Swim team, softball, running club, clarinet, and now … theater! Sarah Kate is in a play. A local theater group is performing Shrek, Jr. The Musical and she decided to audition a few weeks ago. We didn’t expect much, since she’s a first-timer (and, of course, the obvious hurdle), but she was cast in the role of Bishop. It’s a small part, but it has actual lines – three of them. Stay tuned…
Sarah Kate is going to start a 5K tomorrow morning. By start, I don’t mean “start running” – I mean she’s going to be the race starter. Sarah Kate’s running club is participating in a 5K and fun run this weekend as a fundraiser for the schools. Unfortunately, she can’t swing 3.1 miles, and Shrek rehearsal starts the same time as the fun run, which she could do.
The running club sponsor wanted her to be part of the event (she even showed the RunDisney video to motivate the runners), so that’s what we settled on. About 600 runners have registered, so it’s going to be a pretty good turnout.
Speaking of Sarah Kate, do knee immobilizers actually do anything? Sarah Kate has had them on and off for years, and of course she needed them in the early stages of rehab, but I’m not certain they’re doing anything but aggravating her now. I know this question should go to her PT and/or her rehab doctor, but I’m not looking for a textbook answer. I know what they’ll tell me the immobilizers do; what I want to know is if they’re really all that effective. I’m a terrible sleeper, so the thought of forcing my daughter to wear them every night while she sleeps is anathema to me.
This video of Derby the 3D-legged dog is oh, so cool. Ten years from now technology will be capable of things to assist those with disabilities that I can’t even conceive of today (See: the iPad – it was only 2007 when the first iPhone was released; the iPad came out three weeks after Nathan was born, in 2010).
Several weeks ago, Mr. Andi started expecting Nathan to say “May I be excused?” when he was ready to leave the dinner table. In the beginning, it was always a back-and-forth-repeat-after-me affair (May… May… I… I… Be… Be… Ex… Ess… Cused… Cooz…), but eventually he figured out what he was supposed to do (although I’m pretty sure he doesn’t realize “esscooz” is one word, LOL!
Now he’s using “May I…” to make all kinds of requests around the house – May I be have iPad? (not a typo, BTW). An exercise in manners led to a speech and language breakthrough.
Nathan has never been to the dentist. I know, I know, he’s four years old and he should have gone a long time ago, but I didn’t take him so let’s move on to what to do about it. Cutting his hair is challenging enough for the stylist – I can’t imagine a hygienist trying to do stuff in his mouth. Any and all tips are appreciated.
My new favorite show is Fixer Upper. Do you watch it? Mr. Andi and I were watching it together last weekend and he declared, “They’re just like us!” (he means the way they interact with each other, of course – I am woefully lacking in design talent though he is pretty good at building stuff). Chip and Joanna make me BELIEVE, though!
Or at least make me want to paint… 😉
Have a great weekend!
This post was inspired by and is linked to This Ain’t the Lyceum’s 7 Quick Takes.
Have you ever used a pediatric dentist? They are pretty good at dealing with even the most difficult kids. They make it pretty fun if you have the right one. Also have your tried asking some special needs resources. I know Nathan does not have autism but the local autism society may have a list of dentists who deal with kids who find it very hard to undergo treatment.
We haven’t, but there’s one here that’s supposed to be REALLY great with kids. I’m sure they see all kinds of kids…they just haven’t seen mine. 😉
I second the “Pediatric Dentist” comment. As my sister who’s a pediatrician says: “When a 3 year old acts like a 3-year old, that’s not a problem for us. It’s when an adult acts like a 3 year old that we have the problem.” Our ped dentist and her office were saints with my, ahem, difficult patient. I was a mess in the waiting area but the office manager was smiling and reminding me that this was NOT their first rodeo. By the way, just a heads up, laughing gas does not work on an uncooperative patient. It requires cooperation. Just a little lesson I learned.
Yup. My anxious almost-4-year-old screams throughout her dentist visits, and the pediatric dentistry staff are totally un-phased. They make it quick and let her choose a prize afterward. Still not a PLEASANT experience, but as good as can be expected!
Sounds like a job for Mr. Andi!
Pediatric dentist all the way!! I’ll be dragging my 17 yr old to the big boy dentist kicking and screaming here soon! And I agree, Fixer Upper is my new favorite HGTV show. I either want to move to Joanna’s part of Texas or ship her up here to fix my house.
As far as the knee immobilizers go, I think it’s a mixed bag. I’ve worn them on and off at night for various periods throughout my life, with mixed results. The only time they really helped was after I had surgery similar to Sarah Kate’s– at first they were really annoying, but after a while I realized how much better my legs felt the morning after I wore them, and soon I couldn’t go to sleep without them (!). I think that was partly because the surgery made my muscles so much looser, so I could actually tolerate the feeling of my legs being stretched. They did keep me from getting tighter and losing the benefits of the surgery as quickly, I think.
All the other times, though, I absolutely couldn’t stand them. I would wake up in the middle of the night and take them off in my sleep, and when I woke up they’d be halfway across the room. I think they interrupted my sleep more than I got any real benefit out of them.
So, bottom line- I think if Sarah Kate can tolerate them, or feels like she gets any benefit from them, I would keep at it, but if not, maybe you can ease up on wearing them. Just my two cents 🙂
Thanks for the information! They don’t seem to be bothering too much at the moment (she hasn’t complained, anyway, though she may after she reads this post!), but in the past she did like you – took them off while sleeping.
Pediatric dentist for certain! Less traumatic and they are geared towards kids. Fixer Upper is one of our favorites. Amanda is a big HGTV fan and this is one of her favorites – she loves Chip and Joanna
When I drive around town now I look at houses and wonder what they could do with them!
I just took my son, almost 3 yrs. old, to the dentist for the first time. It went amazingly well, which has not been the case with all of my children. We practiced beforehand by having him lay back in a recliner while we played dentist and I pretended to “count” his teeth, which is a line our dentist always uses with small children. I let him pick out a pair of sunglasses at the dollar tree to shield his eyes from the light. I really played up the fact that he would get a new toothbrush and sticker from the dentist after he had his teeth cleaned. One thing I wish I had thought of was the moving chair, when they reclined the chair it was loud and my son freaked out. I had to pick him up for a few minutes before he calmed down and the dentist could start. I should have had them adjust the chair first and then put him into it.
Great tips! Sarah Kate goes to the dentist in a couple of weeks – I wonder if they would let him “practice” a little bit without doing anything?
The dentist may not be as bad as you think. My child with sensory needs, probably mild autism, had an accident at two and needed to have her two top teeth removed. The process was AWFUL. Seven of us held my toddler down while the doctor took the teeth out and then had to go up and find the roots. Five years later, I still haven’t recovered. But, at two and a half, I brought my child to my regular practice dentist. The first visit, they put the brush in her mouth for about two seconds before she spit it out and we clapped for her. Then the hygentist let her fill the rinse cup and we clapped for her. The dentist came in and she opened her mouth for him to count “her pretty teeth” and we clapped for her. Then she got to pick out a new toothbrush and a small toy and she left the office with the receptionist clapping for her. The whole visit took 15minutes tops. The next visit, three months later, was a little more in depth. We eventually got full cleanings in. At seven years old, the dentist is still a bit of a sensory challenge, but she doesn’t fear it. I’d recommend if you have a dentist you like, you talk to them about Nathan. I’m sure you’ll find them receptive to helping Nathan. Good luck!
My regular dentist (and hygienist) are both very mild-mannered and soft spoken, so if we end up with a regular dentist I would feel comfortable taking him there. The hygienist recommended a particular pediatric dentist in town for him, though, so based on her thoughts and what I’ve heard from others I think that’s what we’ll try first. Worst case is it’ll make great blog fodder, right? 😉
Are there specific, dedicated “special needs trained dentists” where you are? Our two children with moderate / severe learning difficulties go to one in the UK and she is wonderful – she even drilled a hole straight through the sticking out portion of her own (real) fingernail with a big smile on her face to prove to our previously doubtful young patient that her drill wasn’t going to hurt. They both rather look forward to seeing her now, even though she’s had to extract loads of stubborn baby teeth that just wouldn’t fall out for both of them. They had a FAR better experience than with the previous regular dentist who hadn’t the same expertise in how to explain things to people with learning difficulties. Another advantage of visiting her is that she treats adults with special needs too, so there will be no scary transition to someone new at age 18, like there would be with a pediatric dentist.
Not that I know of – although we aren’t too far from two decent-sized cities, our town is pretty small.
Awesome job on the manners/ speech combo! I think that is great he’s learning, even if it’s unconventional. Sarah Kate is a busy young lady! I hope she loves theater. I did plays and theater when I was younger too.