First, let me say that I do not claim to have all the answers, or all the questions for that matter. But I do feel that my training and my work experience has helped me to understand what John needs and how I can help challenge him.
It is also my hearts desire that other parents of Down syndrome children be educated in understanding how to help their child. The worlds version of the story is that children with Down syndrome have very limited potential, but it is my opinion, and hopefully other parents of children with Ds, that our children indeed have more potential than they are given credit. I realize that most children with Down syndrome see a Physical Therapist on a regular basis which I advocate doing. It is also preferable that your Physical Therapist be the one who instructs and educates.
But sometimes, Physical Therapists either do not take the time to educate or do not feel that education is part of their job. So, I wanted to write this entry to make myself available for any questions. While I am not able to provide specific information about a particular child (except for John), I will be glad to offer any information and support that I can based on my experiences as one who has worked in the field and as provider for John. And I am more than happy to answer any questions about John.
My desire that no parent should feel at a loss of knowing how to teach their child has prompted me to write this post. And I feel that is the case with some and that shouldn't be. I am hear to tell you that there is more hope for your child's future than you are led to believe.
So with that said, I offer this post. Questions may be posted in comments or emailed to me directly. I will try to answer questions as they arise and I will include the questions and answers in a future post.(Can you tell that I miss my job?).
Friday, March 6, 2009
Question and Answer
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
John's 6 Month Check-up
The other day, John went for his 6 month check-up (we are late, he is now 7 months - such is life). But I wanted to document and share the findings. He was sick earlier this month with a respiratory and ear infection so he didn't have much of an appetite during that time. Yes, I admit that I pushed him to eat during that time which means that a bottle of 4 oz would take 20 - 30 minutes to get down when it normally would take him about 10 - 15 minutes. We would have to stop and use the bulb syringe along the way because the boy just kept pulling off the bottle because his nose was partially clogged. His eating of solids was virtually non-existent.
But he is pretty much back to himself - playing and enjoying his brothers and sister again. His appetite for solids has come back to full strength and he is cranky when he doesn't get them. For example, this morning, I took him with me to have breakfast with some other guys from church. I didn't have any solids with me as Joy had just nursed him before she left for work so I felt that I would be safe. But I was wrong, he stared at my food and watched me eat the whole time. I felt so bad for him that I slipped him a few of my scrambled eggs although that is not what he usually gets. He was happy to get back home to his cereal.
The things he now enjoys eating are squash, blueberries, carrots, cereal, bananas, biter buscuits, sweet potatoes, and fruity yogart. He is getting much better at his aim with his biter biscuit as now he can actually hit his mouth whereas when we first introduced the biter buscuit, we would stab himself in the eye with it.
Here are the check-up vitals:
- Weight: 14lbs 5oz. (~ 45th %)
- Length: 24 3/4 inches long (25th %)
- Head Circumference: 17 1/2 inches (+ 2 Std Dev above 50th %)
He also got 3 more of his vaccines.
John is now working toward sitting up independently which he can do for about 5-10 seconds before he topples over from turning his body to look behind him or to the side of him. But he is progressing toward that mark. He is also rolling from back to stomach and vica versa. He spends a lot of his time during the day on the floor playing with his hanging toys on the gym. At this point, it does me no good to leave him on his stomach unattended because he stretches and rolls wherever he likes which these days, he is enjoying being on his side while playing with the toys with one hand. 
We are very happy with the way he is progressing. Without looking it up in a book, it seems to me that he is about a month behind which doesn't concern me any as long as he is progressing forward. At this point, he is learning and I am satisfied with that no matter what the pace. We're having a great time with this boy and if it takes him a little longer to meet those milestones, then we just thank the Lord that we have more time to cuddle and hold him.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
It's A Small World
It has been great fun for me to write down my thoughts and to be able to share them with family and friends. But I had no idea that so many would visit. Not only has having John been a learning experience for us but writing this blog and keeping up with people who have visited and from where has also been a learning experience.
To date, this blog has had visitors from 36 countries. One of our goals in writing this blog has not only been to share our experience with others, but also to provide a little insight from a more therapeutic perspective. I hope that we have been an encouragement, I know that you all have been to us. Below are the countries that have visited:
United States / Canada / United Kingdom / Australia / Ireland / Malaysia / Egypt / India / Singapore / Norway / Brazil / France / Germany / Costa Rica / Sweden Switzerland / South Korea / Mexico / Philippines / Puerto Rico / Columbia / Japan Netherlands / Nigeria / Sudan / Oman / United Arab Emirates / Peru / Kuwait / Chile / Venezuela / Namibia / Croatia / Maldives / Greece.
Keeping up with the different countries that have read this blog has been both exciting and an education for us. Thank you very much for reading and we invite you to say hello the next time that you are at this site.
We are reminded of the fact that even though we are from different parts of the world, we deal with a lot of the same issues and we can learn from the experience of others.