AIT Berard Ear Training: Week Two

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http://vidyaranya.wordpress.com/2011/10/11/corruption-begins-at-homejustice-begins-at-lokayukta/child-refusing-to-eat-food/

The week started pretty uneventfully. SensiGirl has been constipated, probably due to not having much of an appetite. Aside from that, things were okay. Monday night, she got herself ready for bed early and was asleep on the early side.
Sensi didn't eat her lunch and then went to the park with her Tutor Tuesday afternoon. She did a lot of screaming about not getting what she wanted. She screamed about being told to cool it with the fruit roll ups. She also screamed about being told to leave the tennis courts at the park after she had wandered in during a game. She did eat most of her dinner, but was still constipated.

image via:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1078350/How-sleep-really-need-Probably-lot-think-says-expert.html 

Wednesday she woke up reluctantly, and didn't eat any breakfast. Sensi was crabby getting out of the car at the therapy center, and screamed a bit during her session. She continued on the screaming and/or crying on and off for the rest of the day. She didn't want to finish her listening session, but she did with some encouragement.  She was hungry when she got home and ate quite a bit of cereal. Pretty much all she ate that day was Cheerios, pickles and turkey pepperoni minis, with a couple of celery sticks thrown in.

image via:
http://www.ehow.com/how_4788335_stop-tantrum-using-positive-parenting.html 

Thursday, still not hungry and still constipated. We tried our usual last resort remedy and had some success. When we returned home in the morning, her father had eaten her toast. I told her to tell him" You ate my toast, Daddy." She turned around and looked at him and gave him the stink-eye while telling him," Daddy, you ate my toast." Not spontaneous but not exactly echolalia either. SensiGirl was in a great mood all day; she sang for most of the day. It was like having Ethel Merman in the house. She is singing her songs like she is on Broadway.  She did great going to the library and with her Tutor time. Her constipation finally resolved itself. Overall, she had a pretty great day.

image via:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:EthelMermanNoBusinesstrailer.jpg 

Friday was the last day. We had an extra early session that day so it was hard to get her up and going. She insisted on having her favorite CD on during the drive and to have the window open so she had the breeze on her in the back seat. Usually we have the AC on especially this summer, but it was a cool morning. She is able to work out the lyrics to her songs better as we drove. She also spent much of her session writing nonsense words with the therapist.  She did seem a bit unsteady on her feet after the last session, but by the time we walked down the hallway, she was fine. She was pretty happy and content the whole day. She is still sensitive to the sound of the mailbox, and still pauses when she steps out the front door. She has stopped screaming at the word "no" for the most part.

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She still did do some screaming on Saturday, mostly due to her frustration with her dad and brother. One nice thing is she came outside after I mowed the yard and sat down with me and just hung out in the tea house under the ceiling fan. We talked a little and she asked for some grapes from the vine. It was all very charming.  She was up in the middle of the night Saturday, having one of her SensiGirl bounce and sing parties. She was up at 4:30 and I don't know if she fell back to sleep at all. On Sunday morning her daddy went into her room and said "Good Morning" she looked right at him and said "Good Morning Daddy" right back at him. She ended up floppy, tired and sad in the afternoon so I put her in her bed. She took a nap for the first time in almost 5 years.

image via: 
http://www.scilogs.com/the_quantum_lobe_chronicles/why-non-rapid-eye-movement-nrem-sleep-is-important-for-memory/

She is slowly interacting with us a bit more each day. Little tiny baby steps, but when you look back a week or a month, things are going in the right direction for her. I won't know how this will all play out. Most changes are supposed to take place in the next weeks or months. I will keep updating about her progress.

Resources:
http://www.kidsenabled.org/articles/index.php/200603/the-power-of-sound-a-therapy-worth-listening-to/
http://www.autism.com/index.php/understanding_ait_summary
http://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/ait-institute-podcast/id265271486
http://www.drguyberard.com/
http://www.georgianainstitute.org/