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Tag: DOWN SYNDROME THERAPY

4.9 YEARS: FULL SUMMER MODE!

We are in full summer mode here! Belle has been enjoying some horseback riding lessons, swimming, cheering on her siblings at baseball games, and finishing up a great dancing year with a big dance recital. The recital took up a substantial part of the beginning of our summer, so that’s where all our pictures came from […]

3 YEARS 10&11 MONTHS: GETTING BACK-TO-SCHOOL AFTER DISNEY WORLD MAGIC

3 Years 10 Months Summer continues in our household! This month, Belle has enjoyed swimming lessons (and lots of pool time), a slip’n slide party, BBQs, fairs, a trip to the lake, and a full week at Walt Disney World! While our hearts may be full, our routine is not. 🙂 However… Belle continues to do […]

Success Story: Colter & Vanessa

In April of 2015, I received an e-mail about a little boy with Down syndrome named Colter. His mother was desperately seeking help…he couldn’t chew his food and she was at her wits end trying to figure out how to teach him. Even though this is “speech therapy,” his actual speech was not an issue […]

3 YEARS 8&9 MONTHS: SHE IS READING!

3 Years 8 Months Belle got her palatal expander out this month! Her “princess jewelry,” as we referred to it, was in for a total of six months. Even though her speech didn’t improve as substantially as I had hoped, it was still a success overall. Belle proudly states, “me got my princess jewelry out […]

3 YEARS 6&7 MONTHS: WHAT “WORK” LOOKS LIKE

3 Years 6 Months   This month I decided to include videos of Belle doing her oral motor exercises. They are not super exciting videos, but that’s what “work” looks like sometimes. I know we have to put in the time to see the results. And as I have said so many times previously, it’s […]

3 YEARS 4&5 MONTHS: EATING PROPERLY

3 Years 4 Months   Here are Miss Belle at 3 years 4 months. I think her dental appliance is making her smile change a bit. The cape that she is wearing has been a daily staple in her wardrobe for the past few weeks. During our TalkTools session last week with Whitney, I told her I […]

Grace Kauk’s Oral Placement Therapy Work in Bulgaria

Grace Kauk writes about her Oral Placement Therapy work in Bulgaria. “I met Steve and Tanja Pankratz over email in February of 2015. Three weeks later, I was making plans to move to Bulgaria. The Pankratz’ are missionaries in Bulgaria through SEND International. Their 8-year-old son, Jaden, has Down Syndrome. When he was born, God began to […]

3 YEARS 2&3 MONTHS: GETTING INDEPENDENT

3 Years 2 Months Hi everyone! We are now in full swing with our new updated oral motor program that was revamped by Whitney last month. We also were able to meet this month so we could ensure that I am implementing the exercises correctly for Belle. We have progressed to some higher level activities which […]

3 YEARS & 3 YEARS 1 MONTH: HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LITTLE FIRE CRACKER!

3 Years She is 3! Happy birthday to this little fire cracker. Belle has MANY nicknames around our house including Beezy, Boppy, B-Belle, Belldozer, and Bops. She is very used to her nicknames and answers to all of them graciously . The nickname that I have been calling her lately, however, is Chatty Cathy. Three years ago I would […]

2 YEARS 8&9 MONTHS: UPS AND DOWNS

2 Years 8 Months Hello! Today we were walking through the snack/cereal aisle at the grocery store, and Belle had spotted something so she ran ahead. She quickly grabbed a box of the shelf and came running back with it, exclaiming with all her excitement, “Daddy fruit chews!” Three words. Clear as day. No question […]