Standing up

God knows everything! He knows how guilty I feel for not dedicating all the time I would like to Francis. A proof of God knows everything is that Francis began to stand this morning and we are not stimulating him as much as we would like because we are busy with work, Tommy's therapies, house, etc. And then, he meets another milestone without our help. He has been practicing his new skill with daddy since he got up. It is scary having an advanced child because his mind and body are going extremely fast. God is giving the change to focus on Tommy, while he is blessing Francis to go ahead of the game.

An screening was done to Francis and the screening shows that Francis's development is above average. He scored in Gross Motor, Fine Motor, and Problem solving with the maximum scores, follow by Communication and Social Skills with a lower score, but in the highest scores, too. According to the lady who did the screening, this is not typical. Kids usually focused in one developmental area at a time. But Francis is focusing in his overall development at the same time, which indicates his is a smart baby. I have a 6 months old baby that definitely thinks and acts like an older baby. I may look for advise how to stimulate him because Francis needs to be challenged, we want to nurture him, but I think it will be in a different way that we have done it with Tommy. Meanwhile, I will keep enjoying all his millstones. Enjoy the photos!

Teaching to read

Wow! Teaching to read! I honestly think that teaching to read any child is a challenge. I have taken the challenge to teach Tommy to read. So I am using mixed resources to teach Tommy to read because these teaching methods are easy, don't required much time and are fun. Because it is proven kids with Trisomy 21 learn to read and then they learn to speak, I have my hands on to help to Tommy to speak. The teaching methods I am using are:

• Technology. We have to admit technology makes our lives easier, so I have to take advantage of that to keep helping Tommy and keep working full time. I am using different sight reading apps. So Tommy and I can practice our sight works everywhere we go. There are special characteristics I look in the sight reading/flash-card apps, those are: an option to shuffle the cards, an option to present the flash-cards very quick, different presentations for the same work, incorporated sounds and an extensive variety of categories. Soon, Tommy will get his iPad, so it will take our teaching method to the next level. I am using BillKids app as our favorite app. 
• Improving Auditory processing with Phonic Awareness. Tommy's former Speech Therapist introduced the ZooPhonics to us for helping Tommy with his speech development and it has been working really good for him. It is proven that good speech is linked to good spelling. I am not into teaching Tommy phonics, but I am into train his auditory processing to distinguish sounds and Zoophonics is just perfect for it. The best his auditory processing is, the better he will pronounce speech sounds.

Other reason, I feel confident to teach Tommy to read is that he enjoys books since he was a newborn. His motivator when he was learning to sit it was "Books" instead toys. I have heard many comments from therapists, teachers and relatives how much Tommy loves books and how much he enjoys to be read. Lately, he has been interested in reading Spanish books. He picks the books from his book basket and hand them to me to read before bed time. So teaching him to read is the right thing to do for him. I am anxious to see how many words he will read in the coming months. I know Tommy recognizes some printed words and I am almost sure he can sight read some words he has picked up from reading, flash-cards, educational videos and school; but, I will be sure when the times comes. Meanwhile, I am just teaching and not testing.

If Tommy wouldn't have a genetic disorder, I will wait until the average age where kids learn to read. But I have done my search and I know learning to read is beneficial for him. Would I teach Francis to read at an early age? I don't think so, but it will happen because he is always around when I am doing play therapy with Tommy, so he will pick it by just being around.

Tommy showed earlier interest in books than Francis.

Francis is just starting to get interested in books.

I like the idea my kids like books because

books are the door for knowledge.

A milestone day!

Today was a milestone day for Francis because, beside crawling, he also sat up from a lay down position early this morning. We have seen him trying to sit up on his own since the middle of December and he finally did it today. So we are getting excited for what it is coming. Hopefully, I will be able to post a photos and videos soon.

Big Milestone!

I am so excited my husband just called me to tell that Francis is crawling forward. He has been crawling backwards. He has been very focused in improving his crawling skills and he did a few steps forward this morning. I am very excited for him getting mobile (I know it will harder on us), but it is great for his development and Tommy's development, too. It has recommended that Tommy should continue crawling because it helps him in so many ways to overcome his sensory issues.

Francis keeps going a head of the milestone charts for kids of his age. He began to creep today at his 5 months and 3 weeks.

Unfortunately, I don't have time to post very often. But I will post as soon as I have the time about what I am doing to resque Tommy from his sensory issues and his autistic-like label. It is a lot valuable information for parents with a child with developmental challenges and a child with a typical development because  the generation of my sons are at a great risk of autism and sensory processing disorder. A recently research shows that 1 of 6 kids are suffering from sensory issues and many of them are not diagnosed affecting their performance at school. So I feel I should spread the word and talk about it. Meanwhile, I will enjoy Francis crawling and encouraging Tommy to crawl with him. So wait for pictures.