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Mittens and Gloves

posted Thursday February 4th, 2010

mittens1

It’s barely February, but talk has already turned to What Fourth Grade Teacher Should I Request for Annabelle and What Will Happen to Sophie in Second Grade?

The special ed teacher called yesterday — it’s time to schedule the pre-IEP meeting. Let the games begin.

Sophie’s main challenge, as predicted, is writing. I saw it last night when we started working on valentines (granted, it’s not easy for anyone to write on a foam heart with a Sharpie, around Yo Gabba Gabba stickers – she did a darn good job) and I see it in all the work that comes home. Miss Y has finally suggested that it’s time to consult the occupational therapist about an electronic writing device.

Something else to make Sophie different. But I know it will help, and we’ve held off on it long enough.

The special ed teacher was sweet. She talked yesterday about how Sophie has so much to say — sentences to put together, thoughts to express — that she simply can’t get down on paper. I wonder, frankly, if she ever will. (A hard thing to admit, given my profession — heck, and my hobby. I blab constantly! I want Sophie to be able to as well, and not just on the phone — her current obsession, sorry if you’ve been on the other end of that.)

One of the OTs explained a while back that it’s like Sophie is wearing mittens — she just doesn’t have the same feeling in her fingers that typical kids have. Combine that with low muscle tone and other challenges and you have some pretty hard-to-read writing.

Drawing is tough, too, though she loves to do it. (And I do love the drawing she did of herself and Ms. X that I embroidered.) The other day I arrived to volunteer in Sophie’s classroom, and out of the corner of my eye I noticed that the bulletin board had been updated.

I always approach a new bulletin board with a little sadness. How will Sophie’s offering look next to the other kids’ creations? This particular display is (coincidentally, given the whole writing discussion) of mittens — cute, they are punched with holes and hung on string, and as I approached, I made enough breeze that Sophie’s literally flipped over. I had to flip them back to see.

I was pleasantly surprised. Her mittens are BEAUTIFUL (see above) and most important, she created a beautiful pattern and repeated it on each. Very nice. No, not what the other kids did (see below) but lovely in their own way, just like Sophie.

mittens2

Things have been pretty mellow lately — nothing really earth-shaking. Maybe (pardon the pun and the too-neat wrapping on this package) — we (sigh — I) need to take the gloves off, make some demands that will push her to the next level.

And maybe I need to increase my expectations. So I’ll be optimistic, for once, and assume that when she gets her new contraption, Sophie will write volumes. I can’t wait to see what she has to say.

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Tags: Filed under: Down syndrome, first grade, therapy by Amysilverman

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