Progress Note

Bubba continues to amaze me with his progress at school, at home, and in therapy. I'm not sure what is most amazing to me, so I will go in order as they are listed.

Bubba has attended Under the Umbrella for a little over two weeks now and has made unbelievable progress in such a short amount of time. Much credit can be given to his fabulous teacher, Ms. Super Mom (How she raises two children under 5 and teaches special needs children while her husband is deployed is more than enough to give her this title). Ms. Super Mom has a son in Bubba's class, so she understands his needs on a more personal level than most others would. She is also patient and calm, nice and easy going, and she is genuinely interested in every child. With her help, Bubba has begun to need Lambie less, has become slightly more comfortable in social situations, and has improved his attention span and ability to follow directions. The other day he said "Moo! I'm a cow!" Which is a sign of imaginative play we haven't seen before. He is also learning his colors and alphabet.

At home, we have seen great strides, as well. He now sleeps through the night (yes, 4:30 am wake-up counts as through the night) and seems to "look out" for the Baby a little more. We are now able to wash his hair (with the help of a picture chart) without severe trauma and can occasionally brush his teeth (maybe twice a week) without a tantrum. He tries to use complete sentences (3-4 word phrases) 50% of the time while at home, and we continue to encourage him to use them more often. He is eating much better and has gained even more weight. He is currently on antibiotics to "heal his gut", and I think it is really helping him. He is really making an attempt to use the potty, but just isn't ready yet (and that's ok).

Bubba's speech and occupational therapies have done a lot of good for him, too. He recently had his 6 month occupational therapy evaluation, and I found that he has met 5 of his 10 goals that were set for him back in January. With our OT's help, he is now able to remove his socks and shoes without help and attempts to remove the rest of his clothing. While he still has trouble putting clothing on, he does not scream each time a shirt goes over his head. He is able to better tolerate dry textures (sand, birdseed, grass, etc), but still has a problem with wet ones. His is, though, trying very hard and is exhausted after his therapy is over.

After speech therapy today, his therapist told me that she is very impressed with his progress. He is also using 3-4 word phrases with her and is responding appropriately to What and Where questions. Bubba never minds the speech homework we receive each week and seems to retain the information quite well (which could be good if he is actually retaining it or bad if it is the verbal stimulation coming out). He tries very hard to "use his words", but sometimes needs prompting.

We started on this journey shortly after he came home from Guatemala, not knowing what was in store. So far, I could not be happier with his progress and his amazing effort and resilience. He has come so far in such a short time, and it is amazing to see what could be.

This is Bubba after having his hair washed.

Bubba and Baby in the bathtub.