Happy New Year!

 

Until Next Time!

Lots of Love,

Merry Christmas

Today, on Christmas, I sit here with my family, our three beautiful children and expecting another.  I am overjoyed to be able to spend these precious times with them.  However, this Christmas, I have a heavy heart.  My thoughts are with the families effected by the tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut.  Even though I haven't written about it on this blog, I have been so devastated over this incident.  Maybe it's because I have young children.  Maybe it's because it is so close to Christmas.  Maybe it's because I'm pregnant.  I don't know.  PLEASE take a minute to say a prayer for these families.  I'm sure today is going to be especially hard for them.

 

In my thoughts and heart... 

 

Charlotte Bacon, 6
Daniel Barden, 7
Rachel DaVino, 29
Olivia Engel, 6
Josephine Gay, 7
Ana M. Marquez-Greene, 6
Dylan Hockley, 6
Dawn Hochsprung, 47
Madeleine F. Hsu, 6
Catherine V. Hubbard, 6
Chase Kowalski, 7
Jesse Lewis, 6
James Mattioli, 6
Grace McDonnell, 7
Anne Marie Murphy, 52
Emilie Parker, 6
Jack Pinto, 6
Noah Pozner, 6
Caroline Previdi, 6
Jessica Rekos, 6
Avielle Richman, 6
Lauren Russeau, 30
Mary Sherlach, 56
Victoria Soto, 27
Benjamin Wheeler, 6
Allison N. Wyatt, 6

A Cat's Christmas...

 

Until Next Time!

Lots of Love,

Here I am!

Hello all!  Sorry that I haven't updated the blog sooner.  I've been very busy with Raymond this last week.  Raymond's surgery went well.  The doctor was able to remove his gallbladder laparoscopically.  She had to make four incisions, instead of the standard two, but that's better then having a large cut across his belly!  Raymond recovered well and we were sent home.  The next day he was doing great.  Aunt Theresa and Uncle Roy even came to visit.  The next morning, however, things changed.  Raymond didn't want to move around, have his diaper changed or even be fed.  He got worse very quickly.  I called the surgeon's office and they wanted me to bring Raymond back to the hospital immediately.

There are three major complications that can happen with gallbladder surgery.  Raymond had symptoms of all three.  Thankfully, with further investigation, it wasn't one of the major complications.  He had a chest x-ray to look for aspiration pneumonia from the breathing tube used to sedate him during surgery.  The x-ray showed that he was having a lot of difficulty passing air through his lungs and severely constipated.  His remained very uncomfortable for awhile but with some extra fluids and medicine he bounced back. 

 

Raymond hasn't had therapy for obvious reasons.  The IU is now on winter break so he will not have therapy until January.  Lily, however, has had her speech therapy.  Raymond carried the note from her last session off somewhere so I don't have it.  Lily has a new speech therapist named Ellen.  Her previous therapist had to cut her caseload so we were reassigned.  I actually really like Ellen.  She is a retired school teacher and knows A LOT of sign language.  I think she is going to work very well with Lily and Raymond too.  Raymond is typically integrated in Lily's therapy.  If I find the note from the session, I will add it to the blog.

 

Isabella had pajama day at school yesterday.  She was so excited to wear her pajama's and slippers all day.  Today her class is having a holiday party.  She can't wait for Christmas!!!

 

Until Next Time!

Lots of Love,

 

 

Teach

Until Next Time!

Lots of Love,

Abilities

Until Next Time!

Lots of Love,

Weekly Therapy Update

"Raymond was able to follow directions with some prompting.  Raymond needed some prompting during turn taking."

Raymond said "yellow" so nicely during his session today.  That's a tough word for him!

-Beth, Special Instruction Therapist

12/04/2012

"Raymond transitioned throughout the routine with some prompting.  Raymond worked on following directions today.  Today Raymond painted a Christmas Tree"

-Beth, Special Instruction Therapist
12/07/2012

 

"# puzzle, stacking for coordination.  Independently strung various size beads.  Scooping beans with spoon.  Good attention and coordination today.  Good use of two hands together to complete tasks."

-Becky, Occupational Therapist
12/07/2012 

 

 

Lily

"We used the Melissa and Doug sandwich set to work on requesting and imitating.  Lily's brother was incorporated in the session to work on Lily requesting from him.  Lily was able to follow models to request and manipulate the items.  We attempted some two word phrases which was successful with single syllable words, but intelligibility decreased with multi syllable words.  Lily was able to use the proper inflection."

-Tara, Speech Therapist

12/03/2012

 

 

Some of you have asked me about the noted from Raymond's current therapists.  Raymond's current therapist are not required to turn in the therapy slips because they work for the Intermediate Unit.  Raymond's old therapist had to turn the slips in in order to get paid.  That is why their notes were more detailed.  So hopefully you still get an idea of what he is doing with his therapists on a weekly basis.  If not, feel free to ask!

I had an IEP meeting for Raymond.  I am NOT happy with the plan they have come up with for him.  I will go into more detail about that next week.  Monday is Raymond's surgery so lots of prayers and positive thoughts would be appreciated!!!  I'll let everyone know how he is doing as soon as I can.

 

Also...

 

 

 

Until Next Time!

Lots of Love 



 Until Next Time!

Lots of Love,

Love Junx

The following information is taken right from the Love Junx Website.

What is LOVE JUNX?

LOVE JUNX, which now boasts over 270 members, is an entertainment school for children with Down’s Syndrome. The program began as part of the non-profit organization TOYBOX in October of 2002. The long term goals of the school are to foster self-sufficiency and self-expression in children with Down Syndrome through entertainment, and to spread knowledge and understanding of Down’s Syndrome to the public. Through their lessons and live performances at LOVE JUNX, students have the opportunity to meet other children, work together, share their joy, grow together, and make their dreams comes true. Their live performances have already received acclaim on many levels, and there have been many requests to extend lessons throughout the country.

Profile of Anna Makino

Representative/Chief Instructor for LOVE JUNX, and Representative Trustee for TOYBOX, Ms. Makino spent her school days at an AmericanSchool in Okinawa. In 1983, her father began Okinawa Actor’s School - which would go on to become the most famous entertainment school in Japan, giving birth to many stars ? where she began to study entertainment. At 14, she made her singing debut with Watanabe Productions in Tokyo. Two years later she retired, returning to Okinawa at the age of 16, where she became an instructor at Okinawa Actor’s School. Later, she made her second foray into the music business as the leader of a group called The Super Monkey’s. However, she soon decided to return to Okinawa, becoming the Chief Instructor of Okinawa Actor’s School. As Chief Instructor she was given charge of the entire school, and she turned her efforts to discovering new talent, fostering stars like Namie Amuro, SPEED and DA PUMP, who would go on to lead the Japanese music scene. In 2002 she worked with students with Down’s Syndrome for the first time though an event for the Japanese Down’s Syndrome Association, and in October of that year she began her work with LOVE JUNX.

Our achievements so farAs the first professional entertainment school for those with Down’s Syndrome in Japan, the teaching methods of LOVE JUNX have garnered the interest of many instructors and experts. Children with Down Syndrome are thought to have a hard time gaining muscle mass, and to be unsuited to hard exercise. Thus the hip-hop and break dance performances of the students at LOVE JUNX were said to be a landmark achievement, and the high potential shown by the students received high acclaim at LOVE JUNX’s first live performance in 2003. LOVE JUNX became the first participants other than experts from Japan at the 8^th annual Conference of the World Down Syndrome Association, which was held in Singapore in 2004, and were singled out for their performance and teaching methods which left a huge impact on both the experts and families of those with Down’s Syndrome from all over the world.

In Japan their activities have been the subject of numerous television programs: (List TV Programs appeared on)

In February 2005, 63 members performed at the Winter Special Olympics in Nagano. In March of this year 70 members performed at the opening ceremony of the Aichi Expo. In response to overwhelming requests, lessons will open in the Kansai area of Japan this April.

 

About our lessonsAt LOVE JUNX we focus on making an environment where students will fall even more in love with what they love. Lessons that are enjoyable, and let students grow to love dance
Having fun, and growing to love dance is what makes students want to dance more. And once they want to keep dancing, they will begin to practice it on their own, to think for themselves and make their own discoveries. It is the moment that the student decides he wants to dance, and makes the decision to do so, that he take the first step towards growth. The students aren’t simply doing what they’re told, they are thinking for themselves. They aren’t simply waiting to be taught, they start to move forward on their own. This is the kind of environment that we try to create.

We believe that the most important thing in entertainment is not to force students into a mold provided by the instructor, but to draw out the myriad of talent and individuality sleeping within each student. In order to do this, a large part of our lessons at LOVE JUNX focus on free style dance., in which each student brings their own power and energy to the forefront . This is the true basis of entertainment ? the most important thing to foster is not technique, but heart. To use both your body and soul to express what you feel in the music. And in entertainment, it is important to want to do everything that you can for your audience, to want them to have fun. To give everything you’ve got for others. It is this generous heart that we believe it is most important to foster.  
 

 

I'm including this video because about a minute into it you can see a Love Junx class in action!

 

Until Next Time!

Lots of Love,

A Gift

Until Next Time!

Lots of Love,