Preschool Challenges

A friend of mine, who is studying Early Childhood Education, sent me the following message:

I'd like to tap into your experience and expertise in having children with what is now called "diverse needs." For my studies I'm writing a paper on inclusive practice in early childhood education. I was wondering if I could ask you to reply to me and tell me what you've found to be challenging or beneficial in your experiences with your little ones in preschool.

Any info you can give me would be great! Even if it's just a quick reply, I would be appreciative of any insight you can share with me!!

This got me thinking, and her a more detailed response than I think she was anticipating!  It's also given me the content for another post...

We had issues at the very beginning with Isaac's enrollment, due to him having had seizures when he was in the NICU. I went back to work when he was just over 4 months old. Was very upsetting, since they knew exactly what had been going on since the day of his birth, and Reuben had been there for the previous 2 years. Anyway Isaac hadn't had a seizure since the NICU, but they had to sort out their procedures for what to do in the event that he did have a seizure.

Fire engine at Kids Karnival

About a month after he started he had a cold, and started to refuse his bottle. This was expressed milk, so exactly what he was used to. I always joked about my boys having Tui on tap! (the beer..). It got to the point where he was going for his full 6 hours without any food/fluids. In the end the SLT at the hospital suggested using a sippy cup, because she didn't want him to continue getting feed via a syringe (I told preschool to get the food into him any way they could and I suggested a syringe, because I knew he was fine taking his meds via a syringe).

Apart from that, Under2s at preschool was fairly good.

Fishing from the balance board - making great progress!

 I think that I really noticed the differences, etc when he moved through to the preschool. He was moving about by bum shuffling and crawling. Which in itself wasn't too big of a problem, but when he was out in the playground, the teachers would get him to head instead about 5 or 10 mins before kai time, etc so that he had time to get in there before all the other kids came in.

I'm trying to make this as useful as I can for you, but I think it's going to make me cry. I'll try to keep it to preschool, because there were downfalls in early intervention, and it was only because I kept pushing and advocating for him that he finally got the additional support of his walking frame.

And the rolling walkie thingie...

Now that he is walking independently (Yay, Isaac!!!!) I'm noticing other things. Although cognitively he is at or ahead of his age, physically he is still struggling. The other week they had some mini balance beams (that's the best way I know how to describe them) in the classroom, and had the children running and jumping over these. For Isaac to step over these by himself would be a struggle. He can manage the tracks of a ranchslider, or small steps without having to hold on. But these were a good 10cm off the floor, probably 10cm wide, and in the middle of the room with no support for him to hold on to.

Another day they had the obstacle course outside. Isaac is a determined wee boy, and I would consider myself a fairly tough mum, in that I get him to do as much as possible for himself. But when there are things like obstacle courses and the like, I'm not sure what kind of affect it has on Isaac and his self confidence. He knows that he has a disability, and that he's not the same as other kids his age.

When he was about 18 months old there was an article on Campbell live one night, about a baby that had been in NICU, intubated, etc. And Phil said to Isaac, that he used to be sick like that when he was a little baby, but he's not sick any more. Isaac, with sad puppy dog eyes, said "But I still sick, I fall down all the time." It made my heart break. But it also told us that he knew what was going on, and that he wasn't the same as other kids.

Now that Isaac has turned three, he will qualify for an ESW at preschool, one morning/afternoon per week. Just waiting for that to get sorted, hopefully not much longer.

The current challenge is toilet training. I know this can be a challenge for lots of parents, but when the boy is wobbly on his feet, this provides added challenges. Guess I'm going to need to work more with his therapists, to get the information and strategies, and then pass those on to preschool.

___________________________

Isaac's ESW (Education Support Worker) starts on Tuesday, I'm really excited as she is someone who spent time working with Isaac last year.  The ESW is assigned by Champion Centre and reports back to Isaac's therapists and us on a regular basis.

Champion Centre has to fund raise large amounts of money each year to continue providing the fabulous service that they do.  Last weekend was their annual fair where my boys had heaps of fun: ice creams, bouncy castle, face painting.  Afterwards, I had heaps of fun playing with photos editing apps on my phone.

same photo

different looks

layered looks

all at the click of a couple of buttons

Watch out 2013, here we come

It's hard to believe that 2013 is here already.  I feel like I have been incredibly slack, reading hardly any blogs over the last couple of months, and writing no posts of my own.

In my defense, there has been a lot of things going on over the past few months. I was struggling with the necessary change in mindset between working in a high performance sport environment, and then being at home with a child who has physical disabilities. The company that I work for was in the process of restructuring.  I decided, since I'd been there for 5 years, that it was time to look at moving on.  After numerous applications and interviews, I secured a position as financial administrator at the Cochlear Implant clinic.  I've been there for a couple of months now, it's been a steep learning curve, but I'm really enjoying it and am slowly getting my head around everything that this job entails.

We've been having problems with Reuben's behaviour over the past few months.  I was getting really bad - hitting, kicking, biting, swearing, name calling, throwing things, etc.  I was finally able to get some help to put some strategies in place to help me deal with and diffuse the behaviour and the anger.  A lot of kids in Christchurch have been having problems due to the ongoing stress from the earthquakes.  I wan't sure if that was what caused Reuben's problems, or if it was because he was a 6 year old boy, or because he had a younger brother, or if it was because he had a sibling with disabilities.  Probably a combination of all of the above in varying degrees at any one time.

I went to a session at school that was put on with clinical psychologists talking about what to do with kids that have been suffering from ongoing stress.  It was an okay session, but I was pretty down by the end of the session,  To be honest, if it was just the earthquakes I could handle that because I know that they're not going to be forever.  But it really highlighted to me that Isaac's disability was going to be ongoing, like for the rest of his life.  Not quite what I was hoping to get out of the evening.

I've been talking with various people who read my blog, and it has been really encouraging to hear some of their comments.  One couple in particular, we met at the mall one weekend.  They said that it was great how not only did we get Isaac out and about, but also that we were open with other people about the experience we were going through.  Now, any of you who are reading this at the moment who have special kiddies, will know that as a blogger you don't put everything you're going through in your posts.  But I'm pleased that I'm able to give people a bit of a glimpse into our Tutti Frutti life.

One of the additional benefits that I've received from having Isaac at Champion Centre, is the connection that I've been able to make with other mums.  I never realised how isolated I was until I hooked up with a group of champion mums (past and present) who go out to dinner and socialise once every six weeks or so.  It's great being able to share experiences and concerns with others who are on the same page and a great excuse for a night out.

What's Isaac been up to, I hear you ask.  Well, let me tell you just how fabo this little guy is! Each week at his therapy sessions he works really hard.  So hard in fact that he can hardly keep his eyes open on the two block drive from Champion centre to preschool.  The therapists and teachers all say how much of a pleasure it is to see him each week.  He has worked so hard and progressed so well, that he is moving to a different session when classes resume after the summer break.  This year he will be going fortnightly instead of weekly.  There's some down sides about that - not being with friends and teachers that we know and no computer sessions :( But on the plus side - meeting new friends, new challenges, new teachers.

We had some new front steps installed.  The rise was too deep for Isaac and he struggled to walk up them by himself.  Now, although they come out a lot further, each step isn't as deep and with that combined with the handrail that got installed at the same time, he can now walk up and down the front steps by himself.  It also means that he can go out and play with Reuben or the neighbours without the need for me to stop what I'm doing to help him down.

Mid December Isaac had an appointment with the Paediatric Neurologist.  He'd been referred by his neonatal consultant, who had also said that she'd be passing him on to the developmental paediatricians. When we met with the neurologist, he said to us that since we'd been referred to him, there wasn't much point in seeing the developmental paediatricians too.  So he would take over managing Isaac's case.  Sounds like a good plan to me.

Over the last few months, Isaac has been relying on his walker less and less.  The week before Christmas, I decided that he didn't need to take it to preschool.  Most of the time he's dump it anyway, and we'd have to go looking for it before we went home.  Going to the mall has started to be easier (and quicker) if he holds my hand, or walks independently if there aren't many people around.  Result - he hasn't touched his walker in  4 weeks!

Bye for now, I'll be back soon with more on Christmas and our summer holiday...

I'm baaaack!

No, I didn't drop off the face of the earth, I've been finding things a bit tough going recently, hence the lack of posts.  A dear friend told me a couple of weeks ago how long it had been since my last post....
Starting with the anniversary of my Dad's passing.

We've been having some behavioural issues with Reuben.  He's fine at school and his after school programme.  But at home, well that's another story.  Hitting, kicking, biting, throwing things, breaking things.  Poor wee Isaac gets terrified when Reuben gets like that.  I get bruised.  But I'm not giving in, I will continue to discipline him, and not allow him to behave with such disrespect! Mum has spoken, you have been warned!

Work has been difficult, restructuring which is going to take a total of about six months to complete, in addition to other things which I am unable to talk about here.  So I've started having a bit of a look around to see what other opportunities are around.

After I got over the flu, I've ended up with the hundred day cough which seems to be doing the rounds in Canterbury at the moment.

On a positive note, we've hit spring big time.  And I've started getting motivated to do some baking with the boys.  Been doing something each week, and because we've got a convection microwave, I don't have feel guilty about heating the whole oven just to cook/bake one thing.

I have missed international Cerebral Palsy day which was also the second anniversary of the first of the earthquakes - September 4th.  We've had over 12000 earthquakes in the last two years.  But we did just have a stretch of 10 days where there were none at all - it's a bit surreal that a statistic like that is a milestone!

Isaac has been a star.  He's making fantastic progress with his walking.  He is only using it at preschool intermittently, and occasionally at the mall.  His motor control for feeding is improving.  He now has a special raised chair that he uses at the table.  I was initially a little wary, thinking that it would create more mess, but actually it's been okay.  Balance is getting so much better and the exercises that he's doing at champion centre have lead to him being able to jump off his chair (when I hold his hands) knees bent and everything.  Yeah, I'm a proud Mama.

The next few weeks are going to be hectic. Why is it that all the apppointments end up happening within a couple of weeks of each other? Isaac has his first IP this week.  I'm kind of nervous about it, but at the same time quite excited.  He has come such a long way in such a short time.  Optometrist appointment which we've had to wait 3 months for.  Appointment with Paediatrician - I think she is going to be impressed with our little guy. OT home safety assessment, and Lifelinks assessment (my best advice for people is to get into the system as soon as you can, that way you can access as much funding, etc as possible). Add in some interviews, a couple of staff leaving lunches, pamper day, Silver Ferns test.

We were really fortunate to be able to get our house insulated with batts (under floor and ceiling). It has made such a difference and although we've past the worst of winter and headed into spring, I think that we're going to notice a difference through summer and into next winter - YAY for saving money on Pellets for the pellet burner!

If anyone knows how to do a circular or oval crop, please let me know.  It's something that I haven't had time to figure out - or maybe I don't have the correct software.  We're not allowed to put photos of champion centre staff on the net, so I've improvised.

A group a mum's from champion centre have started getting together for dinner once every month or two.  Last time was the first time that I'd been, but I figured if I don't do it now, I'll wimp out later too.  I got my friend Cushla (also a Champion Mum) to come with me.  We had a great time meeting new people and eating great food.  Some of the mum's are graduates, so they know what we're going through. It is crazy how ordinary people end up going through an extraordinary journey for their child.  

I have been amazed a the courage of parents I have met online from around the world.  There are a couple of people from the UK and Australia who are raising awareness of the newborn cooling which Isaac had at birth.  I watched a story on tv tonight about an amazing father with a child who has cerebral palsy, it was really inspiring.

Until next time, and I promise that it won't be so long

Through the Lens Thursday

I'm starting to get the hang of this photo a day thing, and quite enjoying coming up with photos for each day. Now I just have to get a life, so that my blog has a chance of being interesting!

Animal/insect/pet

Take a photo of a little critter or a big critter today.

Had a visitor in the office the other day - I'm not really a dog person (or a cat person for that matter).  The only reason I took any notice of the pooch was because I suddenly remembered that I needed a photo of an animal.  Don't hold it against me, I'm sure that there is something you don't like that I do :)

Eyes

Take a photo of eyes, on you, someone else, a pet or even a toy.

Cheeky little monkey - you can just see the mischief in these eyes.  Both of my boys have lovely blue eyes.

9 o’clock

Take a photo of what ever you’re doing at 9am or 9pm. Your choice.

Washing, washing and yet more washing to be folded and put away.  Sometimes it feels like this is never ending and that all I do is washing, dry, fold....

Upside down

Take a different look at the world.

Take a photo upside-down or of something upside-down.

Isaac loves it when Daddy throws him upside down.  Reuben used to, but has grown too big.

Mirror

Take a photo of a mirror, or your reflection in the mirror.

When Isaac has his music therapy there are various mirrors around the room so that he can see what his body is doing and so that I can see his reaction to the activities that he's doing.

A stranger

Be brave or sneaky. Take a photo of a perfect stranger.

There are some strangers in the background of this photo!  We took this while away on holiday at Christmas. Tiny town at Splash Planet in Hastings was a huge hit, as was the gondola and luge in Rotorua.  I think that the thing that I appreciated most about our holiday was that we were away for the 5.8 and 6.0 earthquakes that hit Christchurch again on 23 December 2011.

Heart

Take a photo of a heart.

When a saw this necklace a couple of years ago, and thought it was so pretty, I just had to get it.  Love it when the sun hits the glass and the colours in the refracted light shine through.

Slackness & a VERY late Through the Lens Thursday

I am slack, slack, slack! No posts in almost two weeks is not the way to win friends (readers) and influence people.

After a week in bed with the nasty bug that's doing the rounds and a week of trying to recover, get back to work and get the house operational again, I am starting to feel like I've just about returned to normal - well as normal as I can be! I'm so pleased that I had Reuben booked in for holiday program, and Isaac at preschool. Over the holidays, I try to let the boys have a bit of a sleep in in the mornings, so we're not out the door as smartly in the mornings as we are during term time, but on the other hand we can't just laze around home all day either.


Since I last updated you, Isaac has been doing amazing with his walking. Not only does he not use his walker inside the house any more, it usually gets ditched when he arrives at preschool (although it's good that he still has it if he needs it or is having a 'wobbly' day), Champion Centre he used it for walking into the building and walking out again - he flew solo the rest of the time, at the weekend we went to the mall (this time across town to Riccarton, which is significantly bigger than the others in the city) and he went the whole length, twice with his walker! I can tell you, he's been having great afternoon naps after all that exercise. He is getting more and more stable, and has figured out how to regain his balance if he's walking along and starts to loose it. I am just so proud of the little guy! His determination is inspiring.

Reuben has now lost his two front teeth (bottom ones), I guess mid-winter Christmas is nearly as good as Christmas.


Here's last weeks Through the Lens Thursday....

Fun 

Shoot a picture of something fun or something you enjoy doing

I could watch Isaac play for hours. He is such a happy content wee fellow. My heart just wants to melt when I think about him. And, if I think about what could have been, my heart wants to break. But we are making the best of everything, and are constantly asking the Lord for His strength to keep us going.

On the floor

Take a picture of something on the floor. Your feet, patterned tiles, toys, grass – what’s beneath your feet?

I had a lot of help from my sister and niece when I was sick. Reuben was also really helpful, one night he got Isaac ready for bed - nappy, pajamas, teeth, prayers. What a great big brother.

Chair

Take a photo of a chair you see in your travels or at home/work/school etc.

Sometimes as a special treat, Reuben and Isaac like to sit in Daddy's recliner and watch cartoons. There is just enough room for both boys on here, but this particular day it was Isaac's turn.

Garden

Take a photo of a garden, yours or someone elses!

Ok, it's a fence rather than a garden. Every time I drive down this road, I am astounded by how much this fence has sunken due to liquifaction (terms like this come up in everyday conversation in Christchurch).

Lunch

What’s for lunch today? Take a photo before you eat it!

Lunches are a bit of a production line around our place. Each night, the sandwiches, fruit, and snacks are lined up, wrapped, packed, and ready for the next morning. Sandwich content ranges from jam or peanut butter through to cold meat and salad. What goes into your lunch boxes?

Big

Take a photo of something big. Perhaps make it look bigger by getting down low and shooting it looking up?

As the city continues to undergo massive changes, there is more and more heavy machine coming in. Durham Street has only just reopened, and this is what I saw driving to work. That is one BIG crane.

Your favourite colour

What’s your fave colour right now? Take a photo of it.

Saw these in the shop the other day. Love the colour, and the style, am thinking I might need to make a return visit!

Just how much does he understand?

Tonight on the news there was an item about a baby in NICU. Afterwards Phil was helping Isaac finish his dinner, they were talking and long story short, Phil said "you were sick like that when you were a little baby, but you're all better now."  Isaac said to him with a sad face "I fall down." "Yes, you fall down more than other kids, but you're getting better at walking, and you'll be able to do it buddy."  "OK Daddy" replied Isaac.

When Phil told me what happened, I wanted to burst into tears and hug my precious little boy.  It also makes me wonder just how much Isaac knows and understands about what has happened to him.  But it's amazing to see the faith a young child has in his father.  Isaac trusts Phil implicitly, and believes that if Dad says it's going to happen, it will.

As I've said before, Isaac loves going to Champion Centre.  The therapists are fantastic, and they think that Isaac is great.  But I have to ask you, who wouldn't love a little cutie like him?  Computer therapy involves singing and stories, counting, pushing buttons and popping bubbles on the screen.  As if that's not incentive enough, there's usually a reward of stickers for a session well done.

There are always interesting toys to play with and textures to explore in play therapy.

Isaac enjoyed standing to play with this puzzle track.  It's a lot like the car tracks we have at home, only this one is painted in pretty colours.  I am amazed at how well his balance is improving.  It's hard to believe that he's only had his walker for two months.  What a difference it has made.  His confidence has grown, and his brain is learning what is required to keep him up and steady.

Before he got his walker, Isaac often used to practise his standing and balance on the trampoline.  This is great since it's got a rail to hold onto, no falling and breaking your wrist with this one!

Another thing that Isaac has been doing regularly at home since he started at Champion Centre is singing.  And music therapy is all singing. When he getting into his carseat, we sing up, up, up, and then when he sits down, we sing down, down, down, raising then lowerly our voices.

The sound cradle is really cool.  I've never seen anything like it before.  It's stringed like a guitar or harp or something, and when it's played, the sound waves vibrate through the wooden cradle.

Look at the balance and concentration.  Aren't those ribbons moving beautifully?  Not only does this work on on balance but moving the arms across the centreline of the body, both horizontally and vertically.  Think that I've got that right.

Lots of concentration here matching the shapes and colours then getting the shape into the hole round the correct way.

It's not surprising that when Isaac has finished his morning of therapy that he is super tired.  So tired that sometimes he is almost asleep in the car by the time we get to preschool - less than 2km away. When he gets to preschool, it's lunch time, then he goes down for a nap.

Sick Kids and DIY Therapy

I don't like it when my boys get sick - most Mum's don't.  We've had a couple of weeks of :-(


First Reuben had really bad pain in his side, so bad that he could hardly walk, let a lone stand up, and definately no rugby playing that day.  Really not like him at all and because it was the weekend I had to take him to the after hours surgery.  I was concerned that he had a problem with either his appendix or kidneys.  When we eventually got seen, the doctor couldn't find anything wrong, so it was a case of resting up, taking pamol and keeping an eye on him.  Later, after Phil got home from work and wherever else he'd been, I told him what had happened.  He thinks about it for a few minutes.  "I wonder if it could have happened last night when I threw him up onto his bunk?"  Now don't go calling CYFS they were playing, and Reuben had been in Isaac's bed (as happens a LOT), and said he was too tired to climb up into his bed.  So Phil's solution was to innocently throw him over the safety bar and onto his bed.  Seems like Reuben isn't as light as he once was, and this action caused some internal bruising.

Monday was Champion Centre, then the next day Isaac got the vomiting bug that's been going round.  That meant a couple of days off preschool for him (and work for me).  Saturday came round again, rugby match in the morning and in the evening we had our monthly family movie night at church.  That night Reuben got the bug, only he had it a whole lot worse.  He was miserable!  Phil stayed home with him on the Monday, so I could take Isaac to Champion Centre, and then head in to work for the afternoon - let's face it, I wouldn't have got anything done if I'd worked from home that afternoon.


Fortunately, everything is back to normal again now.

We have a routine every morning as we drive to school and preschool.  Last week, after we'd dropped Reuben at school, I'd ask Isaac where we were going next.  "Champ Centre"
Mum: "no preschool"
Isaac: "Champ Centre"
Mum: "it's not Monday, we only go to champion centre on Monday's.  Today is Thursday (or whatever day it was), we're going to see your friends at preschool"
Isaac: "no Champ Centre"
Mum: "How about we go to Champion Centre another day?"
Isaac: "ok"
We have this conversation every day.  I get the feeling that he likes going to Champion Centre.

It was a holiday weekend, so we did a few different things.  Well, some of it was what we regularly do - Saturday morning rugby.  Isaac discovered the hill (only about a metre high), and him and a couple of the other younger siblings spent half the game running down the hill.  Isaac certainly got up some speed on his walker!

Sunday, we skipped church (that doesn't happen very often), and I took the boys to Chipmunks. 

They had such a great time playing on all of the different equipment - slides, mazes, puzzles, climbing frames, etc. 

We spent a couple of hours there, then stopped by Maccas to grab some lunch on the way home. 

My sister and niece came for dinner and then we went to the netball.  The boys love going to the netball, the crowd, the excitement, and because it's indoors there's no need to worry about what the weather's like.  Isaac was so funny.  When the teams were warming up, he was sitting on my knee facing the court, with his arms open ready for them to throw the ball up for him to catch.  Awww, so gorgeous! 

Because Monday was a public holiday, there was no Champion Centre.  Not looking forward to the drive between school and preschool in the morning.  So over the weekend I've tried to spend time doing some of the sorts of things he does in therapy.  Today we ended up getting together with some of Reuben's rugby mates at the park for a bit of training, some play and a BBQ.  The playground had a wobbly bridge, tunnel, and slide very similar to the ones in the playground area at Champion Centre.  As soon as Isaac saw it, there was no stopping him.  I was so busy helping him get round it, that I forgot to take photos.  I really do need to learn to multi-task with my camera/phone.