Our Neurologist Appointment and Tutoring

Today we visited the new neurologist that specializes in seizure disorders. The appointment went well. I had Maizie's recent work ups form the Cleveland Clinic and her neurologist in Indianapolis. She agrees that Maizie is due for another MRI and a 72 hour or longer EEG study. They will be calling me soon about those. I have been putting the EEG off because of Maizie's inability to cooperate in the past. Hopefully because she is older and calmer now it will all go a bit smoother.

Maizie's recent tests for celiac disease came back negative which is good. The new neurologist said that she would have wanted to order the celiac test too so she was glad our Indy neuro had done that all ready. This neurologist agreed to handle all of Maizie's medication needs so I am beyond thrilled about that. One less doctor visit will make life easier.

She also agrees that Maizie is probably having migraines along with her seizures. She is hoping the EEG will bring us more details in that area. After the exam she wrote a script for physical therapy saying that Maizie has poor muscle tone and seems quite weak for her size and that could be part of why she is easily exhausted. Maizie was in PT a little over a year ago and then "graduated" so I was surprised with how concerned she is. She explained that after a major growth spurt the muscles in children like Maizie often stay the same even though the rest of the body gets bigger making it hard for the body to keep up. God willing insurance will cover PT again.

Another area she wants to look into after the first tests is a PET scan. We were also told to go back to the first neuropsychologist for academic and psychological testing. I will do that after we complete all of these ordered tests. Sometimes insurance refuses to cover anything academic and things get costly. Thursday she has the echo of her heart done. I am looking forward to finally getting that completed. Thank you Marsha!

Maizie did great at tutoring today. The first thing Maizie talked to the tutor about was how she was tired of math and wanted to do something different. The tutor explained that math is the hardest thing for her and so it was important that we all keep working on it. Maizie also told her she wanted to go to a regular school. I thought our tutor was going to fall off her chair when Maizie said that. She praised Maizie for her ability to express her feelings as did I. Maizie had an answer for every example the tutor gave her in regards to how math helps you in life. The tutor explained that knowing how to count money helps for when you have to buy something. Maizie laughed and said, "My Dad takes care of that. He always will." She went on to ask Maizie if she wants to know how to spend her own money and Maizie said, "No one puts change in my cards so I don't have money anymore." After tutoring Maizie seemed to feel better about her abilities. Her tutor always looks pretty exhausted after their hour together.

I Can't Stop Thinking about Spinning

Maizie was having a bit of a "moment" in regards to tutoring. She was feeling overwhelmed with math and a bit down on herself. Maizie works pretty hard on her tutoring work but math for her is so difficult that on some days she,"can't take it anymore".

I was so proud of the talk Maizie and I had about tutoring. I called her tutor, Jeannie and left a message that Maizie was feeling some intense math stress. I spent the rest of the morning obsessing about tutoring and whether or not it would continue to go well. We have had struggles before where it all just gets to be too much for Maizie. We have never given up but the work that goes on between Jeannie and me to make things work is pretty remarkable.

At tutoring Maizie sits across from the tutor on a chair that has wheels and can spin. Maizie has sat on this chair since we first began tutoring back in kindergarten. Maizie tells me, "When I am in the chair I just can't stop thinking about spinning! Spinning around and around!" We decided we better use a different chair from now on.

At this point Maizie had been crying and was getting tired so we had an "alternative" school day and played almost every board game we have, including Life...which takes F O R E V E R. I am a firm believer that games are a great learning tool and they put Maizie back into a happy, positive mood.

Once there Maizie immediately said, "We need to switch this chair to a no spin chair please." I was stunned. This showed such maturity and communication for Maizie. I was so proud of her. Jeannie brought in a 'no spin' chair and in between various math exercises they read riddles. Jeannie is amazing when it comes to devising new and creative ways to teach Maizie. Considering Maizie's attention span and sensitivities she is always having to "shake it up a bit". Maizie worked hard and did great. What a relief.

We Are 'Country' Now

Joe has been working till around two or three in the morning preparing for and teaching a CISCO class. Today was the last day of teaching so he might actually get to go to bed at a decent time. He is meeting our pastor and some guys from church for coffee tonight. He finally gets to leave the house!

We are going to make a stop and go sign to put on the basement door. Maizie takes every opportunity to sneak down to see Joe when he is working. This would be okay except for when he is in the middle of teaching or handling a crisis situation. The idea is Maizie will see the red sign and know dad is not available. Green will let her know dad is ready for a visit. People from Radvision seem to enjoy "conferencing" with Maizie. Some have even admitted to becoming addicted to Maizie's blog. Hopefully the stop and go sign will put an end to Maizie wondering if she can make her way downstairs or disregarding having just been told she should stay upstairs.
Tuesday Christian spent the night. We went to the zoo for the first time this year. They had a blast riding on the train. They were both in bed early and sound asleep within seconds. It was great.

It has been nice trading play dates with Beth whenever possible. She had Maizie to her house a few hours on Tuesday and I had her girls here today. This time has enabled me to get homework done without interruption. My class ends this week! Yes! Too bad I go right into an American History class next.

Maizie had tutoring today. I am trying to get caught up on reading the On Cloud Nine manual. After getting Maizie's test results back we know she has problems with visualizing. Difficulty in this area makes math and comprehension pretty difficult. We ordered the Lindamood Bell V/V program for Visualization and Verbalization.

Country music is Maizie's latest interest. She loves Dolly Parton's song Jolene. Belts it out in the car and begs me to play it over and over again. Joe and I bought her a classic country mix CD to find out what country singers she likes. We discovered this interest because she would beg me to stop on all the country stations. We know her birth mother listened to country music all the time when she was pregnant. It must have soaked in since Joe and I are country illiterate. We would be more into the White Stripes cover of Jolene. I have to admit that a few of the songs are growing on me, including Dolly's.

On Cloud Nine

Maizie and I are starting the Lindamood Bell math program. We are fortunate to have Maizie's tutor guiding and teaching us.

Math has been a constant struggle for Maizie. It has taken us years just to help her understand that six pieces of candy is representative of the number six. On a good day she gets it, on a bad day it seems we go back to square one.

It was the same way with recognizing the alphabet. We started with looking at drawings of mouths making a letter sound. She copied the face and practiced the sound. Then, we put the sound with it's letter. Soon, the sounds worked together to make words. Before we knew it Maizie was reading and talking with a bit more confidence. It sounds simple but it took a whole lot of practice.

With Lindamood Bell we are helping her develop a concrete visual image of a number in her mind. It seems way back to basics but she is "air writing". She writes the number really big in the air in front of her. The goal is to get the number's image to "stick" in the "mind's eye". She closes her eyes and sees the number in a color. We also use cubes or objects to represent the number, she looks at them and then air writes the number. This should help her "have the concept or reality of what a given numeral represents."

We are also working on visualizing and verbalizing the number line. This goal is to "establish an imaged number line for both the gestalt and parts of number relationships." Maizie gets easily confused moving along the imaginary number line but she enjoys the process.

Maizie can add up to three digits quite well on paper. But, conceptually she is slow to understand what number is more or less or that when we add we are going up. One digit subtraction is doable but more complicated for her than addition. We have been working on simple addition and subtraction, number recognition and counting since Maizie was a toddler. Now that reading is solid we will devote more time to using Lindamood Bell for math. I am really excited about this.

Sleepy Easter and a Better Monday

Easter was a bit of a mess for me. I was in pain from my endometriosis. So...I had to resort to some vicodin which pretty much knocked me out for the day. Thankfully. Between that and my Interstitial Cystitis (IC) I was not a happy camper. Today is better. When it gets this bad I begin to worry that I will need surgery again. I think I was on the verge of panic Sunday. I am so thankful I am on medications now to make the IC way better. Once this week is over I will be feeling all better for a few more months. At least I have that to look forward to!

Joe and Maizie went to Aunt Julie's without me. They had a nice time and Maizie came home with an adorable Easter basket from Julie and Maizie's Grandma got her a Magic of the Rainbow Barbie. I can not believe I missed Easter. Bummer.

Saturday night Maizie did sleep through the night but woke us up early to see if the Easter Bunny came. The Easter Bunny had brought Maizie a book to collect the state coins in and hid eggs all over the house with quarters. Maizie had fun putting the quarters in the book. The Easter Bunny also brought her an Easter Egg outfit for her Build A Bear Cat and some candies.
Today Maizie began working with her tutor Jeannie at Specialty Tutoring. Maizie was so excited to see Jeannie. Maizie has been waiting to work with Jeannie all year. Every time we passed her building she would insist we had to start tutoring right away! I think she could barely contain herself during the session. Jeannie always has creative ways to help Maizie learn. The first couple of sessions she is testing Maizie to see where she is at. It will be interesting to see the results.

Joe had the idea to get Maizie a Gameboy. Maizie has been showing an interest in playing the X Box and does okay with the few kid appropriate games we have. We tried finding some kid X Box games and could not find any Maizie was interested in. The Gameboy has fun, nice games. I was amazed with how good the screen looks. I thought it would have more pixilation. Maizie is really excited to try it out and I am praying that she will get the hang of it.

I really need to get to bed. Good night!