Friday, May 02, 2008

Cool cat


We've had a cold-snap, and I've been able to dress-up Sheena in her leopard suit. In this photo she was running around the house roaring like a lion.

She's been a little unsettled with creche recently - only late in the afternoon. I'd been blaming it on the fact that she only manages about a 1 hour nap at creche, but always has a two hour nap at home.

However, it occurred to me this week that she might be just hungry, because she's usually after a decent snack around 4pm. She starts signing for food, points to the kitchen then goes in there and sits or stands near the pantry and does the biscuit sign (for a cracker) or the sultana sign. This is all really easy for me to work out, because 1. I am her mum, and very in-tune with her, and 2. She has my full attention at home and I see her sign-language every day. Anyway after I suggested it at creche, it worked! They said she started to get a out-of-sorts at 4pm, and they gave her a snack and some milk. She was very happy when I picked her up and stayed that way until bedtime. Makes for a much more pleasant evening. Isn't it great when something so simple works and makes life happier for everyone.

I might go into creche for an hour or so soon so that I can help show the carers her main signs. We see them very clearly, but I suspect its hard for the child-care workers to determine what is her mucking about playing, versus her trying to sign something. While she's playing, she constantly signs, like "dolly", or "baby dolly sleeping", but I suspect they don't see a lot of this.

3 comments:

sparksfley said...

Hi there... I didn't see an email link on your site or profile, hence my comment.

I run a website geared towards parents of children with special needs, from mild learning disabilities to children in a vegetative state. On Tuesdays, I feature a fellow blogger of children with special needs.

I wondered if you'd be willing to be an interviewee. I would send the interview questions via email (Word attachment) which you would then return answered, along with a photo, if you'd like.

Please let me know if you'd be interested, and thank you in advance.

Shelley said...

Oh I love that photo - what a scary lion you have! SImple solutions are definitely the best. I am a bit disappointed that Hannah's LDCarer told me with pride that they no longer sign to her (as if they aver did much!!) and make her say things before she gets them - I havn't quite decided how to approach it but I do think it helps explain why Hannah doesn't like LDC as much anymore!

Michelle said...

She's adorable in that outfit!