About Julia

Julia and I went to Indy last weekend to visit our friend, Lisa, and her family, and to go to the FTIA picnic. It was a great weekend for us. Julia took the drive very well, she is an expert traveller. She had a few mishaps, like managing to get a "safe" ice cream pop to spew its green contents on every surface of the car. I didn't think there was that much ice cream in the cardboard container. But she asked me to stop and help her because she "made a mistake." That was a good call on her part, and she did clean up fine. I am counting myself a genius because I have a permanent package of wet wipes in the glove compartment. Okay, so lots of moms do that.

Julia adored Lisa's kids, all older than she is, and all patient and kind to her. They played with her, let her play with the biggest box of lego she ever saw, showed her video games (one that was about pinatas and planting a garden), and indulged her like crazy. She does need this kind of interaction on a more regular basis -- being with kids who like her and who give her a break when it comes to communication and being absolutely normal.

At the picnic, we saw two of our travel buddies. The girls are all growing, and China seems further and further away. Maury and Better commented on how big Julia was getting, and it was good seeing both of them.

A few days before we travelled, Julia began working with a therapeutic listening program. She listens to Mozart through special headphones. The music has been altered and certain frequencies added. This program does not work for everyone, but for those that it works for, there are some pretty amazing results. Annie, our OT, is hoping that the program might help Julia to modulate or regulate herself. If Julia had more control over her impulses and distractions, her behavior would change. She might be able to follow directions without getting lost, stay on task when I ask her to do her letter work, listen to directions on her favorite video games.

We were supposed to use the progam for a week and then decide whether it was doing Julia some good, but of course, after a week, it is hard to tell anything. Plus, I did not keep notes on anything that I was seeing. So, we are on trial for another week.

Julia did get dressed and was more cooperative with getting getting dressed during this week. She was more compliant with my directions during the weekend, but that was only when we travelled and she was back to normal on that once we were home.

I also wonder how this therapy would look from an attachment POV. If Julia's distractability is caused by hyperviligence, will listening therapy do any good. Will it do any harm? How powerful is working with the vestibular system?

Julia has had an awful rash for two weeks now. Rash, plus bug bites, and she is insane with itching. It is most difficult when she is trying to go to sleep. We have done lots of home remedies. Her back and chest are pretty clear, but her arms and legs are still disaster zones. I have to call the doc tomorrow and see what we can do for her.

Maybe as a result of extreme itching, Julia was really unable to concentrate on her work tonight. I could not get her to copy numbers when I wrote them. I did get pretty frustrated with her and asked David to take over and give her a bath. Hopefully, we will get rid of the itches and back to regular work.

We think Julia's language is becoming more expressive. Of course, I notice this when she tells me she is angry with me and how she will punish me. She also calls me a "very, bad mommy." I correct that last point and tell her she is using her words well. At least, she is not hitting, biting, kicking -- just talking about it.

Julia has put her foot down at times and refused to get ready for camp or refuse to get on the bus. It does not take much to change her mind. Is this more resiliance??