Again! Again!

I theorize special needs parents have more theories about kids shows, ideas for spoofs no one else would understand, and time to think about the enormous holes in premises or plots because our kids fixate on a few shows or movies for a longer period of time. Maybe this is just my kid, but we have been watching "Wonder Pets", "Cars", and "Oswald" FOREVER.


I will admit a crazy amount of joy in discovering "Robot Chicken" took the time to visit with Linny, Tuck and Ming Ming.  It is off color, it makes me laugh. You can choose for yourself if you click on it.  If over years you have seen every episode of "Wonder Pets" at least twice and some favorites more than 50 times that makes it funnier, just sayin'.

How are the characters in "Cars" born? Who taught McQueen to race? How old is he? How did he not know anyone until Radiator Springs? Does he have parents? Did he grow up rich and sheltered? Do they live forever? Can a mechanic / doctor replace every part? If so, what gives each vehicle identity or soul? Is it a post apocalyptical world where the people created the vehicles and then the vehicles took over and killed all the people off?

 Is Daisy a cannibal when she eats a salad? Why does Flippy live in the water, but Oswald lives in the air? What makes Weenie a pet? How did they decide how many roller skates Oswald would need? Why doesn't Johnny melt? Is he selling his offspring?  Peppa has similar, though less surreal, questions. How do they have pets? What decides if you see Dr. Hamster (a vet) or Dr. Brown Bear (a doctor)?

There was a period where she loved "Penguins" and currently she can not get enough of "Home". I think she would watch "Home" multiple times every day if we would let her. I love this "Home" trend as she acts out many parts of this movie, including lots of hugs, and has a line up toys she needs, including a hello kitty heart that helps her find "my mom" when they use the map. I am excited when she is willing to give something new a chance, as she is usually resistant. The excitement fades quickly as we watch the same thing over and over and over.

I  found an About Me project from three years ago and her favorites were... drum roll please... "Wonder Pets", "Cars", and "Oswald".  

What are favorites in your house? Any theories you have been searching for a venue to explore? Any answers to the questions above?

Not Feeling Well

Clues of Illness
1) Would not put Abby Cadabby down
2) Took Abby instead of Talker when we left the house
3) Refused ice cream
4) Little appetite in general

How She Threw Me Off
1) Didn't stop jumping for joy
2) Look at that smile
3) Chatty as can be
4) We were on vacation from school and PJs and lounging were the norm

Results
1) Fever
2) Fades out in the evening
3) More days off school
4) Snuggles

AAC Specialist

About six months ago we started seeing an SLP that specializes in AAC, alternative and augmentative communication, devices. He is a MAN! We once had a teenage boy teach swimming, every other professional has been female.  Really, that is not important, but it is nice for her to interact with man in this type of environment.  

She is awesome at communicating her needs and wants. We want to know what she is thinking, have her be able to ask us things, and use her device for more than answering questions from the outside.

He is focused on her using her talker (AAC device) more conversationally. They have been working on "where" as the first question word to master. Every week she chooses a toys box, usually the baby, and then he hides things she needs to play with.  She has to ask on her talker "Where is the baby?" or "Baby is hungry. Where is the bottle?" He coaches her when she defaults to "I want baby." or "I want bottle.". 

They struggle, some days she wants to work with him and some days she doesn't. We drive an hour each way for her 30 minute appointment. Recently she just cried for 27 minutes because she didn't want to work with him. This center has an observation room where I watch the sessions and can hear everything they do. I am so thankful for this to see their progress and learn strategies, but also to know she had not mistreated her and not have to worry too much about her crying for a week. 

One cool thing that has developed recently with her talker is describing things she sees, when we don't ask. If "Wonder Pets" are headed to save an animal then she says the name of the animal on her talker. If she sees a baby, or a snack, or a ____. She tells us on her talker. This new spontaneous talking is not in complete sentences, and sometimes makes context difficult, but it is spontaneous! 

Rufus Kisses

It is nice having the love of a girl (and her mom) when you are an old dog.