Steps in right direction

Good happenings this week: Morgan is having less of the "jerking". Praise God! The nurse reported maybe seeing it just one time over the weekend. So thankful and what I had been praying for. I was gone over the weekend and everyone seemed to do ok. Having our nurse there was a huge help but Billy did a great job too. We have been working on implementing the behavior techniques learned in therapy. We have Morgan sit at the table and assist her with a puzzle, then reward her with her favorite snack or water spray. Also, the special ed director, whom I met with last week, said they would be having a behavioral therapist attend Morgans class weekly. These are all steps in the right direction!

More therapy

Morgan had a good therapy session yesterday. She worked at the table on activities and sat for two minutes the first time. She got rewarded with her favorite snack: bananas! Then after the initial sitting period, she didn't like it so much and put up a fight. The therapist is so energetic and patient! Morgan was a little more upset this week because her platform swing in her room broke. She was swinging on it and the bolt came off. She was scared more than anything. However, she sure wanted her swing to be able to get away from us. She went in her room and started throwing her toys. Well this gave the therapist something to work on with her: picking up! And Morgan could do it with help. She picked up all the toys and put them on the shelf. She is learning consequences for her behavior. It was really neat to see her already responding to the therapy. It will be a challenge to keep implementing this consistently at home, but will be so worth it.

Behavioral therapy

We started Morgans ABA therapy last week. I really like the therapist! She is fun, energetic, and very informative. Morgan liked her right away. She is teaching us how to best manage her behaviors. We also will be reinforcing and rewarding the positive behaviors. I am praying this works. We have had some real challenging behaviors lately. I observed her in the classroom after the ARD meeting on Monday, and it was hard to watch the temper tantrums. However, her daily report yesterday was that they started implementing some of the strategies already and she had a much better day! I give God the glory. He has carried us through this. I humanly could not get through it or know what to do without the Lords strength. I pray for all her teachers and everyone involved in her care. They are all doing their best and doing a great job with her. Also this week. I found a wonderful attendent to help us out on weekends. She will be a back up for our nurse. God has always provided. So thankful.

Having fun at camp last weekend!!

Camp at Jill's House

Morgan had a busy weekend. She went to camp again, the Jill's house camp that she went to last June. She had a good time again, but a little more struggle the first day because of the rain. The bus was late to pick them up and she was stuck to wait inside the building while it was raining. Her frustration mounted an she banged her head, causing a nose bleed. However, the rest of the weekend was ok because she was able to go outside with her own child care specialist who was with her the whole time. They went on walks, played chase, and went on the swing. There was also some painting involved. While she was a camp, we all went to Horseshoe Bay for some lake activities. It was fun, but we all agreed, we weren't complete because Morgan wasn't with us. We are praying for her behavior to get under control where we can take her places without the major melt downs. She has been banging her head a lot at school. She is adjusting to the new place, new schedule, and new teachers. The behavioral therapist will start with us next week. She will come to our home on Mondays for a two hour session. I spoke with the therapist on the phone last week. She was very encouraging. She said we were already on the right track with a lot of what we have been doing with Morgan. We will be working on finding rewards that motivate her to do good behavior and then making consequences for the bad behavior. I am looking forward to our session next week.

Fun at Four Winds Horse Farm! A couple of weeks ago, Morgan was invited by our neighbors to come ride in the horse carts. She loved it! They have a horse specialist that helps with special needs children. So blessed to have such wonderful neighbors!

School Days

Morgan had a good first week back to school. It was an adjustment the first couple of days. However, by the end of the week, Morgan had smiley faces and a "great day" report. We had to get the times worked out for meeting the bus in the mornings. Today went a lot smoother. Morgan has been doing great riding the bus. The driver said "she's doing awesome!" So proud of her. We had a good weekend, but am worn out from chasing Morgan. We went to my parents, and right now, she tends to be a little more hyper and gets in trouble more when not at home. However, she does understand, but is just in the "testing phase". She did do great in the car which is huge progress! So I am very thankful for that. And still very thankful for the good nights sleep every night. I do not take this for granted at all because I remember the many sleepless nights. So I am very thankful she sleeps through the night now, even when we are out of town.