Hi all - just got back from church and thought I'd check in.  I wanted to elaborate one bit about my last post.  I could imagine someone saying, "well that seems like a blinding flash of the obvious - blowing raspberries on his hand!"  But it goes much deeper - and I won't bore you with everything I"m learning about floortime.  But the idea is to plan six to ten 20-30 minute chunks of floortime a day with your child.  So those six times, I walk into the room with the sole intention of intervening and interacting in Cody's world.  So if he's crouching on the floor examining the carpet (which he can do for 10 minutes straight) - it's my job to crouch next to him and find some way to interact with him through the activity he's chosen.  So there I am, laying on the carpet next to him, staring at the strands and rubbing my hands across them as he does.  So my next move would be to grab a book and place it over the spot he's rubbing - forcing him to deal with obstacle I've put in his path.  So he flings the book out of his way and continues to rub the carpet.  In the floortime approach (as my infant understanding goes) - that is a huge success because he's communicating - not just zoning out.  So, in the hopes for making more opportunity for communication, I would grab a pillow and place it over the spot he's rubbing.  He stops, looks at me, and in that split second of acknowledgement, I grab the pillow and bop him with it.  He giggles.  and that turns into me bopping him more, him giggling more.  Then I stop that exchange to give him another opportunity to communicate.  When I stop bopping him, he looks at me, and grabs for my hand that's on the pillow and pulls it toward him - signaling me to bop him some more.  Again - HUGE success.  So I continue to respond to his communicating. 

That's one example of how it's working for us.  So instead of zoning out on the carpet - Cody was led (by using the carpet which he was interested in) to a meaningful set of exchanges with a person!  Does that make sense?  And over time, if he's in the living room alone and feels the pull to persevorate on the carpet - he'll remember all the fun exchanges we would have accumulated with regard to the carpet, that he'll come and find me to play with instead. 

So the challenge is to fit ten 20-30 minute sessions a day into our lives - when I enter Cody's world and find ways to pull him out.  It's a tough calling - this life of therapy.  Not for the weak!  :)

But it's the lot we've been given, so we press on.  We sang one of my favorite worship songs in church today:

He giveth more grace as our burdens grow greater,
He sendeth more strength as our labors increase;
To added afflictions, He addeth His mercy,
To multiplied trials, He multiplies peace.

When we have exhausted our store of endurance,
When our strength has failed ere the day is half done,
When we reach the end of our hoarded resources
Our Father’s full giving is only begun.

His love has no limits, His grace has no measure,
His power no boundary known unto men;
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus
He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again.

I love the line, "when we reach the end of our hoarded resources" - because isn't that what we do?  We think we have so much impact, to much to offer, so much control.  Yet all of our "hoarded" resources are like dust compared to His healing, His loving, His ability to change life.  Just when I think I'm going to pass out having to read one more book, implement one more therapy idea, come up with some new way to try to reach Cody - I remember that verse:  "when we reach the end of our hoarded resources, our Father's full giving has only begun."  He can do more for Cody than I ever can.  To lean on my resources is to do Cody an injustice.  But to lean on Him where Cody is concerned - is giving Cody all I can give. 

with love,

Shawna