Outstanding Therapy Session
Greetings to everyone, and Happy September!
Xavier had his speech therapy meeting today. He missed it last week; Mom was out of town all week and we decided it was easier to cancel last week's session—it was a hectic enough week even with its cancellation. Today, he demonstrated an explosion of pent-up effort!
Xavier lasted nearly the whole hour at the table before growing bored (usually he makes it :30 minutes). He spoon-fed himself (and swallowed) half a cup of vanilla pudding. He ate (and swallowed) a giant cheese puff. And, to top it all off, he drank through a straw and swallowed! Katie, his OT, had set a goal for him to be sucking through a straw within the next six months. Looks like she will have to reset some goals, PTL!
Robin, the therapist, also noted how well he works things out in his head. It appears Rebecca and I will have to up our game to rise to the challenge of our son. After the issues of the past 22 months, such a challenge is welcome.
Xavier was unusually chatty with Robin today, pointing at things and telling her all about them. Robin noted that Xavier is actively and purposefully mixing his sounds and choosing "words." This excited her perhaps more than the stellar eating demonstration Xavier gave her. He is learning language, something which surprised her a little. It's been two weeks since she last saw him, and his progress—both eating and speech—surprised her. The words he is using are definitely Xavierese, but nonetheless a definite and identifiable use of language skills.
Tonight, Xavier sat in his chair and ate with us adults. Truly, he ate with us (most of the time) instead of playing with his food and cutlery. Rebecca bought some bowls with suction cup bottoms; those suckers don't come up once they are placed—though Xavier tried relentlessly. Once he realized the bowl was not moving, he dug in his spoon and ate another half cup of vanilla pudding. After dropping his spoon for the dog to lick, he continued eating with is hands. To wash it down, he drank from a little juice box sized container. It has a straw through which he sucked down grape juice. The juice was new to him, so he spit out his first few sips while deciding if he liked it. He decided he did like it, but after staining his shirt as a reminder to his parents that we do have bibs and should use them.
