Rhys loves books. And magazines.
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More specifically, he loves to turn pages. Except with magazines he likes to scrunch up and tear the pages.
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Rhys's fine motor skills are improving considerably. I think there are times I don't give him enough credit and don't believe he can do certain things. And then he surprises me.
Rhys recently started vision therapy. It turns out it is more of an eye/hand coordination type therapy which is great for Rhys. He basically gets to play with cool new toys for 30 minutes once every other week. During his first session the therapist pulled out a peg board. Imagine my surprise when Rhys started grabbing the pegs and pulling them out without being prompted. This isn't something I'd have believed Rhys would think to do on his own. But he did it. So after his therapy I pulled out his wooden puzzle board. Again, he surprised me when he grabbed the tiny red pegs on top of the pieces and started yanking them out. And then yesterday, when Rhys was snacking at his high chair, he started playing with his sippy cup and the strap that attaches it to his chair (to keep him from chunking it every ten seconds). When he couldn't reach the cup he pulled the strap to bring the cup to him. Wow, when did this kid figure that out?? So in addition to being excited about this vision therapy for Rhys's benefit, I am also excited for my benefit so that I can get some new ideas!
If I haven't already mentioned it, Rhys is now on the charts for weight and height for his actual age. If you take another peek at the pictures above you can see his chubby little tummy hanging over his pants. We're excited about his continued good growth and are no longer worried about his weight. That isn't to say we aren't still working really hard to get him to eat a larger variety of foods, only that what he does eat is sufficient for him to gain weight and grow properly.
Rhys's fine motor skills are improving considerably. I think there are times I don't give him enough credit and don't believe he can do certain things. And then he surprises me.
Rhys recently started vision therapy. It turns out it is more of an eye/hand coordination type therapy which is great for Rhys. He basically gets to play with cool new toys for 30 minutes once every other week. During his first session the therapist pulled out a peg board. Imagine my surprise when Rhys started grabbing the pegs and pulling them out without being prompted. This isn't something I'd have believed Rhys would think to do on his own. But he did it. So after his therapy I pulled out his wooden puzzle board. Again, he surprised me when he grabbed the tiny red pegs on top of the pieces and started yanking them out. And then yesterday, when Rhys was snacking at his high chair, he started playing with his sippy cup and the strap that attaches it to his chair (to keep him from chunking it every ten seconds). When he couldn't reach the cup he pulled the strap to bring the cup to him. Wow, when did this kid figure that out?? So in addition to being excited about this vision therapy for Rhys's benefit, I am also excited for my benefit so that I can get some new ideas!
If I haven't already mentioned it, Rhys is now on the charts for weight and height for his actual age. If you take another peek at the pictures above you can see his chubby little tummy hanging over his pants. We're excited about his continued good growth and are no longer worried about his weight. That isn't to say we aren't still working really hard to get him to eat a larger variety of foods, only that what he does eat is sufficient for him to gain weight and grow properly.
2 comments:
how exciting! hearing progres stories like yours make me so excited for Elle's future. I had a mom email me a long time ago whose daughter is both deaf and blind. She told me that when our special needs children hit a milestone or start doing something new - it means so much more to us than it would to a parent of a child that hasn't faced the obstacles our children have. I found a lot of ocmfort in that statement because I know how much work went into getting Elle to transfer a toy from her left hand to her right hand and back again. It's the little things! Since Rhys is working on hand/eye coordination - we have found that mylar balloons are great enticers for Elle. We attach a big balloon to her walker or exersaucer and she has figured out how to grab onto the string and put hand over hand to pull the string down so she can grab the balloon. We discovered this out of accident with a spider balloon my in laws brought her for halloween. I can't leave her alone with it because I am constantly worried she will try to eat the string but it has done wonders for her hand/eye coordination. Good luck with everything! Rhys is such a cutie - and a learning/growing cutie at that!!
For more information on vision therapy go to http://www.mainosmemos.blogspot.com
Dominick M. Maino, OD, Med, FAAO, FCOVD-A
dmaino@ico.edu
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