on her outfit and her pretty hair. She was smiling and talking, and I knew at that point she was going to be fine. At home, I kept watching the cl...

Tomorrow is the big day - Faith officially becomes a 2nd grader. We have been spending the last couple of weeks buying school supplies, shopping for school clothes, and having fun driving the van around.  Then yesterday to help her get emotionally ready for school we read the list of kids in her class and had a little pretend school session at home - of course she wanted to be the teacher! She does say that when she grows up, she wants to be a teacher. She definitely has the giving instructions part down! This morning, I agreed to help volunteer at one of the booths for open house so parents could come in and pay lunch money, pay PTO dues, buy spirit wear - things like that. Faith was very patient with me at the booth and it helped when people came over to visit.  After we were done with that, we ventured downstairs to meet her teacher and see her classroom. I was thankful that there was an instant connection between Faith and her new teacher. Faith ended up telling her, "Yo...

Assistive technology helps students succeed in the classroom. There are many types of assistive technology to help students with different special needs. In the photo to the left, assistive technology called interactive switches allow Faith to drive her power chair and operate her computer at school. Read more by going to Assistive Technology Helps Students with Disabilities.

All week long, the clinic that Faith goes to has been holding pediatric therapy sessions in a handicapped-accessible park called Magical Moments. Of course, when this was being planned, the weather was going to be a key factor. It turned out to be a beautiful week - perfect for playing in the park.  Yesterday, Faith got in her gait trainer like any normal physical therapy session but this time instead of walking down a hallway, she got to walk up some ramps that eventually led to some slides. It was harder than normal because these ramps were at a slight incline, and she has never walked uphill before. She worked so hard, and as a reward, she got to go down the green slide with her physical therapist. She was all smiles! Faith giving it all she's got Keep going Faith! Faith made it to the slide! Going down the slide! When we lived on 7th street, we used to take Faith to this park quite a bit because of the special wheelchair swing it had. The swing is now new an...