Now that I'm three...












Now that I am three, I will update where I am developmentally. I am now running very well, but don't always pay attention to my foot placement. In simple terms, skinned knees are the norm rather than the exception. I tend to trip over curbs and things that are on the floor because I am so anxious to get where I am going and don't always look down. I climb and play on all playground equipment and have found that the curly slide is my favorite.
Unfortunately, my receptive language is not age appopriate, but I am understanding more and more as time goes on. Books are still my favorite activity and mom says that is just fine with her. I am able to pick out all of my colors, numbers 1-15, shapes, and all the letters of the alphabet (upper and lower case). My expressive language has also really taken off in the last 6 months or so. I am saying the word "bye" on a regular basis I am now able to sign about 50-60 signs and use all of them spontaneously. Some of the signs are hard for me to do because of my fine motor problems and body awareness issues, so I approximate the sign the best that I can. The people that know me the best have no problem understanding what I am signing, but I continue to work on accuracy. I also use a talking device to help me communicate. I am using an MT4 from Dynavox and I must say, that is one cool little device. I learned very quickly how to turn it on and off, how to navigate between the pages, how to close pop-ups, and I remember exactly where the items I want to say are located. I am able to link through several submenus to get to the item I am looking for. Mom has also taught me how to type in my name using the built in keypad. She tells me what letters to push and I do the rest. When I am done, I press the message window and a cute little computerized voice says my name. My only question...Why did mom and dad give me such a long name to spell...hellllloooo people. What's wrong with the name...Ed?
It is great to be able to communicate even though I have trouble formulating the words.
As far as the rest goes, mom tells me that she is so proud of the person that I am growing up to be. I listen and follow directions very well, but still have a seriously goofy side to me. Mom tells me that I am 95% sweet and only 5% mischeavious. I haven't had much math yet, so I don't really know what that means, but it sounds pretty good. I am finding that I have a really good sense of humor and am able to make people around me smile a lot. I still prefer to interact more with adults than with kids my own age, but I am beginning to open up more with other kids too.





Now that I am three years old, I get to enroll in horse riding lessons this summer. I have never been around a real live horse, but have lots of miles pretending that mom and dad are my horse. Mom thinks that I might be a little scared at first, but she gets nervous when I try new things. I am going to love it. I might cry a little to make her feel useful, but really that will be for her benefit only. They say that the lessons will also be great therapy, but all I see is F-U-N.

 Visit me on my horse...

Another great thing about turning three is starting preschool. Mom and dad decided to enroll me in a preschool that contains mostly typical children in it, but holds spots open for kids like me that have special needs. The philosophy of the school is that I can teach the other children as much as I can learn from them. What's really cool is that the preschool is at the university where my mom works, so she has already promised to come over and visit sometimes. I have briefly met my teachers and they are really nice. They teach all the children about 100 signs, so I will feel right at home when I talk using my hands. They will also help me to communicate using my new talking device so I have a feeling that I am going to have a great school year next year.

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