Things Olivia Can Do

Olivia is acquiring new skills these days.

Here is a list of a few of them:

1. Playing peek a boo using her burp cloth

2. Doing " high five"

3. Doing " buddies"

4. Doing "so big" ( in reply to how big is Olivia)

5. Standing up to her leap frog table. ( with occasional support from mom)

6. Pulling off mom's ear.

7. Sitting and playing by herself with only a pillow behind her to prevent her parents from worrying.

8. Getting out of sitting, not with grace but safely

9. Eating crunchy melt in the mouth solids, and cooked carrots and banana bits

10. Feeding herself with her fingers if it does not require the pincer grasp

11. Eating greens ( kale, collards, spinach) that have been in the food processor.

And more.......


Our Occupational therapist gave us a text book chapter on the Down syndrome hand. It helped us understand the major challenges in fine motor skills that Olivia is up against and gives us the knowledge base and patience to assist her on this journey. There are major structural differences un the Ds hand.....that is a blog post itself! For right now, it helps us understand why the pincer grasp is impossible for Olivia even though she has been working on it for 4 months . It will come some day, but not with out much work and patient endurance.

When your child has Ds, you rejoice in the smallest accomplishments because they were hard fought! You also love your child first and foremost and this gives ou the strength to stick by them and cheer them on through the slow development.

Olivia blesses us everyday with her sweet smile and laughter. She is such a joy that the challenges feel more like bumps in the road than mountains.