A great session for Dom

During yesterday's SLT session, Dominick must have been in a really good mood because he was doing things that he hasn't done for Monica before: pointing to his body parts when named, giving high five, signing "open." He even danced (while sitting down) when she said the word "dance." Overall, Dom was much more playful and vocal even than last week, saying cat, dog, tractor (or something with two syllables), bunny (well, "buh") when prompted. Most amazingly, when Monica held up Mr. Potato Head's eyes, Dominick clearly said "eyes" with no prompting whatsoever. It was the first time he'd said it, and that he did it on his own was rather thrilling. Monica really believes that the sensory work we're doing has had an impact on Dominick, and the more comfortable he becomes, the more speech will result.

So I was all for making sure we did some messy play later that day. After Dom's nap and snack, while he was still in his highchair, I gave him Play-doh for a little while, which he liked. Then I put a blob of mayonnaise on the tray. He pretty much freaked out, so I started talking to him and drawing pictures in the mayonnaise. (Note to self: let the stuff warm up first!) Dom settled down for a minute or two, then indicated he was ready to get down from the highchair. We'll have to keep trying, especially since next week's playgroup is all about messy play. I want him to participate at least a little.

On Tuesday, I decided to take Dom on a quick trip to Walgreens. I forgot to do the brushing on him before we left, so I did joint compressions before we got out of the car. Dom fought against going in the shopping cart, but I finally got him in, and he proceeded to scream for most of our time there. He abruptly stopped when I put a 12-pack of Quilted Northern double rolls on his lap. Interesting. It must have been just enough weight to ground him, so to speak. He was fine the rest of the time and even managed a small smile to the cashier when we checked out.

This morning, several from our playgroup went to Grant's Farm. Dominick actually did a fair amount of walking, most of it while pushing the stroller. He was far more interested in that than the animals, actually. I put the backpack on the stroller to give it some more weight. Both therapists have recommended having him do heavy work such as pushing or carrying objects. And Mike and I both think Dom needs to be more active. The other day, he rode around our very large block (about a mile) on his little Retro Rocket. He walked for a small part of it but was never carried, except to cross streets. He even managed to go up some hills on the rocket.

Note: I'm writing this on Thursday, but because I started it last night, it will be published under yesterday's date. Speech therapy obviously took place on Wednesday, not Tuesday.