Few people get the chance to really see Sheridan sign or hear him talk/sing... here's your chance for a little peek :)
The first 17 times he did this (yes, this is his favorite song right now so he requests it all the time), his words were a bit clearer (in terms of articulation) and he signed more. But this is a really good representation. You can see he knows the song, knows the order, knows the words, most of his words are approximations (some are much better than others), and he signs like crazy (and helps us sign!).
The only television Sheridan watches is 1, maybe 2, episodes of Signing Time a day. He has well over 200 signs that he picked up in just over 6 months. We owe that to Rachel Coleman. Love her (and Alex and Leah).
Enjoy!
31 May 2011
26 May 2011
What's My Name?
For the past few months Sheridan could approximate the syllables of his name with some prompting. This morning, he climbed up on our bed (his daily ritual to help wake up his night-owl parents) and proudly started saying his entire name, unprompted! This evening I was able to get quick video of it - it's not quite as clear as it was this morning... but it's still AMAZING. I owe you all an apraxia update, but that will have to wait. For now, enjoy :)
You'll notice he prompts himself for the "sh" sound (which actually comes out closer to an "s" sound), his "ri" sound is more like a "wah" sound, and "dan" is pretty darn close ;-)
You'll notice he prompts himself for the "sh" sound (which actually comes out closer to an "s" sound), his "ri" sound is more like a "wah" sound, and "dan" is pretty darn close ;-)
23 May 2011
Lucky In Love
I am so fortunate to have The Sisterhood... a local group of (more than 40!) "Sisters" who all have a young child with Ds. It's an amazing group of women - we laugh together, support new moms, support each other through IEPs/IFSPs, revel in every accomplishment, listen when life gets rough (Ds-related or not)... I don't know what I'd do without them. I truly love my Sisters.
And this past weekend some of us Sisters went to Lake Tahoe for some much needed relaxation and bonding time. Just us girls. Ahhhhhh... so lovely. We'd been planning the trip for quite a while, so it was nice to finally enjoy two days of focusing on ourselves (and each other!).
Here's a few pics from the weekend - and I have to give a very special shout out to Laura Beth's family who offered their AMAZING (the word hardly describes it) house to use for the whole weekend. Thank you for rejuvenating these mamas.
And this past weekend some of us Sisters went to Lake Tahoe for some much needed relaxation and bonding time. Just us girls. Ahhhhhh... so lovely. We'd been planning the trip for quite a while, so it was nice to finally enjoy two days of focusing on ourselves (and each other!).
Here's a few pics from the weekend - and I have to give a very special shout out to Laura Beth's family who offered their AMAZING (the word hardly describes it) house to use for the whole weekend. Thank you for rejuvenating these mamas.
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| From left: Laura Beth, Gina, Jen, Sarah, Jenni, Jonna, me, Debbie, Cori, Amy, Sheree (hot mamas, huh?!) |
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| That's Susan on the right... she arrived a bit later :) |
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| This is by far my favorite picture of the Sisters! |
27 April 2011
13 April 2011
Already?! What Would You Do?
Ok, one of the biggest concerns I had when I learned Sheridan's diagnosis was: How will others treat him?
I mean, let's face it. Everyone (well, maybe not everyone, but most people) gets teased. And it sucks. And it breaks my heart thinking of kids teasing Sheridan as he grows up.
One of my Sisters just dealt with this exact issue - her 8-year-old boy (who has Ds) was told by a couple classmates that they didn't want to play with him because he's a "retard" and "dumb" (although I have to give a shout out to two other classmates - both girls - who stood up for him in a big way, so not all kids are cruel, right?).
Thinking I had a few more years to brace myself for exactly how I would handle this kind of thing... the other day at the park two girls (about 7-8 years old) were watching Sheridan and I play. I noticed out of the corner of my eye that one of the girls started to mock Sheridan.
Surely I saw this incorrectly. I was using peripherals, after all.
Nope.
There she was, imitating his open-mouth posture (in a grotesque, over-exaggerated way) to the other girl. You better believe I gave that girl some wicked direct eye contact. But it didn't stop her (although she did try to turn her body and hide so I couldn't see her do it). But I still saw. Punk.
The second girl just brushed her off and said, "Yeah, I know," and kept doing whatever it was she was doing. But the imitator kept at it. And the second girl got annoyed and said, "I knooowww" (in that "will you just leave it alone?!" kind of tone). So, good on her for indicating it's no big deal.
But seriously?! Making fun of a 2-year-old?!
I was angry, but mostly hurt. And all the while Sheridan had no idea any of this was going on because he was watching a dog play nearby (that boy is obsessed with dogs - we'll probably have to get one at some point). So I guess there's that, right? He didn't know, so wasn't hurt by it directly (meaning it didn't make him sad or hurt his feelings). But he still kind of was hurt buy it, you know? Somebody thought it was ok to make fun of a person with a disability.
Caveats:
So here's my question... what would you have done?
I SO wanted to call her out. So her parents could hear and maybe even get involved. Just say, "Hey, that's not very nice." Ok, it's not poetic or anything, but it's the nicest thing I could think to say to an 8-year-old (you should have heard the other options rattling around in my head). Everything else would have been totally inappropriate - but all kidding aside, I didn't want to squander a chance to turn this girl around.
But I have a really hard time recognizing what the boundaries are here, so I need some help. Where do I step in and say something to the child (remember, parents were right there), and where do I not say anything because it's the parents' responsibility and I shouldn't step on parenting toes? The girl knew she was wrong and I was glad I could at least portray that with my eyes if not with words. But I struggle with when it's ok to speak up (not just about teasing, about any incorrect behavior) to others' kids.
EDITED TO ADD: To be clear, I didn't give the girl the evil eye - I wasn't "mean" or rude about it. I just wanted to send the message that I saw her. I was really concerned about slamming the door on a teachable moment if I said something and the parents got all pissed off about it (you know me, I'm all about capitalizing on an opportunity to educate others). But I was afraid the parents would be offended if I said anything to the girl, etc. What I learned from your responses (in the comments and private emails I received) is that most parents would actually prefer that I say something so that (1) they can know what their child is doing, (2) the child has an opportunity to learn from the experience.
I mean, let's face it. Everyone (well, maybe not everyone, but most people) gets teased. And it sucks. And it breaks my heart thinking of kids teasing Sheridan as he grows up.
One of my Sisters just dealt with this exact issue - her 8-year-old boy (who has Ds) was told by a couple classmates that they didn't want to play with him because he's a "retard" and "dumb" (although I have to give a shout out to two other classmates - both girls - who stood up for him in a big way, so not all kids are cruel, right?).
Thinking I had a few more years to brace myself for exactly how I would handle this kind of thing... the other day at the park two girls (about 7-8 years old) were watching Sheridan and I play. I noticed out of the corner of my eye that one of the girls started to mock Sheridan.
Surely I saw this incorrectly. I was using peripherals, after all.
Nope.
There she was, imitating his open-mouth posture (in a grotesque, over-exaggerated way) to the other girl. You better believe I gave that girl some wicked direct eye contact. But it didn't stop her (although she did try to turn her body and hide so I couldn't see her do it). But I still saw. Punk.
The second girl just brushed her off and said, "Yeah, I know," and kept doing whatever it was she was doing. But the imitator kept at it. And the second girl got annoyed and said, "I knooowww" (in that "will you just leave it alone?!" kind of tone). So, good on her for indicating it's no big deal.
But seriously?! Making fun of a 2-year-old?!
I was angry, but mostly hurt. And all the while Sheridan had no idea any of this was going on because he was watching a dog play nearby (that boy is obsessed with dogs - we'll probably have to get one at some point). So I guess there's that, right? He didn't know, so wasn't hurt by it directly (meaning it didn't make him sad or hurt his feelings). But he still kind of was hurt buy it, you know? Somebody thought it was ok to make fun of a person with a disability.
Caveats:
- Yes, I know kids are mean.
- Yes, I know kids tease other kids.
- Yes, kids get teased for many, many reasons, and don't have to have a disability to fall prey.
- Yes, Sheridan will be teased for many things - both related and unrelated to Ds.
- Yes, I could have just shrugged it off and vowed to start working on oral motor therapy even harder - but this would focus on changing Sheridan, not others' hearts.
- I really didn't want to close the door on a chance to educate the girl, for Sheridan's sake if for nothing else.
So here's my question... what would you have done?
I SO wanted to call her out. So her parents could hear and maybe even get involved. Just say, "Hey, that's not very nice." Ok, it's not poetic or anything, but it's the nicest thing I could think to say to an 8-year-old (you should have heard the other options rattling around in my head). Everything else would have been totally inappropriate - but all kidding aside, I didn't want to squander a chance to turn this girl around.
But I have a really hard time recognizing what the boundaries are here, so I need some help. Where do I step in and say something to the child (remember, parents were right there), and where do I not say anything because it's the parents' responsibility and I shouldn't step on parenting toes? The girl knew she was wrong and I was glad I could at least portray that with my eyes if not with words. But I struggle with when it's ok to speak up (not just about teasing, about any incorrect behavior) to others' kids.
EDITED TO ADD: To be clear, I didn't give the girl the evil eye - I wasn't "mean" or rude about it. I just wanted to send the message that I saw her. I was really concerned about slamming the door on a teachable moment if I said something and the parents got all pissed off about it (you know me, I'm all about capitalizing on an opportunity to educate others). But I was afraid the parents would be offended if I said anything to the girl, etc. What I learned from your responses (in the comments and private emails I received) is that most parents would actually prefer that I say something so that (1) they can know what their child is doing, (2) the child has an opportunity to learn from the experience.
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