Reagan got into UVA! Go hoos!

It is my dream that one day Reagan will be blessed to go to a college as prestigious as UVA!  Until then, she will start understanding the importance of studying hard by attending the Constraint Induced Therapy Program at UVA in Charlottesville, VA.  The Kluge Children's Rehabilitation Center (KCRC) in the UVA Children's Hospital is very well known for its research and treatment for children with cerebral palsy.  We are nervous about the logistics and the emotional roller coaster but know that we are giving Reagan an amazing opportunity.  Reagan and I will travel to Charlottesville Tuesday mornings starting March 5th and have therapy that afternoon.  We will have therapy Wednesday and again Thursday morning and then drive back home.  We will make this trip each week for the month of March (four weeks).  She will be fitted for her right hand cast (dominant arm) on the first day and then wear it 24/7 unless she is bathing or sleeping.  This will encourage her to realize she can use her left hand for hard tasks like eating, playing, getting dressed or going to the bathroom.  Research shows that the brain actually starts learning to ignore the dominant hand thus making it more natural to use the less dominant hand.  Our hope is that her brain will remap or build new synapses to increase the use and strength of her left hand.  Please pray for all of us as we embark on this challenging journey!

We also had a busy week with a home visit from Reagan's teacher and therapy for Cole with Early Intervention.  Reagan's teacher said Reagan is doing very well socially and cognitively...so well that she doesn't think her current classroom will be a good fit for her next year.  This is excellent news.  She does think Reagan needs to continue receiving occupational therapy, however.  We have two choices that we are currently investigating.  First, we could put her in the Reverse Inclusion class at her elementary school.  This would allow her to remain with a few of her peers and half her class would be "normally developing" children who may also be in her classroom for kindergarten.  Unfortunately given she needs to keep her Individual Education Plan (IEP) she does not qualify for the "normally developing" registration.  But because she is so high functioning, they can't justify including her as a special needs child in the same room.  We are trying to determine what options are available.  The second choice is to have her go to a private preschool.  More on this over the coming months....

Cole had an excellent session with Heather from Early Intervention.  She is very happy with his progress and very happy to see that he is counting to 15 and singing his alphabet.  She does agree with my concerns about his challenges identifying colors and animals.  We're both hopeful that this challenge is something he'll work through over time.  If not, its possible it is because of his vision issues.  We also discussed setting up the initial meeting with the Loudoun County to start his transition from Early Intervention to Child Find (Loudoun County Public Schools Early Childhood Special Education).  I'm hoping we'll setup the initial evaluation before we head to Charlottesville, but Cole will not start school until the regular school session in September.

We're looking forward to the excitement of 2013 and more updates over the next month as we meet with both neurologists and neurosurgeons.