Thank-You Note Therapy

As you may recall from our previous posts about Cookie Therapy and Hair Therapy, we are always looking for ways to make therapy a little more fun around here. Ethan and Owen were blessed with so many gifts from friends and family during the holidays, so we decided to take the opportunity to do a little "therapy" while making thank-you cards. For a long time we tried to MAKE Ethan like coloring, but it was always a battle. I finally decided to take a break from working on this skill and lo and behold...Ethan started saying, "want to color." Now, I will say that during this "break from coloring," his OT at Touchstone and at school were still working with him on making lines and circles and they still had arts and crafts time in his class. So, I think they finally convinced him that coloring can be fun, even though it is hard work for him.

It may sound weird, but when we would go out to eat I would always get a little jealous of other parents who's kids were sitting at the table coloring with the little crayons & coloring paper they give you when you arrive. I finally got to the point where I would sadly say, "no thank-you" when they asked if we needed some crayons because Ethan would immediately throw them on the floor when we got to our seat. However, the last few times we've gone out I've taken the crayons and he's actually colored while waiting for our food! I think it's the little milestones that seem to thrill me the most.

Here is Ethan working on putting the cap back on the marker - at times he gets stuck on this part and just wants to pull the cap off and put it back on, which is a great exercise in strength and coordination. Oh, and thanks to Bettie (Jessie's Journey) and Aunt Karen for the little art smocks!

Very serious and concentrating on his circles. When making the cards he kept saying, "Wanna make face," so he would draw the "circle" and I would hold his hand to help him make the marks for the eyes, nose and mouth.

And just to prove we're not always making him work, here is Ethan playing one of his favorite Nana games...putting Owen's socks on his ears. We put the socks on and he looks in the mirror and laughs at how funny he looks. No therapy involved whatsoever - just plain old fun.