On Stage

I thought it was a fluke, but it happened again this week. Every Sunday I sing in my church's praise band. At the end of the service, we sing a song as church members are leaving, so my family has to wait for me to finish before we can leave. Last week, I prompted Camryn to come up on the stage with me, which she has never done. She stood up there with me for part of the song. Yesterday, she came up on the stage without any prompting at all from me. She was totally comfortable. She held my hand while I sang, walked around, acted silly, etc. There were some little girls watching her... I'm sure she noticed. After the band was finished, we stood around talking to some friends. In the meantime, Camryn continued to hang around on the stage, pretending to sing and dance in front of the microphone. While this is something the real Camryn would totally do, she has never felt comfortable enough to do it with the possibility of people watching her. She told me yesterday, "That medicine sure does taste bad, but it really does work!" I just smiled. I'm overjoyed that more people are getting to see a glimpse of the real Camryn!

God is Good!

Camryn has now talked to almost everyone in her class now and even many kids in her switching class and the kids at Kool After School. Not her teachers, though, but that's ok. There is a woman who works at the school who has Camryn give her this "special secret handshake" every morning as she walks down the hall. Up until recently, Camryn wouldn't give anyone a handshake at all, not even stick her hand out or anything.

I can't tell you how joyful it makes me feel to pick up Camryn from KAS and see her talking (or pretty much whispering since most of the time they are quietly doing homework in the cafeteria) with other kids. God has definitely answered our prayers! I am so very grateful to Him!!! God is good!

"The Lesson" Written by Camryn Tackert

Camryn had extra time as school yesterday and chose to write a little story. I thought I would share it with you exactly as she wrote it:

Once there was a girl named Camryn. She loved horses! On that day she rode to a feild full of horses! Across the feild she saw Mrs. Kim walking towerds her. Are you ready. Camryn jumped on the horse and suddenly the horse took off running. Hey I'm ridding, I'm ridding! Woo Hoo! She felt Bamma's long, smooth hair float agantst her shoulders. Finally Bamma stopped. Good boy Bamma! After a long while, she went walking with Bamma. That was a good lesson. She said.

The fact that Camryn had any extra time at school is extraordinary. She is usually so anxious that she has to go to Content Mastery to finish her work.

O.T.'s a No-Go

Well, it looks like we probably will not be able to do the occupational therapy after all. Our insurance doesn't cover the cost because the treatment is considered experimental. I wrongly assumed that the cost couldn't be as much as a psychologist since a psychologist is a doctor and O.T.'s aren't, but I was wrong. The cost is $180 per visit. They are trying to see if they can pull some strings to get a cost reduction somehow. I'm really disappointed since I don't have any other resources left to check out in Brenham. Trust me... I've checked out every option, and it seems that every door has been closed. It looks like if Camryn receives any therapy at all, we'll have to look at Houston. Houston's fine during the summer, but it will be virtually impossible to get her there during the school year, and the therapy she gets needs to be on-going with the same person so that a trusting relationship can be built. I don't want to have her see someone for three months, make progress, and then stop going. We really need your prayers regarding some type of therapy program for Camryn.

Talking and OT and 504's... Oh My!

Wow! There's a lot to update you on. First, Camryn is telling us that she is continuing to talk (whisper) in class to new people. Everyday it's someone new (or more like two or three)! Although she hasn't talked to her teachers, one of them told us yesterday that she winked at her and Camryn winked back!

Camryn will have her first occupational therapy appointment on Tuesday. Although I've done some research on OT, I still feel pretty ignorant about it, so this will be an enlightening experience for me, as well as Camryn. They're going to focus on the Sensory Integration Disorder in which she has not ever been diagnosed with but often goes along with SM kids. I'm going to add a link on this page to give more info. It looks like insurance will not cover it, so please pray that it will not be terribly expensive.

Lastly, Gary and I met with the principal, counselor, and one of Camryn's teachers yesterday to discuss the possibility of placing Camryn on a 504. In case you don't know, a 504 is a document that lists certain accomodations for a child that has some type of disability affecting a major life activity (speaking, in Camryn's case). Although it took a lot of effort on my part to prepare for this meeting, it looks like it will be worth it. I stressed that we don't feel Camryn needs this document at her current school, as they do most of the accomodations already, we are unsure that as she goes on to middle school, that she will be accomodated there. The agreement that we reached is that she will be continued to be monitored throughout 3rd grade and 4th grade and that they will provide a 504 before she goes onto 5th. Would I have liked for the 504 to have been in place for 4th grade... just so it could be over and done with? Absolutely. But, my biggest concern is that she gets the help she needs going onto middle school, so I'm OK with that.

Whispering in the Bathroom

Camryn told us yesterday that she spoke to two more little girls in her class that she had never spoken to. Of course, I'm dying to know all the details (who, where, when?), but I have to be careful in my approach to question her about it. I can't act overly interested, in other words. What I did find out was that one of the girls asked her in the bathroom what her favorite color was. She whispered to her... "green."

On another note, I met with the psychologist yesterday. She kinda led me to a different direction, which I'll tell more about later. In the meantime, our 504 meeting has been scheduled at Camryn's school. It's on Thursday afternoon. I have a lot to prepare for... getting all my resources together by then will be a challenge. Please pray that I can convince the "powers that be" that even though her grades do not reflect an "educational need" now, we have to start thinking about her future. Honestly how long can she continue to make good grades without speaking at school?

Camryn was told to "Ssshhhhh?!"

Yesterday was an early release day at school. In addition, the 3rd graders took a field trip to see the children's musical Seussical. I don't know if it had to do with being with her friends outside the boundaries of the school or what, but Camryn said she talked (whispered in their ears) to almost every girl in her class!!! In fact, during the musical, a teacher (not her own) had to tell her and her friend to "ssshhhhh." Wow! We are amazed at what the medication is doing!

Also, I have an initial consultation with a psychologist on Monday. Just me, no Camryn. It's been incredibly difficult to find someone who meets our qualifications: specializes in children/adolescents, female, practices in Brenham, a kind/patient/loving personality, experience with S.M and/or anxiety, and experience in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). Please pray that this person is a good match.