SPIO

Here are some pictures of Katie in her Spiderman type "able-to-scale-small-buildings" outfit.  Actually it's called a SPIO. We have had the pants for almost a year, and just got the vest this summer.  But since August in AZ was the "hottest August ever!" We did not put the vest on her until it cooled down to at least 105.  That sounds so ridiculous! 

Katie has worn both pants and vest to school everyday for the last three weeks, under her clothing.  The pants help her with knowing where her legs are in space - and I can see that with the steps she takes.  With it on, her steps are much more normal and  not so high.  The vest helps her with being more calm and I noticed it helps a lot with her arm movements, they are not so erratic.  When she feeds herself watermelon (her best motivator!) she can get it on the fork (actually "pushing" the fork into the watermelon) and get it to her mouth in a much smoother motion than without the vest on.

These SPIO's are not cheap, but seem to be helping Katie a lot.  This is from the Spio website: SPIO is a compression system designed to help children with special needs including cerebral palsy, autism, Down Syndrome, sensory processing disorders, and other neuro-muscular delays. SPIO is made of a patented Lycra fabric with a unique multi-directional stretch. SPIO offers a variety of comfortable and affordable styles that can be worn under clothing all day.

So glad winter is just around the corner!

Signing!

Katie can do the sign for "more"!  We have been working with her for a while, and although it is not exact, it works for her.  She has been very consistent in the last week with this sign. Especially when it comes to watermelon...  I think she would eat a whole one in one sitting if I let her.

Katie can't quite get her hands in this position, but instead does it as a clap with open hands.  This is quite exciting for us, I hope to have  more signs soon!

And since she has started Kindergarten, she has been babbling up a storm.  It's almost as if something has clicked. I think this is going to be a very good year for little Katie!