Puh-puh...GOOD GIRL!!!!

The coolest thing happened in school last week. We have been TRYING and TRYING to get Julia to exhale with the sound for the letter "P", but all she would do is purse her lips...no exhale at all. We have tried all kinds of tricks to get this new sound, to no avail...BUT...!

Last week the letter of the week was "P" and her class did some fun activities. Julia (with LOTS of help!!!) glued and colored all her projects...AND MADE THE SOUND "PUH"!!! Now, I know that some of you may be rolling your eyes at my being soooooo ecstatic over this, but you have to understand how limited verbal language is for individuals with Cri du Chat Syndrome, and HOW LONG we have worked on this sound with Julia. She really likes the other kids in her class and tries to imitate them.

NOW for the cool part...that night I took her home and asked her to tell daddy what she learned in school. She made the sign for "school" and then looked at me. I said again "Tell daddy about school." She looked right at him and said "Puh-puh-puh"! We did a few cartwheels and clapped and she clapped too...she was very pleased with herself!!

Julia has also started to say oo-ee-uh, which is her pronunciation of her name. Miss Lisa told me that Julia had said her name and I was surprised. She says it at home, but not for anyone but family!

A couple of small steps...but a very tangible ones! Hooray for Julia! (And HUGE, GIGANTIC thanks to Miss Lisa!)

SCHOOL DAYS!!!!

WELL! Julia began school last week and we are so pleased by how well she is doing. She really loves her teachers and classmates and signs for "school" in the morning when she gets up. It is funny that one week of attending and she is already in the routine of things.

Julia attends Jessie Baker Elementary which is an all-special needs school close to our home. There are 167 students enrolled between the ages of 3 and 22 years and all have special needs. The environment is such a warm and comfortable one...I am really glad that Julia was able to get into this program.

Miss Lisa is Julia's teacher and she is assisted by Miss Linda, Miss Karen and a great helper named Marcia. There are 3 other students in her class which makes the ratio of students to staff 1:1! Julia gets lots of personal attention in this wonderful atmosphere and is blossoming before my eyes! I'll admit that as a die-hard homeschooling family it was an extremely difficult decision to send her to school, but I definitely feel like it was the best choice for her.

At church last night a friend commented on how differently Julia was interacting with everyone, and on how her level of attention had increased. It is true. Julia is paying more attention to what goes on around her and is much more interactive with her environment. I think that the walking is making a big difference also...she is using her walker 75% of the time and I think she feels more independent and "in control". I have to admit that I have personally altered my way of looking at her. I don't see her as a baby anymore, and she is responding to our family treating her like a big girl.

So...all of my concerns were groundless...she is doing SUPERBLY well! Thank you, Jesus!