Winter 2008 fundraiser and therapy trip were cancelled.
John has recently stopped screaming/crying at certain noises. This is almost a miracle for us. He still gets frustrated a lot. He has begun very roughly trying to say words, that mostly only family members can understand. He knows his colors, picks out a few favorite books he wants read to him, and likes puzzles. We are working on socialization with other children. He enjoys sliding on his tummy down small slides. He experiments on the piano every day. He is not walking yet - BUT he can stand with the support of his special platform at the sink, and help "do the dishes"! Go John!
Funds were raised at the June 30 "Brother John's Sunset Picnic on the Farm" and through other donations. Thank you everyone!
John and Leah spent August 2007 in MA. Leah attended classes and John received therapy. This summer marked the beginning for us of a shift into realizing that there will be much effort needed over a long time. In spite of the amazing progress he has enjoyed, John's differences will not just go away. Finding the reality of his challenges and gifts is our task.
We reached 100% of our fundraising goal of $3,536 in February 2007!
This money allowed John to return to MA for therapy sessions in February.
John made many gains from his February trip to Massachusetts. At 25 months old, he finally discovered the outdoors. In the past, he was not willing to touch grass, and he would only explore indoor surfaces or the smooth surfaces of playscapes. He will now crawl all around the grass and gravel out on the farm, especially if it means he will make it out to the big mud puddle and his sister! Nothing is more fun than watching two little kids in their favorite puddle, completely covered in mud, playing in the warm rain. John is communicating much more. He has mastered the concept of the request, something we wished for for a long time, and can now sign "more." He is enjoying working on a variety of puzzles and developmental toys. I learned more about using toys with him while observing his therapy sessions with Bonnie. He can eat more foods and recently began learning to use a straw. Very exciting! We are adding mouth exercises (through another method) to his home program and will soon test out a push button communicator. John also likes to discuss his family members in conversations where he says the name of each family member, and the other person fills in the rest of the conversation.
Thanks to you, John received therapy while Leah attended classes in the Infant Developmental Movement Program at the School for Body-Mind Centering in June and July of 2006.
Our first fundraiser was tabling at Wheatsville Food Co-op. Thanks to Wheatsville and Tammy Brookshire for first encouraging us, and then allowing us to set up a table with information about John, his condition, and the therapy. Remember the sign that said "Help Baby John Learn to Crawl"? Many people visited our table to make donations and ask questions. We were not very experienced and did not raise the needed amount. Shortly before John's program was to begin, we called them to say we could not come. But then, with the help of a couple of encouraging friends (thanks Jason and Mark!), we conducted our first email fund drive and received donations from strangers, family and friends. Within days the funds were raised and we were on the road to MA.
As a result of his first trip to Massachusetts last summer, John became a crawler, learned to do more with his hands, and started eating three pureed meals a day. Kevin made a short video of John crawling that is in the pictures and videos page.
Immense thanks to each and every one of you who are helping John become all that he can be!