OT

Liza had her first actual OT session today. We spent about 20 minutes working with her with a variety of small toys, trying to get her to take them out of containers and then put them back in. And trying to get her to reach for them when they were out of reach, which didn't work nearly as well as the taking-out-and-putting-back. I was pretty impressed - the shape-sorter toy Denise the Therapist brought had a big opening at one end that was covered with flexible plastic that was cut in an asterisk shape, so you could reach in with your hand but the pieces wouldn't fall out on their own ( sort of like the snack cups they make for kids). Liza couldn't see the pieces inside, and I think at first she was a little scared to put her hand in the opening. She figured it out pretty quickly, though, with a lot of prodding from me and Denise. Not bad considering that a few months ago it would take DAYS to get Liza to even acknowledge a new toy, much less stick her arm into something that would make it disappear.

Part of the reason Liza got to work with all the small toys was that it gave her something to do while we had her in a prone position, either on her back or on her stomach. Denise said that one of the main things she wanted to work on today was getting Liza more comfortable lying down, and figuring out ways to head-off her frustration before it hits the point of no return. So we'd play with the toys for a while, and when Liza got grumpy we'd help her change positions or bring in a new toy or try a different activity with the old toy. One of the things Denise thought might help Liza be more comfortable while lying down was to have weight on her - I've heard about this for autistic kids, but never for kids with other developmental delays. Apparently some kids who have problems processing sensory information find that strange sensations - like being bounced or squeezed - are calming. Denise thought it was worth a try to see if the pressure from a weighted pillow might help Liza spend a little longer lying down before she freaked out. She has a couple of weighted pillows - filled with polybeads, which they use in the kind of stuffed animals that are weighted on the bottom so they sit upright - that are about four pounds each. We tried the two different shapes, and she let me bring them home to play around with and use as patterns if one seems to work for Liza. The jury is still out on whether they work - they did seemed to help Liza stay happy longer when she was on her tummy, but I don't know if that's just because she was confused about having 4 pounds of weight on her tush and lower back. The pillows are easy enough to make and fill with rice, so if I make some, worst-case we'll have a couple of pretty heavy microwave heating pads to use this winter.

The other thing that Denise tried in order to calm Liza down a little was using a big cylindrical cushion to sort of roll/bounce Liza up and down. She sort of draped Liza against the cushion in a standing position, then lifted her up by her rear so that the cushion rolled forward with Liza draped over it. Then she lowered Liza back down quickly enough that she sort of jarred a little bit when her feet hit the floor. Liza wasn't too sure what to make of that for the first couple of repeats, but after half a dozen times, she was kicking and squirming all over the place in the universal signal for "more, more, faster!" We bounced her a little faster, and you should have seen the smile on her face ... and heard the screaming when it was time to do something else.

Denise says that a lot of kids like the jarring motion, and this could be a good way to get her attention again when she's freaking out. I know that Liza has liked being bounced and jostled and bumped and thumped and whatever ever since she was tiny - when we'd go for walks last summer, she always fell asleep when I was walking on the bumpy, potholey sidewalk, but she would wake up and cry when we got to the smooth pavement. Luckily I've already got one of those big exercise balls, so we tried it at home this afternoon. It's a little harder with a ball than with a cylinder - I have to be careful she doesn't tip to one side rather than just go forward and back - but she was absolutely enthralled by the experience and was giggling after only a few minutes. And she screamed like a banshee when we stopped, which I guess is a good sign that she likes it. Anyway, Denise has a peanut-shaped exercise ball that she'll let us borrow after our next session if it seems to help Liza calm down - the peanut ones don't roll to the side like a sphere does, so that will be one thing I have to worry about.

After therapy we went to the park to meet with our loosely-organized playgroup, which consists of three 18-month-olds, two 2-year-olds, and Liza. We always meet at different parks around town, and the other kids like to run around and chase ducks and bruise themselves on the playground equipment and steal each others' snacks. Liza likes to watch. Today, however, when we were all sitting down eating our snacks, Liza was willingly handing her Veggie Puffs to the 18-month-old who never eats her own snacks but will eat anything somebody else brought, so all of the moms always bring enough to share. Liza's a big sharer, but until recently she has always been emphatic about getting the shared item back RIGHT AWAY. She cried a couple of months ago when Jason ate the Cheerio Liza had shared with him. And Veggie Puffs are one of Liza's favorite foods - she hardly ever throws them on the floor, even when she's done eating. But today she was handing out those Veggie Puffs like candy on Halloween - it was cool. There are few things cuter than one pudgy little baby hand giving something to another pudgy little baby hand ... especially when the recipient thinks the gift is just the coolest thing and lights up like a Christmas tree when she gets it. Way too precious for words, our girls were.

Well, the sky is an ominous greenish-grey, so I think I'll go unplug the computer now.

Oh, and referring to my earlier post - my best-friends-in-Kentucky now have their canoe tied down to the top of their car, their camper trailer attached, and they're carrying out luggage and last-minute stuff. Did I mention that THIS SUCKS??