We are still ALIVE!

My mom called this morning and said "people are going to think you and the girls are dead, since you haven't posted anything on the blog since the ER visit." Just to clarify, we are ALL still ALIVE! We are just all suffering from head colds and allergies. No fevers, just stuffy heads and runny noses. Therefore we haven't been doing much but sleeping and laying around the house relaxing and recovering.

I did have a meeting yesterday morning with the Hampton City School to discuss Madison. She is doing so well in school that they are going to retest her and she will most likely test out of "special education." She is no longer receiving Speech or OT therapies, so there is no reason for her to be a special ed. student. It is unclear where she will be going to Kindergarten though. They are building two new K-8 schools here in Hampton and closing down 3 existing schools. Hampton City is in the process of rezoning everyone so we don't know what her zoned school will be. Clay feels that we should look into the private school options, so I have a lot of research ahead of me. We will be praying for what is best for Madison.

Yesterday after school we went over to Lance, Nyx and Jude's house for dinner. It is always so nice to have dinner with other adults. Plus the kids love each other so much.

This morning before school I attempted to take a self-portrait of all of us since we all had red on and because Clay has been asking me to send him a picture with me in it. It is very difficult to take a good self-portrait of three people. This was our best shot. See we are ALIVE!

IEP Meeting

Today we had our annual IEP (Individual Education Plan) meeting with Madison's teacher and her Speech and OT therapists. We discussed Madison's progress and wrote new goals for her for the next school year.

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Behavioral

Measurable Annual Goal/Expected Outcome

Madison will act in an age appropriate manner when she is disappointed, doesn't get her way, and play in groups of 3 or more girls 10/10 consecutive days observed.

Benchmarks/Short Term Objectives

Madison will play for 20-30 minutes with 3 or more girls with no disagreements and hurt feelings by December 2009.

If Madison does not get her first pick of a job, task, or turn she will not pout or cry, by May 2010.

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Academic

Measurable Annual Goal/Expected Outcome

Madison will increase her academic skills to an age appropriate level for math, reading, and writing skills with recognizing numbers to 20, identifying letter sounds, and writing name and letters 100% by the end of the IEP period.

Benchmarks/Short Term Objectives:

Madison will count to 15 and recognize numbers in print by December 2009.

Madison will count to 20 and recognize numbers in print by May 2010.

Madison will be able to give the sound letter of the alphabet by December 2009.

Madison will be able to write her numbers to 10 and her first name by December 2009.

Madison will be able to write her first and last name and all letters upper and lowercase of the alphabet by May 2010.

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Occupational Therapy

Measurable Annual Goal/Expected Outcome

Madison will complete fine/visual motor skills with visual model 4/5 trials to increase independence with classroom tasks.

Benchmarks/Short Term Objectives

Madison will trace shapes and connect dot to dot pictures with good directionality.

Madison will cut straight and curved lines of a picture to produce recognizable shapes.

Madison will complete figure ground and mazes with good scanning skills.

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Speech Therapy

Measurable Annual Goal/Expected Outcome

Madison will correctly produce the phonemes /sh/ and /ch/ in all positions of words in connected sentences with 80% reliability.

Benchmarks/Short Term Objectives

Madison will correctly produce the target phonemes in all positions of words in 8/10 trails across three therapy sessions.

Madison will correctly produce the target phonemes in all positions of words in elicited phrases in 8/10 trials across three therapy sessions.

Madison will correctly produce the target phonemes in all positions of words in elicited sentences in 8/10 trials across three therapy sessions.

Madison will correctly produce the target phonemes in all positions of words in 2-3 elicited connected sentences in 8/10 trials across three therapy sessions.

Therapy Update

Today at OT Therapy, Madison got to do the regular swing. This was her first time and she did a great job. She is making such great progress with all of her OT goals that starting next month, she will only be going to private OT therapy once a month. We are filling out paperwork to start Listening Therapy, which is a form of OT therapy for children with Sensory Integration Disorder. The Listening Therapy will help Madison learn to tolerate sound and noise. We are looking forward to learning more about the Listening Therapy and getting started with it as soon as possible.

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Madison is continuing to work on her F and V sounds at the beginning, middle, and end of words. She is progressing well, but will continue to go to private Speech Therapy weekly.

OT Therapy

Today at OT therapy, Madison swung on the horse swing.

I caught her cheating and trying to fix her eyes on something, so she wouldn't get dizzy.

Miss Melissa showed Madison how to use her pincher fingers to fasten and unfasten buttons.

She practiced using her pincher fingers to manipulate the buttons.

Then she got to play the Peg Picture game to help strengthen her pincher fingers.

Madison also was able to undress and dress herself by herself today for Miss Melissa. This was a first for Madison. I didn't take pictures of it. This week we will continue to practice dressing, using buttons, and strengthening our pincher fingers.

My Very Own "Rocketship!"

While Madison was at school on Friday, Granddaddy decided to surprise her by making her her very own "rocketship," just like the one she uses at Occupational Therapy.

Jocelyn supervised the project and made sure that Granddaddy put the screws in the right place.

Jocelyn loved her special time helping Granddaddy.

She got to be in charge of holding the washers.

Today while Jocelyn was napping, Madison got to help Granddaddy put the padding and fabric on her "rocketship." Grandma and I took Madison to JoAnn Fabric yesterday to pick out the fabric for her "rocketship." She picked a very soft and fuzzy hot pink.

The "rocketship" is complete and ready to ride.

Thank you, Granddaddy! Madison loves her "rocketship." She is going to be able to do her OT exercises everyday now.

OT Therapy

On Tuesday afternoons I pick Madison up from school and take her to her private OT and Speech Therapy. Madison really likes her new OT therapist, Miss Melissa. Here are some pictures from today's OT therapy:

Madison is bouncing on the BIG ball.

She is rolling backwards to touch the ground.

Hanging backwards smiling at the camera.

She then switches to her tummy and rolls that way.

Time for the "rocket ship!" We are still working on being able to spin 10 times while lying down. We are currently up to 4-5 spins before she gets too dizzy and has to stop.

Madison is much better at spinning while sitting up.

Although she has to do it with her eyes closed otherwise she cheats and tries to fix her eyes on one object to keep from getting dizzy.

When she gets too dizzy she has to go and jump. She likes to jump on the mats and the trampoline.

Time to swing.

Today we tried to swing in circles.

She even tried to swing on her belly.

Look, NO HANDS!

We are still working on going down the slide backwards.

She loves getting to slide into the balls.

Today at school the kids played the name game. They also got to go to music. According to Mrs. Hunter, the music teacher has fallen in love with Madison. She adores the fact that Madison loves music and wants to play the violin when she gets bigger. The students got to color and read their own "Time for School" book. Their story today was Dinosaurs It's Time for School. Madison got 6/6 stars and was thrilled to get a hot pink "praiselet" that matched her pants today. Even though her best friend was still sick she went to the Dramatic Play center.