All of these things are running around in my mind 24/7 but for some reason it’s hard to sit and actually write it down!

There’s a lot going on right now – only 5 therapy sessions left with Janet…. that alone could cause me to have a nervous breakdown….EXCEPT for the fact that: a.) I believe Janet will still be in our lives, and will always be there when we need her, and b.) She’s slowly been teaching me over the course of the past year and a half to “be my own Janet” so-to-speak. No one could have done a better job to educate us, enlighten us, and successfully help us navigate our new life.

Lila starts the developmentally delayed pre-K program on August 20^th. I am simultaneously a nervous wreck AND super excited for Lila and what’s to come.

Over the past few weeks she has done a ton of new things – including, but not necessarily limited to the following:

1. We’ve started using a visual schedule a.) to help ease her anxiety about what’s coming next, and b.) so she will be used to visual schedules by the time she starts pre-K (they use them in the classroom, along with PECS cards).

2. Her fine motor skills on the iPad have improved considerably – she is getting food out of the pantry and feeding the Toca Kitchen 2 girl all by herself! She is attempting a few screens by herself on AlphaTots as well… and she likes to sit in my lap while we work with that app, and that’s been AMAZING.

3. We went with some friends to a restaurant….and she did really well… for 2 whole hours!!! Whaaat?!? Absolutely incredible.

4. I was able to successfully use the “Not Right Now” card when she requested a piggy-back ride while I was eating – and we used it multiple times with no meltdowns (it doesn’t get any better than that!)

5. She is now using episode cards! When she brings me the “Team Umizoomi” card during TV time. I then present her with a board full of episode choice cards. She totally gets it and I’m so happy and relieved that she can tell me exactly what she wants. She should be her voice whenever possible (not me!).

Current Challenges:

• The back door is still a source of huge anxiety for her. We’re working slowly to try and help her work through that.

• The sound of water running in the sink or the shower, the sound of food cooking in a skillet, and the hair dryer are also dicey. We need to introduce the noise-canceling headphones in our non-existent spare time. So nervous about introducing them because (as most of you know), if the FIRST time has a negative connotation – UN-doing that will be darn near impossible and incredibly labor-intensive.

Random Notes:

• She thinks yawning is hilarious
• She fakes sneezes so we will say “Bless you!”
• The word “whoa” and “whee” came and went (for the time-being anyway).
• Still loves her hair twisties as fidget toys, but is starting to use handfuls of pacis the same way – new fidget toy? We shall see!