Reagan updates...

Well, no pictures in this post.  Sorry!  I just wanted to share with you some very interesting therapies that we are being introduced to.  Since Reagan has a sluggish vocal chord that may or may not impact her voice or speech or swallowing habits we have to work with her by doing various things.  Some are silly and some I never would have thought of!  I suppose that is why other people get paid to specialize in these areas!  Ha!  Anyway, being that we have seen several different specialists, each has told us something to stimulate her brain sensory area.  I am supposed to get my hands on a vibrating toothbrush to set off sensory receptors in her mouth and such.  Another thing I am supposed to do is give her once a day a very, very, very sour Country Time Lemonade drink to stimulate another sensory receptor.  I am not allowed to give her anymore warm or room temperature beverages, they have to be icy cold!  I can only give her straws and I need to start to encourage her to drink with her head all the way down.  I can start to decrease the thickener I have been giving her since birth, but only once a day.  And if she coughs or waters her eyes to the less thickened consistency, then I have to stop all efforts to decrease it.  We are no longer able to determine if she is silently aspirating due to the fact that she isn't an infant.  They also don't want to run her through too many studies where she might be introduced to radiation.  But, it is pivotal to try decreasing the consistency of her beverages so that she will build control and her brain can learn.  Too strengthen her muscles in the airway and throat, we have to sing to her.  We also have to practice wheel barrel with her.  Other things we have to do is make her push things with resistance using her LEFT hand.  This is significant because the left hand is connected somehow to the left vocal chord.  If she bangs a block or hammer, encourage her to use her left hand.  I have to make noises like a shrieking fire truck and emphasize the sound EEEEEEEEEEEEEE-EEEEEEEEEEE while making the siren noise.  The doctors say that she sounds hoarse and that is normal with her vocal chords being the way they are since one is over compensating.  I should let her scream on occasion.  BUT, they said that she expresses (and I TOTALLY agree) very little interest in talking, repeating or playing imitate when we do these things that she may be delayed because she is more of a physical girl!  (No argument there!) Because she is so physical though, they noticed that I already sign with her and to keep doing that because if I have her physically project a word and connect it with an audio word than she will be using more of her physical self to learn.  Let me dust off all my books now for sign.  I also have to encourage her to grunt at effort to do something like pushing, pulling, banging or whatever so that she forces the muscles in her throat to engage and strengthen.  I can't think of anything else, but they watched how she ate so that they could visualize how her tongue and mouth moved.  She is fine there!  Thank goodness.  Everyone says that she is good but I have to watch her speech and continue to watch her swallowing efforts and just practice the above mentioned.  Maybe again at 18 months we will go back for more swallow studies.  Until then we will see.