Monday afternoon.

I am better today. Just need that scary whine every so often, and of course, then the winds change . . . .

I was so concerned about Julia's behavior that I wrote a note to her teacher and aids that she might have a really bad day. So my darling proved me wrong (not that that is a bad thing. LOL) and received all smiles on her behavior chart that her teacher does every day. No hitting, cooperation, good mood, and got her work done. And then, we went to OT and she was calm, no where near as impulsive as she usually is, and did everything Annie told her to do the first time she was told. Annie thinks, as I do, that Julia is about to or making another leap.

We (Annie and I) decided to work on calming methods for Julia this term. We worked on some yoga poses (which Julia held more or less for a count of 30), and three calming techniques. The hope is that Julia can learn them when she is calm and then sooner or later use them when her motor is zipping along to bring her down to normal. I expect this is a long term project.

Annie taught her the poses and techniques (blowing out imaginary candles, rubbing hands together for a 'cup of calm', counting fingers by touching finger tip to thumb), and then tried to get Julia a bit excited to see if they could do one of the techniques, but Julia was very mellow. Annie tried interrupting Julia's play, but Julia was able to move her attention from the toy she was playing with to what was in Annie's hand and even answer Annie's questions while she (Julia) was still playing. We'll try rehursing the techniques and see if we can move them into real life impulsive or anxiety ridden times.

I was exhausted yesterday and we did not do any home work in the evening. Instead, we watched a video about Jane Goodall and her chimps. There was an incredible moment caught on film of a baby chimp approahing Goodall and putting his arm out to touch Goodall's face. It took my breath away with its simplicity and its richness. That we should all have hearts available to touch and be touched. Altnough Julia has a rough relationship with animals -- great fear, competition, and great interest -- she always wants to watch them on tv, and there always seems to be ample videos at the library to satisfy her.

A conversation while driving to therapy. Me in the front of the car, Julia in her booster seat in the back:

Julia: Mother (We are in our third week of her calling me 'mother'.), I dumb.

Me: No Honey, you are not dumb. You are smart.

Julia: No. (A bit louder than medium voie).

Me: Julia, you are smart, beautiful, and my girl.

Julia: NO. (Shouting.)

Me: Are you smart?

Julia: No.

Me: Are you beautiful?

Julia: No.

Me: Are you my girl?

Julia: (She pauses and thinks a bit. She smiles just a little bit.) Yes.

Me: Well, my girl is smart and beautiful.

And Julia was quiet. This interchane hit the right note which often does not happen. Julia often asks me to be quiet or to stop asking her questions. I purposely did not ask why this time -- she is no good at all at answering why.