Now that she's 3

A well needed update is overdue. Elizabeth is feeling much better from her latest illness and is now fully recovered, no more shortness of breath or hacking cough. We had tried Slippery Elm that was recommended by Kathryn, it can help rebuild the cilia in both the respiratory and gastro-intestinal tract and it really seemed to lessen her bought of pneumonia.

As for language and hearing Elizabeth has been discharged from the Infant Hearing program. Elizabeth since she was 4mths old has had a teacher from the school for the deaf come and work with her twice a month. On her last assessment Elizabeth's language is falling in the scale of 48-54 months which is amazing. It was kind of sad that she was discharged as her teacher was one of the first professionals in Elizabeth's life and we really enjoyed the visits. She still attends bi-monthly Auditory-Verbal therapy and there we are working on articulation and improving her listening skills. We go to have her hearing checked next month and on each visit her hearing has improved. Through a private SLP we are working on oral motor skills and Elizabeth is learning to lick and blow objects which really have been a challenge for her.

Elizabeth still attends physiotherapy 1-2 times a week and we are working on her balance, improving her trunk stability, walking up stairs and awareness of her body and her surroundings while walking. We recently returned her walker as Elizabeth no longer uses it, it would be nice if she used it on her wobbly days but it cannot go as fast as her, therefore she leaves it behind in her dust. She walks independantly in smaller areas and holds our hand while we are out as she is not balanced and is not ready for uneven surfaces. Daddy has made her a balance beam and boxes to step on and we make obstacle courses which she enjoys.

With her occupational therapist we are working on self-help skills (dressing) and improving her fine motor skills. We really have noticed how important her positioning is and through lots of trial and error have discovered that she really needs a supportive chair to help allow her to complete fine motor activities.

Elizabeth contiuues to be a hard worker and enjoys seeing all her therapists. Now that she is older we all have to be creative and find ways to keep her motivated and for her to have fun while working as it such a big part of her life.