Rocking It!
Payton continues to amaze us. Four years ago, we were unsure where her speech would be. Wondering if she’d ever speak words. Here we are today, and she’s saying whole sentences. She tells us what she wants. She’s rocking through all her goals faster than expected, and she loves becoming Little Miss Independent.
Four years ago, she was doing outside speech at least 3 times a week and behavioral therapy 5 days a week. That was all addition to her normal schooling. That’s a busy schedule for anyone; but Payton had the energy and drive. It’s pretty amazing how well she handled all those hours. Now her outside services have just moved to 1 day a week for speech and 2 days a week for behavioral. The school just let us know about her passing her adaptive behavior goal, so she’s now ready to move on to the next goal in that area. They’ve also asked to reduce her paraprofessional minutes at lunch time. The paraprofessional minutes make this momma happy yet nervous, because our adventurist little girl can get lost in her own world. I have to remind myself that this has been the goal all along, to have her be as independent as possible. Payton clearly wants to be with her peers and feel a part of the crew. I’m sure that’s tough having an adult with you constantly. It’s a blessing that she wants the same thing that’s also, at least in my mind, the best thing for her. How many kids want/know what’s best for them? This little girl seems to.
We’ve now reduced her paraprofessional minutes at lunch, meaning that she’s rocking lunch by herself now without a grown-up right beside her. Like we all knew she would… she’s killing it, and now we’re being asked to reduce minutes at recess. OH boy recess! The wide-open field, the highway, the fence that’s almost repaired from an accident. So many places for her to go. Again, we must trust the process and known this is the next step. We want what’s best for Payton, and that’s to interact on her own and get ready for this big world. After Spring Break we’ll start fading out her support at recess. Her report card came out from school, and she’s moving up in her graded areas. She improved her words from the fall. This little girl is going places. Mom and dad can’t wait to see what you’ll tackle next P! We love you!
