At the time of this posting these apps are listed as free. As always, prices are subject to change. So hurry up and snag them!
Pepi Play is an OMGosh you NEED this app! Especially if your little one looooves My Play Home or the Toca Boca apps.
Four different play scenes include potty, brushing teeth, laundry and bath time.
Rocket Speller is fun for littles that like puzzles!
Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Road Rally appisode
Enjoy your Pad!
…danielle
Independence.
My goal for Trevy in all things.
With Toby and Bristel, I didn’t have to actually teach them how to dress and undress. The just learned how on their own. Their little bodies have always obeyed their little whims. And maybe Trevy would (in his own time) learn how to dress himself too? But part of my role as his mommy and cheerleader is helping him along. In practical ways. By studying his abilities and areas that need more guidance. I know that he struggles with motor planning, for instance. Meaning, he might know what he wants to do but he can’t quite figure out how to make his body do it. His brain and his body aren’t in sync all the time.
Which is why I loved the idea of this Dressing Skills e-book (just $4.99) by Your Therapy Source!
From their website:
Summary:
Dressing Skills is a 24 page booklet that provides visual directions of how to:
- put on a shirt
- put on pants in standing
- put on pants in sitting
- put on a coat
- put on a coat with the flip method.
The pictures and step by step directions are either 3" by 5" images or 2" by 2" images. Using task analysis, each dressing skill has been broken down into simple steps. Create visual sequences for the children to follow along each step of the task. Also included is a tip sheet on how to teach dressing and a small book to read entitled "I Can Dress Myself".
Lots of practical step x step tips for mommy (or daddy or grandma or…). Ideas that help me understand how to help him motor plan. Can you believe I didn’t really know that developmentally children learn how to strip before they learn how to dress? I mean, I certainly remember how frustrating it was to keep my 2 year old daughter in a stitch of clothing. But it never occurred to me that she was instinctively developmentally moving towards self dressing.
Click me to download sample pages from the book.
Also included in the e-book is this adorable little mini-book printable. If you have a Bristel (crafty sibling), it’s a great way to incorporate them too! Bristel did all the cutting and pasting plus the wording is SO easy that she can read the book to her brother! She loves anything involving playing teacher. He loves anything involving her playing with him! 
I have a Dressing Skills tray in his trays right now! Using a doll to practice dressing skills on was a fabulous tip from the book!
The best news is that Trevy is making progress! He can’t dress himself entirely independently yet…but he’s getting there!
I definitely recommend the Dressing Skills e-book to any parents who are working towards independent dressing!
…danielle
**disclaimer: I was given a free copy of this download and though a review was not expected or required in return, I enjoyed it so much that I decided to review it!**
***double disclaimer: learning to remove clothing prior to being potty trained may or may not provide opportunities to paint walls or spray furniture. Based on my real life Trevy adventures. ***
I think the very first med speak phrase we became familiar with upon entry into the Infantile Spasms Community was…
Benefit versus Risk
There is more clarity on the physician side of things. They think in black and white objectivity.
Not so much on the mommy daddy side, though. We think in the “Oh my God, this can induce what?” or “the vision loss is permanent?” murkier side of things.
Sometimes Benefit vs. Risk is really very subjective.
It’s more…
eenie meanie minie mo, if you ask me.
When removing portions (or halves) of brains, for instance. While the surgeon might look at me holding my completely non-verbal two year old through a cluster 50 strong and tell me there really isn’t any other choice. The trajectory is death. Which is ripped for our real-life story and is almost verbatim what Dr. Neuro-surge told us in his office. The conflict that murkied the waters was…I wanted to KEEP holding my beautiful non-verbal two year old son.
Murky Murky Murky.
Benefit vs. Risk is not really that easy.
It might look easy to you. If you’re not in the guts of it.
But I’m here (in the guts) to tell you. It is not that easy. It’s just not.
Which why we’ve hemmed and hawed over the whole weaning of the Topomax (affectionately or perhaps not so affectionately referred to among seizure parents as Dope-amax). Trevy has been on Tope since before surgery. To the best of our knowledge it never did a dang thing to benefit him. Seizure Mommy Lingo for reducing seizure activity. Sometimes we even consider a bump in cognition a benefit even if seizures remain the same. Tope has been a big fat dud as far I’m concerned. Although other than the inability to sweat side effect, it never really bothered him either.
But we’ve weaned enough meds to know that you don’t really know until you wean.
It’s been three years since we’ve weaned and I have a mad case of fuzzy brain but I do remember this…
weaning always kicked Trevy’s butt!
Like many, many seizure kids he would go through terrible withdrawals. His seizures would increase with each reduction. He would be miserable and sad. And I would be a wreck.
So even though I have passionately wanted to wean Topomax for over a year now. It’s scary. Murky.
The things I do rationally know could be benefits are…
one less toxin in his body on a daily basis.
Also, Topomax is known to be a Speech inhibitor. Not a great choice for a little one struggling with Speech Development! Removing the Topomax could help us see a bump in language communication. I’m a big fan of communication in any form but he has this super cute little voice that I want to hear more of! Except maybe for the screaming “NO” at me. 
Anyway.
We did it.
We began the Tope wean on Saturday. The Plan is to wean one capsule a month until we’re down to none. He was taking six daily. It’s a sloooooooow, careful wean.
My emotions are frayed regardless. I’m sure they will be for the next six months.
So far I haven’t noticed any extra seizure activity. I’m watching like a hawk too.
And it could totally be in my (slightly crazy) head but…
I swear his stringing more words together!
…danielle
