5 Years 2 Months
Hello!
Belle is cruising along with dance classes and school this fall. I feel like her articulation is holding steady, but I do see an improvement in her complexity of thoughts. She will say things like, “It is already past my nap time, so me not have to take one today, right mommy?” or “Lyla, after you finish your toast and me finish my donut, will you play Barbies with me?” And when Belle gets in trouble for something, I will hear her in her room giving the same lecture to her baby dolls as the one she just received. 🙂
Belle is 100% aware of the things she does not say correctly and will avoid them if at all possible. Just the other day we were working on saying “Paw Patrol.” I have no idea why this is so darn tricky for her!?!? She wants to say “Paw Atrol.” I was talking to her about it before her nap one day and when she woke up from her nap, she immediately started practicing it again. She does not forget. She also struggles with saying the number “thirteen” which she then just skips when she is counting and then she knows she has skipped it and then she gets all flustered, etc etc. I wish I could snap my fingers and make it all easy for her, but that hasn’t worked yet so… we will continue this steady process and be grateful for the journey and appreciative of the progress she has made thus far.
In other news, a few months ago I mentioned that Belle may be in a Target ad. Well, it happened! She was in their weekly ad that was posted online and emailed out during the first week of November. It makes my heart so happy to see people with various abilities in the media.
More videos are available on TalkTools YouTube channel.
Cheers from Lanie and Belle!
Annabelle has Down Syndrome and has been using TalkTools Therapy since she was born. Her story is a great inspiration for parents of a child with Down Syndrome. Follow Miss Annabelle’s journey from the beginning here.