22 November 2011

iPad uses

We love having the ipad for Liam. It's been such a blessing for us and him. We can use it for so many things that used to be bulky and large and inconvenient. One of the things I used for Liam when he was very small was a large light box. We would put black and white patterns on it, turn it on and have him focus on the images to help improve his sight. I would use it every night while doing tummy time on the floor. We gradually moved to colors and shapes and eventually it became a nuisance because it just sat around not being used anymore because Liam's vision had improved so much.

What would have been handy all those years ago would have been an iPad because you can now make your iPad a lightbox. There's a free app for it called Daves Light Box.

By using a light box app we can use the colorful holiday window gel clings for even more fun activities with the iPad. We have Liam pick out what colors he wants to use first or ask him which pumpkin is bigger.

It's just one more thing that we can do on this little pad that makes his world so much more fun.




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20 November 2011

Fun at home

Liam's preschool teacher is all about getting Liam involved in what a typical preschooler would do...allowing him to enjoy experiences and activities that every kid should but that we have to modify and simplify for him as best we can.

So this week Liam got to finger paint!



 


We've been doing a 'unit study' on monsters and he got to make his very own monster face.

 
 He had so much fun. And he got paint everywhere.

Next time we know to cover his wheel chair as well.
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10 November 2011

The start of the season

This is a pitiful picture, a small glimpse of what Liam has been dealing with since Saturday. He caught what I thought was just my cold but he got a fever after the first day. Then his sinuses started clogging and because Liam is strictly a nose breather (unless he's in a deep sleep) his nights were horrible. He would try to breath though his nose, not get any air, then grit his teeth, and try to inhale even harder. It's a horrible sensation watching your child try to breath and can't.  I admit I was a bit irritated at God for not giving Liam the obvious choice of breathing through his mouth!

Yesterday morning I woke up to this:
His mouth is so dry that his lips cracked in several places and he has blood all over his teeth and lips.  His skin is so shiny because it is caked in vaseline and vapor rub.

Let's hope this isn't a precursor of the season to come.

Here's to starting the cold/flu season off in grand style, my little man!

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09 November 2011

IEP 2011

The dreaded 3 letters in a special needs school year, IEP (individualized education plan), took place for Liam last week.  They are typically awful for parents because the school tries to put in perspective the child's disabilities, abilities, how they can best work with your child, and what they think our child needs. Usually it falls short of the parent's expectations and can be heart wrenching seeing on paper what they think your child is or is not capable of doing..

Liam's went pretty well, considering. We get the descriptive moniker of multiply disabled which helps encompass the fact that Liam is blind, has cp, and can't communicate well because of his motor limits and vision issues. We luck out that Liam's birthday falls in Nov. He will only be 4 in two weeks. It means he gets an extra year of preschool at home before starting kindergarten so we didn't have to work in to this years IEP preparation for kindergarten. He'll be going on 6 before he actually gets there.

This year we had some changes at the beginning of the year; a new preschool teacher and a new occupational therapist.  I'm not one for change when it comes to Liam because it takes such a long time to get to know him. But we lucked out with our preschool teacher this year. She's amazing. She is energetic, not afraid of trying to get 'inside' Liam and she is always figuring out what to do to best achieve goals for Liam. 

At the IEP you have to have everyone involved with Liam's services there. So we had:
  • occupational therapist
  • physical therapist
  • speech language pathologist
  • preschool teacher
  • vision teacher
The parent has to agree with the IEP. If you don't you can voice your concerns, what you would like to see, or what you think needs to be done different.

They decided that Liam should have extra services this year which is a great thing because it means he is 'doing things'*. They have upped his preschool time and upped his speech by an additional hour each week. I love it because whatever it takes to get to Liam I'm willing to do. And because it means he's doing things worthy of more education.



*Liam nailed his colors two weeks in a row. I told them a while back that he knows them but he has to prove it to them in order for it to be documented on his goals.


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05 November 2011

All Hallow's Eve

A little late but: Happy Halloween!
Checking out his costume in the mirror.



He's the itsy bitsy spider!
How we have to get him down the stairs in his chair: backwards! But he loves the bumpy ride.



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