Julia update

During the past week and a half, Julia went to school withe less negative feelings than she has before. She even told me that she likes Christie and Amy, her teacher and aid. She did a few surprising things -- used "is", "had", and "has" in sentences, enjoyed riding on the trailing bike that is now connected to Cheshire's bike that I am using, was more careful with pronunciation, and used more sentences. We saw the movie Emperor's New Grove, and later Julia made a clay llama that really captured the essence of llama without copying what she has seen in the movie. Her talent with clay continues to grow incorporating whatever new experience she has into her little figures and scenes.

Today Julia brought home two little books that she has learned. We are supposed to "read" the books together, and so tonight, I pointed to the few words on each page as she said them. She is memorizing, not reading, but she is very proud of herself. It is clear that someone at school is working with Julia and has gone over these books many times. The class is working on color and color names this week. Julia should not have any trouble with these.

Today, David and I had a conference with Julia’s main teacher. We talked for about a hour, and told Christie what we know and what we have supposed. We answered questions about what we thought that Julia can do, and why we think she behaves as she does. Christie told us that Julia’s behavior, as it relates to her hitting, shoving, pushing, etc., has gotten better. She still has not embraced the "gentle hands" admonition that she hears at school and at home, but we keep saying it and practicing. Christie called Julia a puzzle. There are holes in her experiences and her abilities, but at times she is very much like her peers. For example, Julia’s gross motor skills – her body movement – is very young. Cathy, the principal has said the same thing. It is as if Julia is a bigger toddle at times. She moves with joy and vigor, without the restraint or concentration her peers have. We have experienced this often. Julia’s fine motors skills when it comes to anything writing are likewise very much behind. Her drawings are scribbles and she is only able to write her name with a lot of assistance. And yet, there are her fine motor skills when she is working with clay or playing with her legos.

Christie is the first person who has said to us that she doesn’t think that Julia’s delay is cognitive – not that anyone has given us any opinion at all. I feel like I have known this but have worried all the same. Of course, Christie is a kindergarten teacher and not an expert, but I believe her gut feeling. If Julia’s delays are because of a lack of stimulation, love, and experiences, the questions become whether and how long it will take her to catch up. Will she? Can she? We talked about what we could do at home, and our need to keep in touch.
We will see the psychologist again next Monday, and hopefully, start to work on some of Julia’s anger. I believe that it is her anger and stubbornness and negative feelings that hold her back. If we can get her to relax more and allow herself to be guided and taught, she will move ahead.

We still have the appointment with the developmental clinic to look forward to. I am hoping to have some documentation about Julia’s behavior by that time. I hope we can learn more from them.