Remembering December 20, 1989

I didn't know how much remembering this date would affect me, until I started to write this post. Tears have came to my eyes! It has been the most bloody days in my country's history. The military operation "Just Cause," well known as the U.S. invasion to Panama. This operation wasn't fair for Panamanian civilians, and not even for the American soldiers. Because they had the order to kill around Christmas. We celebrated Christmas in tears and with fear by thinking who of our family members had died, where the next attack would take place. We lost contact with my dad who used to work near Rio Hato, a town were a Panamanian military base was located. There were military confrontations in and around the military bases. So we knew my dad could be in trouble, but he could call us days later after the invasion. I remember hearing gun fires coming front the Pacific coast. Panamanian militaries escaped from Rio Hato thru the mountains around the Pacific coast. They got intersected by American soldiers who were strategically placed in the riffle bonkers built around those mountains during Wold War II. The whole country experienced the most horrible sense of insecurity and weaknessed the most horribles scenes of a war zone, especially, in one of the poorest neighborhoods in Panama, known as "El Chorrillo."

The invasion could be avoided. But the American government chose not to, which it was understandable according to them. Panamanian civilians were confronting Noriega's dictatorship months previous to the invasion. The dictatorship was tumbling because of the pressure civilians were doing by confronting the Panamanian Army to defend their rights. Panamanian Militaries got tiered of seeing their people fighting against them —Panamanian against Panamanian. A group of Panamanian soldiers commanded by Moisés Giroldi conspired against Noriega. Moisés Giroldi contacted the US Southern Command, which operated in the Canal Zone. He told them about his plans to capture Noriega, so the US Army could extradite Noriega to the US. The US Southern Command agreed! The agreement was a US Army helicopter would arrive to the Panamanian military base located in "El Chorrillo" and take Noriega. On 3 October 1989,  Giroldi captured Noriega and persuaded other soldiers, working in that sift, to join him. But the US Army helicopter never arrived. This gave enough time to soldiers who supported Noriega to fight back against Giroldi. There were confrontations among the Panamanian Soldiers, so Giroldi got unarmed. Noriega took a gun, shooting right straight to Giroldi's head.


Why didn't the US Army helicopter arrive? The US Army claimed, at that time, it was missed communication. But the real reason was that Giroldi wasn't a trusting person, so they could not take that risk (Giroldi's intensions to get the county free of Noriega were true, but this is the price paid when you choose the wrong path). But there was one more powerful reason, that wasn't known by Panamanian civilians and the rest of the world. An American citizen got retained by Noriega for conspiracy against his dictatorship. This American civilian was living in Panama City because it seems he was married to a Panamanian woman. The American civilian began to intercept Noriega's conversations and shared them with the US Army. Noriega knew about it, so the American was captured, humiliated and tortured in the Panamanian military base located in El Chorrillo. The conspiracy agaisnt Noriega by Giroldi could put the American civilian's life in danger. The US Army was doing everything to get him back alive. So they had to strategically think on every move they would do. The "Just Cause" killed two (three) birds with one stone. They captured Noriega and released the American citizen alive. But they also sent a message to the world "how powerful they were" and the new weapons they had. Specially, for what was happening with, what was known as, Russia at that time.

Unfortunately, Panamanian civilians were the ones who truly paid the price for the errors and the horror of a dictatorship and the overpowering military operation from one of most powerful nations against a third wold country. The exact amount of Panamanian civilians lost  during the invasion will remind unknown. The estimates go from to 4,000 up to 8,000 Panamanian lost their lives in the invasion, including: babies, kids, women and seniors. A Panamanian Organization collected data and made surveys to know how many people were reported as missing and their bodies were never found. So the closer estimate according to this Panamanian organization is 5,000. More Panamanians died in the first 20 hour of the operation "Just Cause," than in 20 years of dictatorship. Things got out of control for the American Army. They probably not planned in this way, but this is the price Panamanians paid.  

The prognostic for Panamanian economy after the invasion were very discouraging. International economists predicted that it would take about 20 years for Panama recovered from the invasion. But regardless how much pain, human lost and destruction the invasion cost to my county, Panamanians took the lead back and our economy got recovered in 5 years after the invasion, instead 20 years –even when the US government didn't gave all the monetary support they promised to rebuild the distroided zones in Panama during the invasion. 23 years have passed after the invasion, I proudly say that Panama has the second place for having one of the the best and fastest growing economies in Latin America. When the presence of the American troops was removed from Panamanain soil in December 31, 1999; Many Panamanians celebrated, including me. We could have our land back, the Canal Zone.  But there were also many Panamanians who were sad because the US Army presence won't be in our country any more. Because they thought there were many benefits to keep the troops in Panama, especially for the economy. There were fears we won't be able to survive without the Americans. But once again, We did!

Currently,  the Panamanian Government and the American Government keep good international realtions and work together in the war against illigal drugs. 

I am very proud of being a Panamanian because we forgive, we accept and we celebrate. We don't keep bad feelings against Americans because of the invasion, in fact, there are a lot Americans immigrating to Panama and they are always "Welcome." We accepted the struggles the invasion brought because when the invasion happened, some countries offered to bring their troops and contra-attack the US Army. Panamanians stood up and said: NO! No in Panamanian soil. We suffered enough, we wanted to concentrate in moving on and rebuilding our country. Regardless, this sad part of my country's history, we celebrate life as much as we can because the Panamanian culture has always an excuse to make a party to celebrate everything; so the invasion didn't took away the way Panamanians are, joking around all the time. 

A Panamanian Message to the World:

FORGIVE, ACCEPT and CELEBRATE

I am married to an American citizen.

I have two kids who were born in American soil. 

One day, I will adopt the American citizenship. 

Lovely Discipline (Part 2)

Working full time makes discipline my boys a little harder for me. I am not at home, so I cannot see when my boys need to be disciplined or when discipline may be done using a different approach. So keeping an open communication with the caregivers or relative who help with baby sitting is crucial to be successful in a lovely discipline.

Disciplinary Methods
I do care so much about my kids feelings, this is the reason I have selected disciplinary methods that apply to my kids according to their ages and developmental stages. Discipline is teaching to behave in a manner the child learn judgement, good and bad. We don't apply any disciplinary method different to our son who has a genetic disorder than it is apply to a typical child. A child is a child regardless a diagnosis.

Positively Reinforcement:  Parental attention is one of the most powerful forms of positive reinforcement. 
I always focused in the good because it works for our oldest son. He likes we recognize his effort.

Tommy likes to have our attention. So I pay close attention of what he does when he is around and praise him for any good action he does. For example: He and Francis play chase. Tommy has lately been paitient with Francis and wait for Francis to start running and them he chaises Francis without pushing. So I give him a verbal praises: Such as: "You are being good waiting for your brother." And a big tide hugs accompany my words. So I get a big smile from Tommy and a warm feeling in my heart. Francis in the other hand, it is getting the idea of "praising" so it is happy moment when he realizes he had done something good, he began to say "Weeh" and clap.

Redirecting: 
This involves the simple act of redirecting the child to an appropriate behavior, instead telling the child "No, don't do that or No, don't do this." It takes practice avoid the use of the word "No," but it works! If you tell your child what it is correct and what he or she should be doing, instead hesitate to say no, he will know what it is appropriate. When one say "NO" to a young child, they cannot read our minds about what or why we are saying "NO."  Be specific about what the child should do instead of using "NO". This disciplinary method also expands the child's language comprehension because he or she will make the connection of your words with actions.

Time-outs: Time-outs is physically removing the child from a problem situation. The child should be sent to a neutral and being ignored until he/she is calm and quiet. It is recommended to use time-outs with moderation; otherwise, it will be ineffective. Consistency and repetition are essential to help the child to understand time-out. According to the Child Welfare League of America, a single behavior should be selected for time out. After time out,  sitting and talking to the child to explain why he was in time out and have a happy and positive time-out ending. 

A behavior that is not socially accept and we don't accept it in our house, eather, it is physically hurting others — in adulthood is called "assault"— so the behavior we have chosen to apply time-out is "NOT PHYSICALLY HURTING." Tommy and Francis have their fights. When it is not Tommy is Francis, the one that hit first. A typical situation, Tommy gets mad at Francis when they are playing and Francis changes the dynamic of play-time. So Francis knows when Tommy is going after him and he runs, then, Tommy reaches Francis' pulls his hair or pushes him. Tommy also hit his brother on purpose —Trisomy 21 doesn't exchange the fights among my boys. 

About 6 months ago, Tommy was very defiant to not going in time-out and grapped my hands and yilled at me "NOOO!" with a very angry voice. But now, he seems more mature  because he stays in time-out. I count backwards when the situation is getting out of control because this makes him to realize that he is in trouble and he brakes in tears. Currently, he gets 4 minutes of time but it is not quite often because he is not fitting with his brother so much. We put him in Time-out in the same place, on the big black couch. Everybody leave and let him alone. After  time-out is over, I hold him and we have a talk.  For example: I  always emphasis "We love you," we don't pull your hair. Or "We don't hit you." It hurts." When we hurt others we say "SORRY(LO SIENTO)." We practice until Tommy says "Sorry" /"Lo siento" or does an action that shows he is repentance. I also try that the Boys kiss or hug each other. We are not applying time-out for Francis because it is not age appropriate for him. But when he hurst Tommy he gets removed from conflict zone and I say something like: "Hitting hurts, be nice to Tommy" or just "No hurting, be nice."

Establishing Rules by adding chores:
 Explain your rules and be prepared to be consistent until the child learns to follow them on his/her own. 
This applies really good to teach the child to be responsible. So we are sticking to the rule of "not hitting" with both kids. But we have also add a chore, "clean up after playing" or "if they are just creating a mess." Therefore, the boys also have the responsibility of  keeping the house organized. But the best way to teach a child to be organized and be responsible is by example. I make sure I set the example for them, so I stick to the rules, too. As soon as, they finish playing I remind them to clean up with the song "It's time to put the toys way at Tommy and Francis's house."  I also use the chore of "cleaning up" for increasing vocabulary and language comprehension. I label and point  at the objects they should pick up and tell them where the toys should go. 

Parents should remind clam and being consistant to be successful in a lovely discipline, but it is not always in this way. There are days my boys push the limits, but practice makes perfection. The most I control myself, the better I am responding to chaotic situations. It is about growing together with my boys. I didn't learn all this disciplinary methods on my own. I learned while we were being coached by therapists from the Early Intervention Program (EIP). I miss my son's therapists so much! They will always have a special place in our hearts! 

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Related Post: 
Lovely Discipline

The dolphin of my ocean

Tommy has shown aptitude for a swimmer since he was a baby, even our former pediatrician mentioned to us when he was a few months old. But it wasn't until the end of this past summer, he formally started private swimming lessons, once a week for 30 minutes. For my surprise, he began to swimming in seven lessons. So 7-30 minutes lessons, equals, 3 and half hours that Tommy spent to learn swimming. Between those seven lessons, he had a break of 3 weeks. He is all about "ACCOMPLISHMENT and PRIDE."

This not the best photo ever, but it is the best one that shows

Tommy's natural aptitude for a swimmer when he was 11 month old.

Tommy is aware of the danger of being under the water. In one of his session, he went under the water and he got a little scared, but he acted quickly! He got his head out and swan to reach the edge. It's just his natural aptitude for swimming. As we all are born with aptitudes and talents, my son has also born with his aptitudes and talents, but they are overshadowed for his genetic disorder. Some typical people may just see DISABILITY on him, but I have the privilege to be raising a young little boy who is all about "APTITUDES and TALENTS" and God chose me to be the person who will see beyond all labels given to a child, just because, he was born with a genetic disorder.

I have always heard people saying dolphins are the ocean's angels, well Tommy is the dolphin of my ocean. With his ACCOMPLISHMENTS, Tommy raises me up to walk on stormy seas, he is the angel that gives me hope to keep going because I won't drown. He always does something that gives me hope, so he is the one that feed my passion to do everything I can, and beyond, because I weakness, in many ways, how capable he is.

Regardless the challenges he has had facing in the last almost two years,

he always finds a way to keep shinning.

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Swimming is recommended for kids with sensory processing disorder or kids who has issues with the proprioceptive system.

Happy Panamanian Mother's Day!

Today, December 8, is Mother's Day in Panama. We don't celebrate mother's day as many other countries in May. It is one of the biggest national holiday in my country. Most business are close, except for the first responders and gas stations. Everybody takes the time to honor their moms, even when they are not longer in this world.

Panamanian celebrates Mother's day on December 8  because it is the day of the Immaculate Conception. We have a strong influence from the Catholic Faith passed by the Spanish conquerors. The meaning of the Immaculate conception is that Mother Mary was conceived without the original sin. She was chosen by God to be free from the corrupt nature  that the original sin brings and with the state of sanctifying grace. In other words, Mary was chosen to be mother of Christ since she was conceived. According to my grandma, Mother Mary was around 15 when she had baby Jesus. So when her son was crucified, she was around 48. I can imagine her pain and emotions, regardless she was chosen, she is a mom as I am. I can imagine how her heart was broken for every nail hammered in her son's body to the point she could feel his pain. But she kept her faith strong and didn't doubt about God's father plan. Mother Mary is the one that shows to me with her example of sacrifice, what motherhood without limits is about. 

Thanks to my son's diagnosis, I have met wonderful moms. These moms are also part of the  "Motherhood without limits." These wonderful moms have shaped my motherhood. They have showing me what the power of love can do. I haven't personally met some of these moms, but hey have giving me their unconditional support online or on the phone. Regardless their busy lives, they have taken their time to give their advises, show me their teaching techniques and offering me their support. I am grateful with these moms for sharing their wisdom with me to the benefit of my son. I want you to know them, to honor them is this special day to me. Those moms are:

Mrs. Cunningham. I talked to her a couple of times on the phone when I was expecting Tommy. Unfortunately, I lost contact with her. I never met her in person, but she gave me the advise of developing the love for reading in my son. She was the one who recommended to contact Tommy's first pediatrician. I began to read to Tommy since he was in the womb after my first phone conversation with her. Tommy loves for books is amazing, but it comes from Mrs. Cunningham's advise.  Everybody at school knows how much he loves books. And lately, I have hear him saying "time to read."

Lianna. My first blogger friend. She showed me how important is teaching our kids to read at a very young age. She is all about inclusion and I love to see pictures of her son who has Down syndrome with his best friend, who is a typical child. This is also what I want for Tommy, I want him to be included and having his own typical friends.  

Andi, the writer of Down Syndrome: A Day to Day Guide blog. Her knowledge in supplements to keep her son healthy has inspired me to learn more about my son inmmune system and vitamin therapy. When I contacted her, she contacted other moms to find the answer to my questions without personally knowing me. Her little boy is doing beyond amazing due to her dedication and unconditional love.

Laura, the writer of Down Syndrome: Up, Up and Away blog. She doesn't accept the stereotypes and the odds putting on our kids. She has done a outstanding job with her daughter.  Her daugther K is doing great because she is doing things for kid of her age and above. She was the one who introduce me on how to get help for Tommy in a holistic way.

Gina, the writer of Mom-Blog. She is a web designer who works from home. This girl is smart! When I contacted to ask about nutrition, she sent me a great book that became my star point on knowing more about nutrition. I haven't met her and we don't keep in contact so often, but she welcomed me with out knowing me with great advises and encouragement. She has two daughters, one has Mosaic Down Syndrome and the other one has Autism and SPD. But they both are doing remarkable, regardless the labels. 

Randa Kay, the writer of Braska Bear and Just RK blogs. Everybody loves her because of her sweet personality. She supported me during my son's firt IEP. She even baked goodies to bring to the IEP meeting. She is our leader in our local Down syndorme group. Her daughter, Braska, is a rock star! At her short age, Braska is a great cheerleader with advanced reading skills for age. Braska and her mom have tought me to keep going and work hard that things will get better.

Melissa R. She is my neighbord. She doesn't know it, but she has teaching me so much. I watch her closely how she discipline her son, who also has Down syndrome, and I apply it at home with Tommy.  She always listen to me. Her son is doing outstanding, many things according to his age!

Molly S. She is also my neigbord. I don't see her quite often, but this girl has all the weapons to get what her son's needs throw the IEP. She is very knowledgeable about special education because she is an advocate, a mom of a child with special needs and a special education teacher. So she is a great advisor! Her son has autism and he is doing amazing, I personally cannot tell there is something different on him. 

They are two moms am very grateful to have in my life. They are my mom and my mother-in-law.

My mom. She have taught  me to accept everybody for who they are, not for how much the have or how they look. She taught never make fun of other people's disadvantages, including people with disabilities. She have taught me to fight for a better future. She is the most honest and lovely person I have ever met. As a grandmother, she just is full of joy because she is proud of his two amazing grandsons. She has never seen Tommy's diagnosis first because she always sees the amazing child he is first. My mom has always find away to communicate with Tommy regardless his communication barriers. On the other hand with Francis, she couldn't be here when he was born. She met him a year later, but she was always  talking to him through Skype. When they finally met, it was like she was here with him all the time. While she was visiting, one day I took the boys for a walk, but my mom stayed at the house. Francis felt something was missing, so he went back looking for her and brought her to walk with him. We are so blessed to have her in our lives!

My Mother-in-law. Since my husband and I were dating, she knew I was the one for her son. She always reminds us how important is that we take time for ourselves as a couple, regardless everything we have in our hands. She is right! She sees for everything we are going thru and she always find a way to help us. She is always doing all kind of activities with the boys and telling stories to them. So I created a special area for her in our house full of books, felt board stories, poppets and stuffed animals to animate her stories. One quality I have learned from her is to bring out the child's spirit that it is on all of us, regardless the age. This is crucial for tommy's therapies.

Happy Mothers day to my Aunts, cousins, Friends and all Panamanian Moms and non-Panamanians, too!

Today is a day to celebrate Motherhood without limits!

Recuing my son: What to do when your child refuses to drink water

What to do when your child refuses to drink water:
KEEP OFFERING PLAIN WATER, THEY WILL GIVE UP!

A child cannot take control of their food and water intake because they are not mature enough to make decisions over their nutrition. It is my responsibility, as a parent, to promote good eating habits. I try that my boys eat healthy in all possible ways, but I think I failed in one aspect when Tommy was about 18 month. One day, he refused to drink water and I gave if up too soon. The problem started when we began to give him juice and I didn't realize it. We have prolonged the problem by mixing the water with juice. So we have limited the juice intake; just at school, he is allowed to drink water mixed with juice because I don't want his teacher struggling with him not drinking water. But I will talk to his teacher if she can gradually eliminate the juice from his water. He used to enjoy water as his little brother does now. We don't give juice to Francis because I know now if a child regularly eats fruits and drinks milk and water, juice it is not important in a child's diet.

I learned a lesson and we are on time to fix the problem. It has taken a lot of patient and learn to read Tommy's like and dislikes due to his communication barriers. We trick him by giving him snacks will make him thirsty, so when he is all done and he drinks water without saying a word to him. When I think in the past, there were not way to make Tommy to drink plain water. So there is a huge progress.

My mom staid with us for a few months, so she took the lead in making Tommy to like water. She was successful! But she went back home and Tommy began to refused drinking water from the blue water bottle his OT gave him. I know the adjustment process of not having my mom around had to be with it. She can read him very well, so she knows Tommy's likes and dislikes regardless his communication barriers. So I brainstormed about the situation. I realized he was needing something to motivate him. It wasn't the water, it was the cup. He gets bored of certain things if they are done over and over again in the same way. So Paying attention to Tommy's personality is crucial to know his like and dislike. I switched the blue bottler water to a cup Tommy wasn't familiar with, while I let him make a choice to give him more control of the situation. It worked and it is still working!

In my search on how to motivate him to drink water, I found out about the bobble water bottles. They have a fashionable design that comes with a water filter. They are free of BPA, Phthalates and PVC. I am ordering more of these bottles because they are not made to be washed in the dishwasher, but I read it after it was too late. I am also using these bottles to reduce toxins in the water because of Tommy's high levels of toxicity. But the best of old, Tommy is motivated to drink water with these bottles.

Here is Tommy drinking water from his bobble water bottle this morning.

He drank 5 oz of water this morning without struggles.

On Monday, November 19, we were at the playground in the evening and I asked Tommy if he wanted to "swing or water" so it could be his choice –rather than me forcing him— and he answered "A LOT OF WATER." Yes! these words. Just clearly like the water. It took me several minutes to actually believe these words were coming from him because his communication barriers and his dislike for water. I am glad my husband was there to confirm to me what I heard. Tommy drank 8 oz of water between the time we were at the playground and our way home.  This day, my effort to help Tommy to drink plain water was paid off when I heard his voice demanding "A LOT OF WATER."

Currently, Tommy is mostly drinking water by his choice. I ask him sometimes, Do you want a sip of water? while he is eating, so I wait for any kind of response, verbal or gesture.* He still gives trouble to our relative, who helps with baby sitting, when they offer water to him. So I contacted our former developmental therapist if she can help us with this situation because I think it is a behavioral issue, rather than him not liking to drink water when they offer the water to him. I think it is more Tommy taking over of the situation, how it had happened in the past. There are some days better than others, but I feel I am starting to win this battle.

Conclusion
There are 5 steps to make my son or maybe any child to drink plain water:

1. To pay attention to child's personality and non-verbal cues to learn about his or her likes and dislikes
2. To make the process fun by getting funny water bottles
3. To allow the child have control of the situation by giving him or her "choices."
4. To be consistant in offering plain water often.
5. To avoid water substitutes (juice, flavored water, vitamin water, etc). They just make the issue worse and longer.

________________

* Approximately more than 60% of humans communication is by gestures. So even when our kids with communication barriers struggles verbalizing their wants and needs, they always communicate with their body language. We have to pay attention to it and wait for any kind of response. It works!

Rescuing my son: Unhealthy toxicity levels

Fighting back Sensory Processing Disorder is not easy, specially because it is a hiding disability. It is something you can not see. I am informing my self, as much as I can, to find the best ways to help Tommy to surpass this challenge. I feel very confident with the team of professional that are working with us. We are using sources, which are proven by scientist research, to formulate Tommy's wellness plan. I will explain in separate post the urine test that was done to Tommy to know his neurotransmitter levels. The same test also showed that Tommy's toxicity is extremely high to the point it is unhealthy. His nutritionist have recommended a detoxification treatment, based on a medical food to support the liver to realize toxins. It is the stronger treatment available that can be given to a child, but it is safe.

Natural ways to detox

• A person, adult or child, should drink half of the body weight measure per once. For example: If I weight 104 lb, I should drink 52 oz of plain water per day. Water has ions that act like magnets that attract toxins and take them out when we excrete liquid waste (urine and sweat). We reviewed Tommy's water intake and he wasn't drinking enough water. We are working on making him to drink plain water. Tommy is getting the support from his teacher in this process, she is making sure he drinks water at school every day. At home, we are doing everything to encourage him to drink plain water. He doesn't like water, so he is giving us hard time, but if we sing his favorite songs while he drinks or encourage him to drink water by us drinking water with a water bottle, then he complies. I am keeping a water count per day, so he meets his daily water intake. There are days he enjoys to drink water and days he doesn't want to drink much, but I still find ways that he meets the amount of water he should drink. This is a huge improvement because before he didn't want to drink plain water at all.
• Epsom salt bath recommended by his nutritionist. Epsom salt bath benefits have been proven by scientist research. Tommy's epsom salt bath is once a week. I just put one cup of Epsom salt in the bathtub filled with warm water. While the bathtub is getting filled,  the bathroom door is close to raise the temperature in the bathroom, so it makes Tommy sweat and realize toxins. Meanwhile, the body is also absorbing the Epsom salt while he is soaked in there for 10 minutes. 
• Increasing exercise routine. Tommy and I are physically active, at least for 15 minutes, to the point we sweat. In this way, Tommy naturally realizes toxins, increases endurance and gets body awareness. The good thing is Tommy sweats like crazy, so it doesn't take long to make him sweat. I also offer water while we are doing our routine, which is basically jumping and dancing while we listen to music such as, Eye of the tiger or I gotta feeling. We are having fun!

Here is Tommy drinking from his favorite water bottle.

This bottle has a special meaning, his private paid OT gave it to him.

This the only container Tommy accepts to drink water.

As I said, sensory processing is hidden disability, but not invisible. The child will always show the sings, but as a parent, you should find a good team of professionals who will lead you to the right and safe treatment for your child. We should be councious that our kids with Trisomy 21 may have a liver and kidsneys that may work slower when they have to realize toxins. A doctor won't tell you this, I figured it out reading sciencit research about people with Trisomy 21.

It makes sense to me now the reason his sensory issues got out of control, Tommy got loaded of strong medications during and after the hospitalization. Medications are good, but they are full of toxins. So they altered his biochemical balance. His body may still be working on getting toxins resulting from all these medications, plus the toxins he naturally gets every day. I will post in the coming months, when we finish the treatment, about differences/improvements we have noticed in his sensory processing issues and what are the results when we retest.

The Sky is the Limit!

My boys' moments

I am ready to go to bed and I am exhausted as most of my days, but today I have a greatful and happy feeling.  My boys are outstanding. They both are successful in there own and unique way. Tommy had a follow up appointment  with his ENT and she was very excited about how much Tommy has grown. Perfect height, perfect weight! She even noticed Tommy is progressing. Everybody at the Down Syndrome clinic was worried about Tommy's regressions. But today more than ever before, I noticed he is more mature. When we got to Down syndrome clinic waiting area, I went to check-in while I let him going around, instead of running around he went right to sit and wait for me. Later in the evening, we went for a walk and when we came back our neighbor was putting brinks around her garden. Tommy got curious about what she was doing. He got closer to her because he wanted to hold the brick. She carefully allowed him to hold the brink while she was saying: "it's heavy" and Tommy held the brick and told her: "it's light." We all spontaneously laugh!

This evening, we also have our Parents as Teacher meeting for Francis. The lady was impressed how advanced Francis is. He is already meeting milestones for 24 month old baby and he is just 14 months. The best of all we have done absolutely nothing to help him meet  those milestones ahead. The lady noticed Francis language comprehension as well as language expression are ahead. She was so impressed he is already humming. She also observed Francis's fine motor skills are ahead because he is already working on screw and unscrew jars. She agrees with me, Francis needs to be challenged because the gap between him and his age is getting bigger.

 I am redirecting my therapy (play time) with Tommy to include Francis. Francis enjoys it so much, and he deffenetly gets benefit from it. I have been selecting our Toys/tools to keep the ones that work for both of them and getting out the toys/tools that the boys are not interested anymore. As well as working on a new list of Toys/tools I need to work (play) with the boys. I enjoying so much being a mom, but I also enjoy being their first teacher!

GOD, THANK YOU FOR MY BOYS! YOU DO YOUR WONDERS IN A MYSTERY WAY!

Meet Tim Harris, an entrepreneur young man with Trisomy 21

What Does Down syndrome mean? Down syndrome means to overcome the odds that are put on people who are diagnosed with it. This is what my son with Trisomy 21 had taught me. Down syndrome means "ACHIEVEMENT AND PRIDE." This is what Tommy teaches to all of us around him when he says: I DID IT, with a  spontaneous smile because he knows "he can do it." This is what Tim Harris teaches to the world by being the first entrepreneur young man with Trisomy 21 who owns and operate his business.

I have been following Tim Harris's story since it was published on People Magazine. I have seen mutliples videos of him and and I have observed how much Tim  has grown as a business man. How secure he looks comparing him with is first interviews two years ago. His story is very inspirational! His parents went agaisnt what society expect for a child with Trisomy 21. They helped Tim to make his dream come true without putting limits of him. Today, he probably is the only person with Trisomy 21 who owns and runs his own business.

Today, Tim's Place is celebration his 2nd year in business. If you would like to send your wishes to him click on: SENT A WISH TO TIM.

Wild, Wild, Wild West!

More temerarious than Jesse James
Jersa's Farm Party
September 29th, 2012

Hooray! Hooray! Potty time is fun

Tommy showed readiness for Toilet Learning at the same age of a typical child, so we were very proud of him and began to help him to accomplish this big milestone on October 2010. From October 2010 to January 2011, he was doing great and began to let us know when he wanted to go potty. But He got seriously ill with a repiratory infection and he completely regressed. So I got so overwhelmed with everything that was going on after the hospitalization that I completely stopped working on potty Learning. I began to avoid it even when Tommy was occasionally signing "potty."

My mom came to visit for three months, and then, she began to help him to regain his potty skills. She doesn't have a lot of time working on potty learning and Tommy has began to verbalize when he wants to go "pooh" in the last couple of days and I could capture it today. So we are very excited he is regaining this skill. Tommy is an amazing child because going "pooh" always has been easier for him. So we will be focussing in going "peeh" in the coming days.

We gave him a "galletita" (cookie) as a reward. He was so proud of him and he began to say very loudly "I DID IT." Definitely, he doesn't know about limits and he is conscious when he is successful on everything he makes the decision to accomplish. By the way, Tommy's properly verbalized the words "galletita" and cookies. He also answers "galletita" when we has made the question in English or vice-versa. He is definitely simultaneously bilingual. What proud we are of him.

The picture shows how proud he was of himself

Here are the links when we started potty learning with Tommy back on October 2010. It has great info about this matter.
 Toilet Learning is Fun
Hip Hooray! Toilet Learning is Fun
Potty Training is going well

Bilingualism and our kids with Trisomy 21

Based on my own experience raising my son, with Trisomy 21, being simultaneously bilingual has more advantage than disadvantage. Hearing two languages at home is a factor that has helped Tommy in his Speech because he has to process two set of sounds, which strength his auditory processing more than if he would be exposed to just one language. Speech is his strength in the area of communications. So why not to take advantage of raising him bilingual. We don't have to paid for Spanish classes. It's a natural and on going simulation that I am seeing results without the pressure of doing therapy or dedicating time to help him to learn Spanish. My long term goal, for both of my kids, is that they can learn a third language into the Roman Languages. I can naturally understand a little bit of  Italian and Portuguese, and a little of French, but it is harder than Italian and Portuguese. This is because I speaks two Roman Languages.

Currently, there are not much reaseach or teaching guidence to help our kids with Trisomy 21 two learn a second language. But there many multicultural families who has gone against what their Speech Therapist has advised to not teach a second language to a child with Trisomy 21. Those parents has proven to the world how wrong was to think that a child with Trisomy 21 couldn't learn 2 or more languages, because there are kids with Tridomy 21 who have learned more than 2 languages.

I don't have a teaching method.  The key for learning a second language is constantly listening to the second language. I just talk, read and sing in Spanish as much as I can when I am home with the kids. I have to tell I am very proud that both of my kids understand Spanish very well, considering I am the only one that talks to them in Spanish. So consistency is other important factor in helping a child with Trisomy 21, or any child, to learn a second language.

A few tips to keep going the second spoken language at your home:
1. Build a library with book and songs in the second language
2. keeps the books in place where you and the kids spend a lot of time together
3. Ask relatives for books in the second language as Birthday or Christmas gifts.

Information about bilingualism and kids with Trisomy 21

Language Learning in Four Bilingual Children with Down Syndrome: A Detailed Analysis of Vocabulary and Morphosyntax

Can Children with Down Syndrome learn more than one language?

Bilingual Children with Down Syndrome

Can Children with Language Impairment Learn Two Languages

THINK AGAIN, Children with Down Syndrome can Become Multilingual

Based on my own experience, both of my kids should learn both languages because they are part of a multicultural family, My family just speaks Spanish and my husband's family just speaks English, how cruel it would be to insulate Tommy from one family or the other just because he has Trisomy 21.  My mom doesn't see her grant kids quite often because she leaves in other country, and she just speaks Spanish. I cannot tell my mom, who loves Tommy so much, that she won't never be available to communicate with his grandson in Spanish just because he has Down syndrome. How cruel would be thinking in this way for Tommy and my mom because they have have a special bond, and they communicate very well, he perfectly understand when she speaks Spanish to him, no doubt about it. We don't put limits on Tommy just because he has Trisomy 21. He has the right to enjoy being part of multicultural family, as his younger brother. By the way, he doesn't have the American accent when he says words in Spanish and he doesn't have the Spanish accent when he says words in English. We are very proud of Tommy's bilingual skills.

THE SKY IS THE LIMIT!

Rescuing my son: Checking for Non-anemic Iron Deficiency

"What your doctor won’t tell you (referring to your child with Trisomy 21)... iron is essential for growth, development, and a healthy immune system. Iron deficiencies are proven to affect IQ and focus in children. Since iron excess can lead to enhanced damage through oxidative stress, it is important to be tested for iron. Measuring blood levels of ferritin is the best way to evaluate how much iron is stored in the body, and whether or not you are deficient." Nutichem.com


Iron excess in kids with Trisomy 21 is common, but it is not always the case. Trisomy 21 is a genetic disorder and not a disease, which means the ways the syndrome will affect the person will vary due to the combination of multiple inherited genes and the exchanged genes by the extra chromosome. So there are also many kids with Trisomy 21 with low iron levels and animina. Therefore, testing is the best way to check a child with trisomy 21 iron levels.

Borderline iron levels is known as depletion or non-anemic iron deficiency. When a person has non-anemic iron deficiency it means the person could be at risk of developing anemia, so iron supplementation may be recommended. Because many kids with Trisomy 21 have hypothyroidism, there is a higher risk for these kids to develop iron depilation leading to anemia. As well as, if the child has food allergy or sensitivity, they are at a higher risk of non-anemic iron deficiency because the gastro intestinal track it is not absorbing the adequate iron intake.

Non-anemic iron deficiency can cause problems. According to the study 'Women with low, but not anemic, iron also have impaired physical performance', done by the Cornell University in New York, has shown that "iron-depleted women had lower physical work capacity, and their performance was related to the amount of stored body iron... Other researchers have recently reported that moderate iron deficiency also compromises memory and verbal learning in teen-agers."  If non-anemic iron can cause low physical performance in an adult women, it makes me to conclude, it should affect in a similar way to a young child's body that it is still  developing, but even more to a child with Trisomy 21, who is already predisposed to have issues with physical performance and memory lost. 

Iron and Oxidative Stress
Because of the recommendation from the lab where we get Tommy's vitamin, and after talking to his nutritionist, we tested Tommy for iron levels. The results came back showing "borderline iron levels", which means, he is just a little bit underneath the normal level. Therefore, it has been recommended iron supplementation by our local Down Syndrome Clinic and Tommy's nutritionist.

Normal levels of iron are necessary for the body to get adequate level of micronutrients, but its accumulation lead to toxic levels that generates oxidative stress. So iron supplementation should be regulated to avoid high levels of iron. Oxidative stress develops at a faster speed in our kids with Trisomy 21 than in the typical population. Therefore, monitoring our son's iron levels has become part of our wellness plan to keep him healthy.

What is Oxidative Stress? According to Enzo Life Sciences' website "Oxidative stress is increasingly implicated as a possible underlying pathogenic mechanism in a wide range of diseases such as asthma, atherosclerosis, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, and Alzheimer’s disease. It results from an imbalance between the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the system's ability to detoxify the reactive intermediates or repair the resulting damage."

Oxidative stress under control

1. Detoxification methods to prevent iron and toxins accumulation. Quilation has been recommended by the physician is in charge of Tommy's nutrition. Currently, we are doing a detox treatment and epson salt bath. We also incorporated kefir beverage in Tommy's diet because kefir has anti-oxidative components to keep oxidative stress under control, which has been proven throughout scientific research. We are going to focused in detoxification for the following months because there is high concern about neurotransmitter levels in Tommy's test results, that show extremely high levels of toxicity, which means his body is not flushing the toxins properly. The natural process for the body to flush toxins in a person with Trisomy 21 is slower than in a typical person.
2. Monitoring Oxidative stress through blood work or urine test. Iron is not the only factor that increases oxidative stress in our kids with trisomy 21. Oxygen quality intake is also other way oxidative stress can raise in our kids. Many kids with Trisomy 21 are mouth breather and mouth breathing quickly releases huge quantities of carbon dioxide. Therefore, a way to check for oxidative stress is with a Basic Metabolic Panel (BMP). This test is a set of 8 test to check sugar (glucose) and calcium levels in the blood, as well as, the kidneys function and body electrolyte and fluid balance. So this test give a general information about how the body is performing, which also includes a test for carbon dioxide levels. If the carbon dioxide it is too high, their is a high risk for oxidative stress. We already did the test and Tommy's BMP came back normal. Right now there is not  a big concern about oxidative stress. Maybe in the future, we will do a test for oxidative stress as part of our wellness plan to keep Tommy healthy if it would be a concern.

Our Experience
As soon as, we began to supplement with iron we saw a big change on Tommy. His endurance has dramatically improved, he has became more physically active. His attention span has also improved. So supplementing with iron, it is helping his body and mind more than what I was expecting. 

We are supplementing iron through food and supplement. The iron supplement we are giving to Tommy has Vitamin C and Vitamin B12, because they are essential for iron absorption. We are also providing a balance diet to him with food rich in vitamin C and Vitamin B12, so he can get most the nutrients he needs from his food, but he is in stage he doesn't want to eat much at dinner time. So supplementation is recommended for him.

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Enzo Life Sciences is a leading manufacturer of high quality reagents, kits and products supplied to scientific researchers in academia, clinical research and drug discovery. With direct sales operations in US, Switzerland, Germany, UK, France and Benelux.

One Lovely Blog Award

Laura, from Down Syndrome - Up Up Up and Away! blog, has nominated my blog for the One Lovely Blog Award! 

 

1. Thank – my nominator and link back to the site.  Thanks again, Laura!
 2. Share  – 7 things about myself

1. I have a full time job and I am full time mom. So I am busy!
2. I came to the USA to study my Master's degree. 
3. I will have 10 years leaving in the US.
4. I am original from Panama. Hey! We are more than a Canal. We are a multicultural country with a very reach folklore, which I wish my kids could experience one day.
5. I was in Panama while the Dictator Noriega was in power and when the USA invasion to Panama. They were not good times! 
6. I am very tiny in hight and weight. I cannot donate blood because  I weight under the limit. 
7. My favorite Hispanic singers are Enrique Iglesias and Chayanne (Elmer Figueroa Arce).

3. Nominate 7 other blogs.  Not in any particular order: 

1. Down Syndrome: A Day to Day Guide
2. We Can Do All Things
3. Down Syndrome, Up Up Up and Away!
4. Baska Bear
5. Monkey Musings
6. Life With My Special Ks
7. You are what you eat

4. Inform the nominees linking back to this post so they know the rules (who, by the way, have every right in the world to decline).

Early Sensory Processing for Babies

This post is dedicated to all unborn and brand new babies, who are entering to this world with predisposition to sensory processing disorder.

One of my blogger friend is also helping her daughter with sensory processing. She posted about her daughter's therapist, who is working on publishing a book about sensory processing. This occupational therapist has the same concern that I have: Autism and sensory processing are dramatically increasing. Due to our kids with Trisomy 21 have a higher risk for Autism and sensory processing, I advise any parent out there to look into the option for Occupational Therapy with sensory processing emphasis to help your child, since they are babies, to get organized and truly reach his or her full potential. This Occupational Therapist is trying to raise awareness on how parents can start right since the beginning to avoid major sensory processing issues.

Video by advancemybaby.com

My little sunshine

I am a little late with the update of my little sunshine. He is shinning like a rock star. He turned one on July 12 and he had his birthday party on July 21. He had a good time in his first birthday party. He is in the stage of shyness, so he was a little shy in his birthday party, but he warmed up at the end. He enjoyed the cake so much! 

Enjoy the pictures of him eating his first birthday cake,

 it is the first time actually eats a piece of cake. 

We are very proud of our little man and we wish the best for him. We all enjoy being around him! Since he was about 8 month old, we could not distracted him from something he wanted, so now that he is toddler it has gotten worse. He is showing temper tantrums when he doesn't get things on his way. The fun is just staring! He has giving a whole new dynamic to our family. He is very funny and curious boy.

Francis's 11 months milestones

• Rolls a toy car a cross the room
• Does simple forms of pretend play (Takes a block a pretend is a cup and share his drink with me).
• Points to a body part (nose)
• Favorite word "No"
• Increases his vocabulary. Three new words: nose, ball and salta.
• Repeats words after us in both languages (English and Spanish). Some words are not very clear
• Shows interest on walking down the stairs.
• Follows instructions in English and Spanish

Francis's 12 months milestones

• Keeps improving to walk up and down the stairs
• Keeps improving his dancing skills, which is funnier.
• Keeps improving his climbing skills
• Likes riding toys even when they are too high for him
• Enjoys playing with balls, cars, piggy bank.
• Stacks blocks of different sizes. 
• Actively plays Peek a-booh by covering himself under a blanket or taking the blanket out to discover an object or a person
• Begins to incorporate words to his pretend play (He says hello! to answer his phone that is his hand that works as a phone in Francis' world)
• He can place smalls rings in a thin pole
• Point at pictures on books or objects when named 
• Helps to put a few toys away
• Increases his vocabulary (Uses often the words: bye, agua, banana, mom, mamma, bubble)
• Say the animal sound for  caw and dinosaur. He is currently working on the animal sound for sheep and horse.
• Put a hat on and take his sucks and shoes off
• Switched from the baby bottle to a straw cup
• Begins to drink with open cup, but still working on it.
• Enjoys to be around other kids. 
• Shows shyness toward strangers
• Explores unfamiliar environment

Word Count at the end of his 12 months

There are two reasons I am keeping a word count of words Francis has said since he was 8 months, when he began to say mama and dada. The first reason is that Bilingualism can cause language delay. And the second one is that I had a concern when Francis was born, I noticed he could have Ankyloglossia or a heart shape tongue. His pediatrician checked him and his tongue passed his lips, so it is very mild that it won't cause issues in his speech. So far, speech is one of Francis's strength in communication skills. Here is the list of 24 words Francis has said so far: go, bebé, hi, hello, ball, daddy, bye, agua, banana, mom, mamá, mammy, bubble, nose, salta, booh for pick-a-booh, tah for clap, book, voy, no, papá, qué, bear, hola

Video of Francis's First Words at his 8 months

Video was taken on March 20th, 2012

In this video Francis was calling me "mom." 

My little man ready to go to church

 Francis doesn't like to pose for the camera,
 but I could capture a good picture of him, well a little messy.

Our supper baby is modeling an outfit sponsored by Aunt Melissa 

and the shoes were sponsored by Aunt Ibeth

This is one of Francis' favorite toys. 

Going up holding the rail to get Daddy

Video of Francis going up and down the stairs

Our expert climber gets up on the slide.

He is still working on sliding down by himself

At the moment, Francis is not having language delay due to bilingualism.
His speech and language development are right on track and maybe ahead; He is perfectly dominating both languages. I am persuading myself to not feel a guilt for not stimulating him as much as we would like to. It seems he knows it all. When I think I am teaching something to him,  he already knows it. He is very observant, which is an important skills for quick learning. He was 2 months ahead of kids of his age when he was two months old, and now
he had accomplished milestones 6 months ahead of his age. Having an older brothers helps for his stimulation, but it is not enough to jump developmental stages 6 months ahead. 
I don't know what God has planned for my little sunshine, but I am ready for it!

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Ankyloglossia is very common, but many parents don't realize about this until it is an issue with speech. Ankyloglossia runs in families, but I haven't find a connection in our families, yet. The website www.tonguetie.net has great information about it.