Sleep

My post have usually been about the progress Susie has made academically, socially, and behaviorally. However, there is one area of Susie's life that has improved drastically in the last year and that is sleep!               

 One thing to know about the Williams' kids is that they don't require a lot of sleep (some say they get it from their mom). Susie has never been a great sleeper. She had a very erratic sleep schedule taking random naps through the day, falling asleep at 6:00 pm just to wake up at midnight. She would stay up until 2-3:00 am and then be up for the day by 6:00 am. It was a crazy schedule, and quite exhausting for all of us.

Things didn't improve when Susie started school like I had hoped they would. She even had to miss a few days of school because by 7:00 am (the time she was leaving) she was falling back asleep from a night of partying. When we decided Susie needed her tonsils out I heard that it might help her sleep! She had her surgery on March 16, 2023 and slowly her sleep started to improve, as did mom and dads! 

Now, although it still happens on occasion, it is rare for Susie to have a sleepless night. Susie usually puts her self to sleep, without a fight. The interesting part is, you never know where or how you might find her! Just this week we couldn't find her and she had climbed in her brother's bed and fell asleep! Susie is a much happier gal when she sleeps, and that helps lead to her progress at school! 

Enjoy some photos of Susie sleeping!!

 

School Update!

 One of the hardest parts of Susie being non verbal, is her inability to tell us about her day. What does she do at school? What was her snack? How was her car ride? These are all things she can't tell us so we rely on her wonderful teachers and van driver to give us an update! Susie has been extremely blessed with the best teachers, and the van driver, Ms. Annie is a godsend. 

Last week, we had the pleasure of meeting with Susie's special education teacher, speech pathologist, the director of her school and her occupational therapist for her IEP/parent teacher conference. Since Susie doesn't go to school in our hometown, I rarely get to connect with these ladies. It was nice to get to talk with them in person and discuss Susie's developmental milestones and achievements. These meetings can sometimes be discouraging to hear all the things Susie can't do. However Susie's speech therapist said it best "she might not be where we wanted her to be with talking, but great things are happening." 

Susie has come a very long way in a year, and does so many great things at school. Susie is starting to explore new toys, interact with her peers, and follow a classroom routine. We are so proud of the progress she is making and forever grateful for the great team of teachers at UCP. 

Enjoy these pictures that were sent to us from her teacher! 

Feeding the baby!

Swinging and playing basketball!

Making a craft with some glue!

Arts and crafts time. 

Puzzles! 

Reading a book!

Ball pit!

Sensory table!

Painting craft!

Angels

 I saw this picture this week, and it really resonated with me. I don't always see Susie as a child with special needs, because the majority of the time she does things that a typically developing 4 year old does. Susie is so incredibly special to our family and her quirks are what we love best about her. However, sometimes it's hard to explain to people that Susie does things differently.

Susie is LOUD. When she's mad, she's loud. When she's happy, she's loud. When she is tired, she is loud. When she's excited, she is loud. You get the point, Susie is heard where ever we go!

Susie is MESSY. Susie leaves a mess wherever she goes. She leaves a trail of food at church. Every time she eats pizza, we have to clean the carpet! Chocolate ends up all over her face as she enjoys every bite! 

I have mentioned that taking Susie new places can be difficult. Most of the time people are very kind and generous if they see us struggling. However, we have had a few encounters lately where people don't understand. 

A few months ago we were eating dinner at a Hibachi grill. Susie HATES fire and we didn't think about that before going in. When the fire got big, Susie was inconsolable. She was climbing up my back and getting very upset. We got her iPad and she started to calm down. Later, we found out that a patron from across the restaurant had asked the waitress to make us turn it off. Fortunately, the waitress told them no. It made me very sad to think that these people made a rude comment, without knowing the whole situation. 

I also had an encounter with a young girl that kept talking about how loud Susie was. She continued to talk about her "fits" and that she was "yelling" all the time. I explained to the girl that Susie was having fun. She then said "it must get old listening to her be so loud." I then told her that Susie couldn't talk, so being "loud" was her way of communicating. 

This brings me back to the quote at the beginning, "sometimes angels are disguised as kids with special needs to teach us how to be better people."