"Look Mommy, Pat Austin bloomed!"

Sometimes, LMNOB just makes me want to roll on the floor laughing.

Earlier this week, the proclamation used for the title was gleefully announced by one nearly-hyperventilating little blonde girlie.

Because I'd been looking at a book that talked about the birds and the bees in preparation for one of those talks with her, the first thing I thought was, "That would've been a great Judy Blume title."

Remember my mention of a therapeutic plant-a-thon last weekend? Picture is coming, I know I'm a slacker! In the meantime, here's some of the bounty, pre-planting:





Well, we'd bought two Jackson and Perkins rosebushes, one of which was a delightfully dusky yellow, peachy, pink tea rose called Pat Austin - and being that LMNOB's Asperger-like tendancies lean towards botany, well, naturally she'd absorbed the rose's stats in the first five minutes we owned it.

I think that this statement was also made Tuesday - the day we started a new group therapy at the OT's. LMNOB got to have a joint session (and will continue to do so for the summer) with a little girl, Named After Tree, who has autism, and a little boy that we've done a few sessions with before who has sensory issues too. This little boy is a kick in the pants. He lands on the opposite end of the social spectrum than LMNOB, which means he's the type of kid who's very forward. They all dug a garden, rowed hoes, planted sunflower and pea seeds, then watered and covered their would-be-plants. Part of the exercise was for all of the kiddos to use their words and interact socially with each other, in addition to the heavy work and textural sensations - and they had a blast.

As they worked, I had a realization. The other children's parents didn't participate or interact with their kids or the therapists (BT the OT and one of her co-workers, also an OT). And it made me wonder...just how involved are these parents with the therapies that their kiddos need so desperately? I mean, effective occupational therapies are instituted day in and day out at home with the weekly sessions, and not simply relying on a once/wk office visit.

I have always sat in on LMNOB's sessions. Not that I don't trust BT the OT with her alone, because I totally do. But more because we can debrief on how the week has been since our last session together, share successes and milestones, like LMNOB riding her bike without training wheels! It's to engage BT the OT and make her better connected to us so that we get the most out of our time together, because I want my child to get the very best interventions she can.

I am not dogging these other parents - I don't know the whole picture. I don't know how many siblings these kiddos have, if any. I don't know anything. Except that they are exceptional kids and I wish that I could say for certain that they have parents who are trying their damnedest to ensure they get the very best too. Some things that BT the OT has said about her appreciation of my involvement tells me that they may not.

Groowl...a little mama bear in me came out.





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