My sweet EK!



This girl has changed me so much! She has certainly taught me a lot. EK is doing well. I wish there was major progress to report, but there's not. I have been reading more to see if/what we're missing. I'm wondering if there's a therapy that could help or if we're missing a diagnosis besides autism. I just don't know!
My major hope for her is that she'll learn to communicate, even if she never becomes verbal again. We have tried PECS in the past (picture cards) and this year they have been attempting to use the ipad for her to make requests. She just doesn't seem to get it. I so want her to have a voice...to tell us what she needs, how she's feeling, what makes her happy, etc. She has been making a few sounds, which is encouraging. I'm not sure if she's doing it b/c AK is starting to babble or if her body is now able to make sounds or if she has a desire to make sounds. The babbling isn't an attempt at a word though (or at least we don't think so) and she rarely will imitate when you give her a sound to say.
Potty training is so inconsistent. Some mornings she'll go before school, but most mornings she won't. We do the same thing every morning and she is dry when she first wakes up, so I know she CAN hold it for a long time. Every once in a while, she'll go potty at school. I was really hoping she'd "get it" this year.
I can't believe her Kindergarten year is almost over. Her teacher is moving out of state this summer so she'll have a new teacher in the fall. I know that is all in the Lord's hands. EK has transitioned so well this year so I am confident she'll do well with a new teacher. Plus I think her other 2 teachers will still be with her (Ms. Colleen and Ms. Shelley) so that will help.
EK will go to ESY this summer. It's only a couple hours in the AM, Monday-Thursday. I have thought about doing some private OT and possibly PT. We did speech last year, but it didn't seem to help much. We'll see....
One area EK has grown immensely is in anxiety. She is so better about new situations. There is a lot less crying! Don't get me wrong...there's still some crying, but it's manageable (doesn't go on for hours). We are going to UT for a family vacation/mission opportunity in a couple weeks. It's not going to be easy. Vacations never are with EK, but I know we can do it! We're excited to see friends and serve others.
Thanks for praying for our family! We are blessed by your love and support!

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