Amelie is 3 years old and she is my only child. She was diagnosed at about 20 months when her development was found to be slow and her head small. For me it was a big shock as in the beginning I just saw a very alert and lively little girl who was going slowly. She is curious, extremely active ( too much!) and loving and enjoys moving around her environment. She walked at 24 months and now she is learning to go up and down the stairs. She can also play on her slide.

Amelie loves to interact and is very friendly although she has no words, just some babble and sounds and exclamations. It is also difficult to know exactly what she understands but she waves bye bye, blows kisses and loves to hear music and dance and listen to songs. She also loves her dolls. In fact she is very expressive.

She uses her hands but chews and mouths objects still and pulls and grabs a lot. She finds it hard to wait and gets angry very quickly. As for myself, little by little I feel less afraid and more accepting of this journey together.

Amelie currently attends a regular day nursery twice a week were she is much loved and joins in as well as she can. I am currently visiting specialist settings and may move her to a special needs nursery in September where she will be in an environment set up to aid development, communication and understanding of routines.

Amelie receives various services provided by the Nhs: weekly visits from Portage which is a pre-school home play and education service, we see a speech and language therapist every couple of months, physiotherapist and occupational therapist. I have requested to be put in touch with a music therapist as Amelie responds well to singing and music. For my own part I am working with a homeopath and a cranio-sacral practitioner.
I would be happy to exchange stories and information.

To join Amelie's mom, please write to nomade86@wanadoo.fr

Creation date : 08/04/2010 · 09:43
Last update : 27/04/2010 · 08:56
Category : and abroad
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