Post by Jodi on Mar 24, 2005 16:54:26 GMT -5
More on Ryan ;D my favorite subject!
Ryan was born on June 13, 1998. I knew about his condition 5 months into the pregnancy via amnio. After the shock wore off, I researched, which also broke my heart. The great thing about knowing ahead of time was we were able to prepare for the worst at birth. We had been told he could have a cleft palett and a cleft lip, and possible heart complications. Fortunately, he was pretty darn healthy. He had jaundice, and the pediatrician thought she heard a heart murmur.
At six weeks, we took Ryan to the heart specialist. He had 3 small holes in his heart, but the doc. suggested we wait a year to "see what happens". He said they were small and didn't think it was worth putting him through any surgery. A year later, all three holes had closed on their own.
Knowing about Ryan ahead of time gave me time to plan. I had him on a Saturday, and by Monday morning I was already on the phone to our regional center.
He had infant stim, first in home, then in a clinic, then home, then back to the clinic. He received speech at about 9 months and ot when he was about 6 months. His OT was the BEST!! She would motivate Ryan by doing all kinds of crazy things. Ryan loved when she imitated Elvis -- she would put on a pair of dark sunglasses and say "uh-huh" like Elvis. He would crack-up. She would hold the glasses just above his head so he was "working" by reaching to get them. She would help him place them on his face, and then she would say "uh-huh" again - and we'd all crack up.;D Don't you just love when someone truly loves their job, and that job is working with your child?!
He started receiving PT about 18 months. Both the PT and OT said that Ryan was the worst case of hypotonia they had ever seen. We have seen this play out by Ryan's struggle to crawl, walk, and talk (still struggling with talking).
He was a very healthy baby, but very picky about what he would eat. Spaghettio's and baby oatmeal were his staples. He had a horrible time learning to feed himself. I took a long time, and (just like the potty training now) I wondered if he'd ever get it. Oh, the messes. We learned to forget the mess and focus on the task (which wasn't easy - my mom took care of Ryan during the day while I worked, and she didn't have a whole lot of patience for messiness). She said she still finds dried spaghettio's in her kitchen stuck in places she'd never dream of!
He started walking at about 19 months - really well at 24 months. We cheered Ryan all the time - no matter what he was doing. I remember him taking ONE step, then he would smile, clap, and look at us like, "well, clap!" Too cute!
We had a couple of scary incidents. Ryan got out of the house once, and we live on a very busy street. My husband had just walked to the back of the house, and when he came back - he was gone. He ran outside, and there he was, in the middle of the street!
My mom was watching Ryan one day, and had stepped outside for a second - Ryan shut the door behind her and she was locked out. She had the cordless phone for some reason and called me. She was crying saying that she saw Ryan with a pair of scissors and he RAN away from the door into another room. She had a baseball bat, and was trying to break a window, but was so freaked out, she didn't have enough strength to even swing the bat. Luckily I was about two miles away in my car already and (stupidly) RACED to get home. I went into the living room, and there on the carpet was a pool of something red. I found him in the back of the house, looking at books - unharmed. He had dumped his juice out on the floor!
We have since moved to a very safe area, and have keys hidden outside... just in case.
Ryan enjoys going to baseball games, bowling (one time he threw his ball in the lane next to ours - and unfortunately they were "serious" bowlers... they looked so ticked off - and I said "give me a break - lighten-up, he's a kid!" They were much nicer after that). He REALLY likes to sing! Although it's not much you can understand, but he knows the words to so many songs. Last year they had a play at school involving songs and dancing and to this day Ryan will perform for anyone who will watch every song and every move! He really enjoys reading, and looks forward to story time every night. We usually read 3 books, and when we ask him to pick out three, he will always bring us 5 or 6. Dr. Seuss' ABC is one of his favorites. He reads the "Big A, Little A" etc. and we read the rest (sounds like "ig A wo A" - close enough!).
He enjoys school but outside of signing computer and slide, we really don't get out of him what he does. Forturnately the aid writes everything down, so I can ask him things like, "did you play with Andrew today?" and he smiles and says "ess".
He has some rituals that have become a family tradition. For example, before going to bed, and before leaving for school, we all must give eachother a family hug and a family kiss. When I'm in a hurry and trying to run out the door because I'm late, Ryan will say "bye" and then call his brother and dad over to start the tradition. I love that because Ryan reminds me about what is important.
Wow, I think I've gone on far too long. I would love to hear more about Olivia too!! I haven't cracked-open that book yet - hopefully this next weekend.
Jodi
Ryan was born on June 13, 1998. I knew about his condition 5 months into the pregnancy via amnio. After the shock wore off, I researched, which also broke my heart. The great thing about knowing ahead of time was we were able to prepare for the worst at birth. We had been told he could have a cleft palett and a cleft lip, and possible heart complications. Fortunately, he was pretty darn healthy. He had jaundice, and the pediatrician thought she heard a heart murmur.
At six weeks, we took Ryan to the heart specialist. He had 3 small holes in his heart, but the doc. suggested we wait a year to "see what happens". He said they were small and didn't think it was worth putting him through any surgery. A year later, all three holes had closed on their own.
Knowing about Ryan ahead of time gave me time to plan. I had him on a Saturday, and by Monday morning I was already on the phone to our regional center.
He had infant stim, first in home, then in a clinic, then home, then back to the clinic. He received speech at about 9 months and ot when he was about 6 months. His OT was the BEST!! She would motivate Ryan by doing all kinds of crazy things. Ryan loved when she imitated Elvis -- she would put on a pair of dark sunglasses and say "uh-huh" like Elvis. He would crack-up. She would hold the glasses just above his head so he was "working" by reaching to get them. She would help him place them on his face, and then she would say "uh-huh" again - and we'd all crack up.;D Don't you just love when someone truly loves their job, and that job is working with your child?!
He started receiving PT about 18 months. Both the PT and OT said that Ryan was the worst case of hypotonia they had ever seen. We have seen this play out by Ryan's struggle to crawl, walk, and talk (still struggling with talking).
He was a very healthy baby, but very picky about what he would eat. Spaghettio's and baby oatmeal were his staples. He had a horrible time learning to feed himself. I took a long time, and (just like the potty training now) I wondered if he'd ever get it. Oh, the messes. We learned to forget the mess and focus on the task (which wasn't easy - my mom took care of Ryan during the day while I worked, and she didn't have a whole lot of patience for messiness). She said she still finds dried spaghettio's in her kitchen stuck in places she'd never dream of!
He started walking at about 19 months - really well at 24 months. We cheered Ryan all the time - no matter what he was doing. I remember him taking ONE step, then he would smile, clap, and look at us like, "well, clap!" Too cute!
We had a couple of scary incidents. Ryan got out of the house once, and we live on a very busy street. My husband had just walked to the back of the house, and when he came back - he was gone. He ran outside, and there he was, in the middle of the street!
My mom was watching Ryan one day, and had stepped outside for a second - Ryan shut the door behind her and she was locked out. She had the cordless phone for some reason and called me. She was crying saying that she saw Ryan with a pair of scissors and he RAN away from the door into another room. She had a baseball bat, and was trying to break a window, but was so freaked out, she didn't have enough strength to even swing the bat. Luckily I was about two miles away in my car already and (stupidly) RACED to get home. I went into the living room, and there on the carpet was a pool of something red. I found him in the back of the house, looking at books - unharmed. He had dumped his juice out on the floor!
We have since moved to a very safe area, and have keys hidden outside... just in case.
Ryan enjoys going to baseball games, bowling (one time he threw his ball in the lane next to ours - and unfortunately they were "serious" bowlers... they looked so ticked off - and I said "give me a break - lighten-up, he's a kid!" They were much nicer after that). He REALLY likes to sing! Although it's not much you can understand, but he knows the words to so many songs. Last year they had a play at school involving songs and dancing and to this day Ryan will perform for anyone who will watch every song and every move! He really enjoys reading, and looks forward to story time every night. We usually read 3 books, and when we ask him to pick out three, he will always bring us 5 or 6. Dr. Seuss' ABC is one of his favorites. He reads the "Big A, Little A" etc. and we read the rest (sounds like "ig A wo A" - close enough!).
He enjoys school but outside of signing computer and slide, we really don't get out of him what he does. Forturnately the aid writes everything down, so I can ask him things like, "did you play with Andrew today?" and he smiles and says "ess".
He has some rituals that have become a family tradition. For example, before going to bed, and before leaving for school, we all must give eachother a family hug and a family kiss. When I'm in a hurry and trying to run out the door because I'm late, Ryan will say "bye" and then call his brother and dad over to start the tradition. I love that because Ryan reminds me about what is important.
Wow, I think I've gone on far too long. I would love to hear more about Olivia too!! I haven't cracked-open that book yet - hopefully this next weekend.
Jodi
