Having Katie has taught me many things about childhood development. Basically the whole goal of raising a child is to get to the stage that they can explore their environment. The foundation of all their learning depends on the ability to explore and manipulate the world around them. Gross Motor: head control, sitting, crawling, walking, running, climbing, to explore the world and learn through movement. Fine Motor: stability, grip strength, hand control, hand-hand coordination, hand-eye coordination, etc to explore the world and learn through touch. Language: drinking, eating, sound, words, sentences to attach language to the world they explore. Toys help with this exploration, balls roll, blocks stack and fall, rattles make sound, drums make different sounds, things have texture, taste, weight, etc.
Many of the delays associated with Down syndrome are due to muscle weakness which results in a delay in the ability to explore the world and associate language with the world. Any surgeries or illnesses that significantly impact their health will further delay this exploring ability.
Therefore, I have become much attuned to all of Katie’s activities and her physical therapist is helping teach me how to teach her to explore the world.
We had a wonderful moment when Katie officially stepped out of her boundaries and began to purposefully explore the world around her! Katie, Ellee and I were outside enjoying the Spring sun. I laid Katie on a towel and gave her a few toys to play with while Ellee and I played on the play ground. I was watching Katie when she started looking around (not just focused on the toys I put in front of her) and she noticed some leaves and grass. Then she took a diving roll off of her belly onto her back and then another roll onto her belly again. Then she reached out and grabbed the leaves. She laid in the grass and mud for about 15 minutes playing with (exploring) everything she could reach.
I was so proud!
This seemingly insignificant event encompassed a culmination of tons of tiny developmental steps. Ability to see, awareness of the world around her, noticing something new, purposeful directional movement, head control, body control, rolling, reaching, grasping, grip strength, hand-eye coordination, new experiences, new textures, new sounds, Halleluiah!
This is only the beginning and I can’t wait to see all the wonderful things she will explore!
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