Oct 2011 - EXTRA HELP!!! Brian Lounsberry, Stefanie Heaser, Carrie Demmon

In October we hired extra-help to help us teach our little one, Aliyah. (Brian started in Aug 2011) It hurts me when I try to teach her how to play with her toys because she would not understand how to. I just want to play with her and not worry about her differences and compare her with other children her age. Which is why we wanted extra help since sometimes I found myself crying because my little one at age 2 wouldn't scribble on paper for me or knew how dolls were played .... back in Nov.2011

We have interviewed aggressively and found great people to be part of Aliyah's life.

Carrie

"I met Aliyah almost a month ago. When I first met her, she cried and was distant. She was close to her mom. When I worked with her for the first time, I took her to the playground. Lizette walked with us to the playground. Once Lizette left, Aliyah got upset. She resisted me and wasn’t interested in the playground. She cried and tried to leave the playground. I was resilient, and I didn’t give up. I’ve continued working with Aliyah and each time the experience gets better. There are still moments when she cries or wants to play with her mom, Aliyah knows who I am and enjoys playing with me. She has come to me with her arms raised and smiles and laughs. We have had wonderful moments at the playground, and I’ve even seen growth in her understanding. She is beginning to learn to sit down at the top of a slide. I love to watch her explore when she sees a dog, cat, or new toy. I’ve heard Aliyah use the sounds p, b, and she has even expressed the sound ‘t’. She also likes to click her tongue. I love singing with Aliyah, and I am enjoying being a part of her life. It is challenging to work with her which makes me appreciate the work Lizette and Sean do each and every day." 10/23/11

Brian

"When we started (mid Aug) she wanted to communicate but couldn't find a way, also wanted to play with peers an could't and making sounds was about 3-5 sounds. First thing I did was see her in her home setting, she loves books and toys with sounds/music so I started a step ahead of myself. ABA No tear learning which is immitation to learn on a baseline then after she pass trialed in then mastered at a 90% rate on 3 separate sessions. But 1st we had learn immitation play.

So I spent a week on just simple stuff: touch nose, tummy, eye, tounge, ear, hair. had to oversome putting fingers in her mounth. So we started on her favorite toy dolls and then after a week she had dropped 90% of fingers in her mouth. Then started to do immitation play like on top, under, in, out on a toy then mimic the sounds out of stuff mouth, takes about 3 separate sessions to say the sound.

Sounds she can now say:

ah, bah, cah, duh, fff, ga, la, ll, ma, mm, pa, sss, wah, and the top of mouth "click sound"

Goals we are working on: basic 2 yr old

2 word communication- its verbal prompted better when we started with han over hand everything. ex. I'd stop music- che say more music, signed after learning the sign n making it to the best of her abilities.Full moition with gross motor and fine motor. ex. right hand zips up, left hand zips down. don't know why it happens.

Also working on teeth sound like ta, and some tough ones like zah and close ones to ga, like ja, ya, and also trying to make an O sound with an O movement. We started thursday 9/15 signing mom by placing her thumb to touch her chin and it took 5 sessions to touch her chin with her thumb st 50% hand over hand. But she smiles when is a sign mom because she wants to learn it. Also, she wants to play with her baby brother, been working on nice touch with 1 or 2 fingers and no pinching with anyone else too. Also learned to wave properly and blow a kiss with ma sound. " 9/21/11

Stefanie

I started working with Aliyah in the Fall of 2011 not knowing exactly what I was getting in to. This is what I observed: a little girl who did not know how to play with dolls, could not put her jacket, hat, socks and shoes on, did not verbalize, could not identify a puppy, a cat, or a fish, did not use sign language, and did not know how to jump into a swimming pool. At this point she was still eating solid food, but her seizure disorder was getting worse.

Today I observe the exact opposite. Aliyah is the most resilient little two and a half year old I have ever had the pleasure to work with. This is what I observe now, just 4 months after I started working with her; Aliyah can say "mama" and "papa." Not only can she identify cat, dog, and fish, she can actually say "puppy." Her verbalizations have increased from just a few a day to constantly talking and making sounds. When we are ready to leave home, she sticks out her feet to put her shoes on and she puts her own coat, hat, and mittens on. Aliyah went from hitting her baby doll to feeding, burping, and rocking it. When Aliyah wants more of something or simply wants to tell you that she's happy, she uses sign language to communicate. She even jumps into the pool! She's two and a half! It's incredible! It's heartbreaking to see her condition get worse, but it's absolutely amazing to see her achieve so many things people thought she would never be able to. The possibilities are endless for this little girl and I do not doubt that she will achieve them all.