Her little heart of gold this Valentine's Day

Went to Ashlynn's Valentine Party today, and was so encouraged!  The SLP informed me she has moved out of the cube chair and is now sitting up front by the teacher with reminders to sit criss cross applesauce.  Watching her with the other kids warmed my heart, although I could see how her core seemed much weaker than her peers.  Her back was slumped and she kept having to lean back on her hands for support.  Her focus was better though, not great, but better!  I have to hold onto this because other reports were not so positive. If you are interested, you can read about one of my struggles here: She really does have special needs

Other great news: The SPED teacher informed me she is doing fairly well counting with 1:1 correspondence, and during an activity where the kids had to say a sentence, Ashlynn stood up proudly and said her sentence fairly clearly after the teacher modeled.  The teacher then sang a song twice.  Ashlynn was engaged and smiling.  When the song ended, Ashlynn said loudly, "DO AGAIN!"  The teacher moved on anyway, but it made me smile.  She really seemed like one of the kids today!

I did start to notice when she lost focus.  She is distracted by people.  She wants to know what's going on.  She's making sure everyone is ok.  At one point, a peer was crying and she could not take her eyes off her.  During dancing, that same friend wasn't dancing and Ashlynn came up to her side and danced beside her.  She would hold her hand out as if to say, "I see you.  You matter.  I don't want you to be sad."  During the dancing activity, Ashlynn moved from peer to peer.  Laughing with them, engaging them with her smile, not her words.  She was always usually pretty successful.  A person laughing genuinely and having fun doesn't leave many sour faces  in their wake.

Toward the end of the dance, she ended up next to her BFF.  I know it's her BFF because she talks about this girl all the time, and the girl and her hug when I pick her up from school.  Today though, I got to glimpse into their world.  Ashlynn grabbed her hands so the girl's attention was on her, and just made silly faces and laughed.  The girl couldn't help but laugh along with her proclaiming, "oh Ashlynn, you are so silly!"  They then would jump and dance together!  I can't tell you how happy I am that she has a friend.

It's hard to imagine that just a year ago, she wasn't even talking to her peers in class.  I just can't believe the difference a year makes.  I wish I could go back and tell that mother that everything really WAS going to be OK.  Next year, she would not only talk to kids, but she would have a best friend.  Next year, she would be participating in class, repeating modeled SENTENCES.  However, the sweetest part is that she is still the same sweet Ashlynn with a heart of gold; and I wish I could tell my old self a year ago.