It has been so long since Jamie and I had a NT baby that I am not sure if Leif is simply a genius, or we are so used to every developmental milestone dragging out for a year that Leif merely appears to be a genius. (Notice how kids aren't normal or average now, they are Neuro-Typical, or NT-- everyone gets a label!)
Of course I know that Leif is not a genius, but did he really need to start crawling this past weekend? And pulling himself to standing in the crib? He just turned 6 months two weeks ago!
Already Leif and Dante are having Tug of War over their toys. Due to the dual diagnosis of Down Syndrome and Autism, Dante is waaaaay behind developmentally, but I thought I had more time than this before he and Leif had the same interests. 
In an effort to find a way to help Dante, this past week I attended the first of a series of seminars on DIR Floortime, offered by the Autism Resource Center of Central Massachusetts. I am hopeful that this will teach me to help Dante. It is described as follows:" Floortime, a systematic way of working with a child to help him climb the developmental ladder, is the heart of what we call the developmental approach to therapy. It takes the child back to the very first milestone he may have missed and begins the developmental process anew." The Special Needs Child, by Stanley I Greenspan, M.D. and Serena Wieder, PhD. It uses a play environment to climb through the child's developmental levels.
Here is my special guy asleep in my arms. I cherish moments like this, and they help me to enjoy him now instead of worrying about his future.
1 comment:
He still COULD be a genius!
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