Nate's Journey

Wednesday, November 30, 2016

Nate and the Tadpoles!

Here is the update from Bear Park for November - Tadpoles!

The Tui room was recently gifted some tadpoles and Nate has been drawn to them! A few weeks ago Nate pulled me over to them and pointed up at the large bowl. I used Nate's core board and pointed to "you" and "look" and Nate nodded. Laura and I have been loving using Nate's core board as a means of communication and we are amazed with how we are all able to work collaboratively to have our messages understood. "Let's get a chair" I said to Nate, and pointed to a nearby chair. Nate helped me to pull the chair over and he held my hand as he took a large step up onto it. Now he was at eye level with the bowl and I stood back to watch. I was so amazed with Nate's initial reactions. The first thing he did was pop his mouth open and closed, making the sign for fish. "These are tadpoles" I told him, pointing. What Nate did next is what really astonished me: he gently placed his ear up against the bowl as a way of exploring the creatures living inside. I have not seen anyone else interact with the tadpoles this way and I was blown away! It actually made me wonder if Nate listened to baby Lola when she was in mum's tummy.

"You're listening" I said to Nate. He then leaned away and pointed at one of the tadpoles who had swum right up to Nate's face. This made Nate giggle and it was so delightful to see the joy he was gaining from these strange animals. After a few more moments of quiet observation Nate hopped down from the chair and I brought him over to the mat to show him a book we have about the life cycle of frogs. I turned to the page with the tadpoles and told him, "tadpoles!" as I pointed to the ones in the book as well as back at the bowl. Nate looked back at the bowl and then at the pictures in the book. This was such a great way for him to make this connection. Nate turned the pages of the book and made his way to the end, where the tadpoles were now frogs. He quickly pointed to the frog and looked at me with a smile. "Frog!" I said, and hopped up and down. Nate giggled and then hopped up from the mat and ran back to the tadpoles. This time, Nate held onto the top of the lockers and pulled himself onto the chair. He was so determined to see those tadpoles again!

It was neat to see Nate exploring this new addition to the Tui room and to communicate with him in a variety of ways. I think as the tadpoles evolve into frogs it will be great to spend more time with Nate introducing new language and seeing the wonder as he spots the changes taking place. Often, we bring the tadpoles down onto a lower table and I'd love to do this with Nate in the future. I wonder if he'd like to feed them?!

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Saturday, November 26, 2016

Meeting Santa!

This year, we went out to Westfield Albany to meet Santa, in a specially organised Sensory Santa session. Only white decorations, no queues of people (pre-assigned times), no roof covering, no Christmas music, and very early in the morning before the mall crowds arrived. Worked a treat with Nate! We were thrilled to get a few shots, followed by a cupcake treat in a mall cafe afterwards.

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Sunday, November 20, 2016

A fun new game at Bear Park

Another update from Bear Park, and this one is about Nate pushing his boundaries with some balance, co-ordination and strength play. We are so thrilled at how he responds to his teachers, he really is blossoming under their guidance. Here is an update from Hayley....

A New Game!

Nate and I had so much fun today! After some fun with the tadpoles we ventured outside to play in the fresh air. Immediately, Nate wanted to walk along the lowest plank so together that's just what we did! Nate held my hand and used a great deal of strength to climb up onto the plank. He then showed balance and control as he slowly inched his way along the plank to the low box on the other side. When he got there he let out a big laugh and clapped his hands, showing how proud he was of himself. We had a little celebration and then Nate climbed back down and went straight back to the start to try again. This time, Nate used more of his strength to climb up onto the plank as I did less of the work. He made his way across the plank and then climbed back down and ran back to the start! This repetition is so great for children as it helps them to solidify their learning.

On the fourth or fifth time, Nate took a break when he reached the low box. He then spotted some of the older children on the monkey bars and pointed them out to me. "Should we climb up?" I asked him. Nate seemed to like this idea but it also seemed to be a bit daunting as the plank to get to the high box is on a slant. Nate reached for my hand and I helped him make his way up to the high box. This took a bit more concentration and a few different muscle sets but Nate did really well to keep both feet on the plank and carefully walk to the top. Although he held my hand quite tightly, he didn't really need to! Nate has great gross motor skills and doesn't shy away from a challenge.

Once at the top of the box, Nate spent a few minutes watching the other children on the monkey bars until he was ready for a turn. This is where he showed how great he is at following instructions. I asked Nate to sit down on the box and used the sign to go along. Straight away, he sat down and dangled his legs off the edge. He was so excited! "Hang on!" I then said, and tapped the bar to show Nate where to put his hands. Next, I told him to reach one arm out to grab the first rung. I used my hands to show him what to do and he quickly followed my lead. Finally, I helped Nate lower his body from the box so that he was hanging from the rung with both hands! Nate held on really tightly and managed to hang for three seconds independently, and then dropped to the ground laughing hysterically. As soon as he landed, Nate ran straight back to the beginning of the low plank, wanting to go again.

Each time Nate made his way across the planks he picked up speed, showing how confident and excited he was! Often, when he reached the top of the high box and was ready for a turn on the monkey bars, he had to wait while some of his friends had a turn. I signed for him to wait and he quickly knew just what to do, and repeated the sign back to me. As soon as there was room, Nate was ready to go and shuffled his way to the front of the box, wiggling with excitement.

Each time Nate hung from the monkey bars he seemed to gain strength and held on for longer and longer! He was really testing the muscles in his arms! He was also becoming more confident and was remembering the steps needed to reach his goal. After about twenty turns, Nate needed very little help from me and couldn't stop laughing!

I loved spending this time with Nate and seeing him have the time of his life! I am sure that he will remember this game and will want to re-visit it often. I love the way that through all this play and adventure, Nate was learning an incredible amount of things. First, he was doing a brilliant job of communicating with me, especially as this was quite a tricky time to use the core board. He followed instructions as well as my non-verbal cues and picked up on the signs I was using. It was also really neat to see that as Nate had more and more turns hanging from the monkey bars, he continued to drop faster. I wonder if this was because he was so excited to start again, or if perhaps he was becoming tired. Finally, after about thirty turns (!!!) Nate decided at the last second that he didn't want to hang anymore. He reached out for me and then stood back up and jumped straight into my arms. I think this was Nate's way of looking after his own well-being and realising that his body had had enough.

Not long after this game, Nate had lunch and then quickly fell asleep at rest time. I am sure that the fun and concentration of this game really tuckered him out! I can't wait to see if Nate would like to play this game again tomorrow and I am sure that if he does, he will know exactly what to do. Nate has a great memory, especially for something fun and silly! I am so excited to see Nate's progression as he continues to test his body on the preschool equipment.

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Tuesday, November 1, 2016

LOLA - Laughing in lemon!

Facial expressions of a 14 week old Lola - dressed up for a lunch date with Claire and Ellie!

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Monday, October 31, 2016

October update on Nate at 'school'

While Nate's verbal communication skills haven't really progressed on much in the last couple of months (beyond the progress of 'star' and 'are' in Twinkle Twinkle Little Star), he has been making great progress with his core board. We have also started using this at daycare, check out the below for the latest update from Laura. Love our little man so much :-)

"Silly! Silly! Silly!"

October 2016

Nate, the more and more I get to know you, the more I discover what a super star you are! You are constantly surprising me and we always have a good laugh and a giggle! This month we have introduced your core board into your day here at Bear Park and when you first saw this, you were very excited to bring it out and utilise it! It is great that there are similarities between here and home, helping to establish your sense of belonging and wellbeing.

Hayley and I are still learning how to use it, but your eagerness to bring it out has been a huge help. This has allowed us to feel confident in working with it alongside you and empowered you to use it in a variety of situations. I have found that it has allowed us the opportunity to get to know your personality even more as you are able to communicate with us in more ways

One afternoon I was sitting with you watering some plants and we were taking turns to use the spray gun, where I would point to the words "your turn" or "my turn" whilst watering. This worked really well and you were able to patiently wait, knowing that it would be your turn again soon. This same afternoon, you discovered a fish net glove on the table. You threw it across the room towards me, seeming to not really want to touch it. I picked it up and put it on my hand and when I slowly pulled it off it pinged across the room. Well, you thought this was just hilarious! You laughed a real belly laugh and immediately looked down at the chart and pointed to 'silly'! This continued for some time as you wanted 'more', always ending in a right giggle and pointing to Hayley and I saying we were silly!

The next week that you came in we were using the chart with Anna (speech therapist) who came in to work alongside us to see what other ways we can use it. We sat together for our investigation into our new tadpole friends that have arrived in the Tui room. This provided many opportunities to use it as we could include 'look', 'fish', 'little', 'fast' and more. You were able to repeat the messages after us and even tell us that you liked the fish/tadpoles and came closer to have a look.

We have been using your chart during every meal time which has been very successful too, allowing you to inform us of what you really like to eat and when you are finished. You would often tell me when you wanted 'more' and would point to the food on the tray that you wanted more of. At one point I asked you if you would like some water, using the words and pictures on the chart to prompt you. You then noticed the picture of the ice cream next to the water and pointed to that instead. I laughed, pointing to the 'no', repeating the water symbol. Smiling asking you again, 'water' you looked at me with a cheeky grin, pointing to the ice cream again! You have such a beautiful sense of humour and it was awesome that this chart is allowing us to get to know your sense of humour even more! Eventually you gave in, after pointing to 'silly', recognising the game was all a bit of fun. You pointed to the water, and picked up your cup ready to fill it up. At the end of the meal time, you were able to point to 'finished', letting me know that you were ready to go and play.

One afternoon when you came to see me outside and play on the playground, you were very busy exploring a toy truck on top of the boxes. I told you it was time to put sunblock on, but you were so focused on what you were doing that you didn't really want to stop to slip, slop and slap. I managed to get your attention as I placed a blob of sunblock on my own nose. I then pointed to the chart for 'your turn' where you leant your face towards me, ready for the blob on your nose too! Applying sunscreen to the rest of your face and neck was now easy, and a fun game and that had you all ready for some fun in the sun.

The new toilet chart is working very well too as you now know what to expect and are able to sit longer and longer each time on the toilet. Perhaps the sticker at the end is a good incentive for you too!The new toilet chart is working very well too as you now know what to expect and are able to sit longer and longer each time on the toilet. Perhaps the sticker at the end is a good incentive for you too!

We are so proud of how far you have come and how quickly you have adapted to not only the use of your core chart, but in whole the Tui room environment and routines. You really are an inspiration!

Your core board has attracted a few of your friends to come and have a look too as they are curious to see what we are having a good laugh and lots of smiles over. This could be really helpful to work alongside you and your friends as they become more familiar with the words and language to use with you. Modelling is essential for your language development, hence why we will continue to work with you with the use of your core chart, and have it available to share with us and your friends when you want to communicate your needs and wants. Through repetition and revisiting these key words and short sentences, your sense of belonging will continue to flourish. We have already seen a huge change in your communication, interactions, social skills, turn taking and involvement in the routines at Bear Park, so we can't wait to see how this will continue to grow over the next few months.

Ka pai Nate!

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Sunday, October 2, 2016

LOLA - 10weeks has flown by!

The many faces of our Lola...below are some pics taken over the last three weeks (Lola being between 7 and 10weeks in these), for those of you that don't see these on Facebook. But basically, our girl is doing really well, and growing so swiftly! The last photos below were taken on Sunday the 2nd October, exactly ten weeks!

We have noticed the developmental difference in comparison to our gorgeous Nate - her head control is already impressive, she actually almost rolled over (by accident) in tummy time, she demand feeds (a lot!), her weight gain is really strong, and she is very quick to communicate when she wants something! We used to say that we were so lucky with Nate (and of course we were) in that he didn't scream/cry a lot, he slept really well, and was very content (bar his tummy time which he wasn't a fan of). In reality this reflects more of what he was dealing with - his hypotonia, his poor growth and thus energy, his hearing loss and so on.

As you can see, we've been blessed twice now that we have Lola as well as our Nate :-)