It would appear with recent events that the world is about to get a whole lot more divided and segregated and that for the leader of the free world, hate really does trump love (pun entirely intended). The wall is going up, the borders are shutting down. Globally it's been a pretty thoroughly depressing January and I have no idea where it will end. Ignorance coupled with arrogance is such a deadly combination. But I won't start- I know nobody comes to this blog for political opinion! Luckily I experienced a little rainbow on another grisly day (both weather and news-wise) when I visited Elin's school today. You see even Elin knows the best thing about barriers is when they come down :-) :-) If you'll pardon the extended metaphor, Elin has been knocking down a little wall lately and by doing so casually smashing her school targets -not to mention our expectations-yet again.
This video is so amazing I had to share it immediately. The game she is playing with her support worker is knocking down a tower of brightly coloured bricks (which have bells inside so she can also hear them) I know it might not seem like a lot. But it is pretty huge. The concentration Elin displays, along with the listening and looking skills are so clever! Then there is the fact that she is able to tie this all together and use her motor control skills to achieve her goal. She doesn't even stop there, she perseveres until she has demolished the very last brick and her expression clearly betrays her joy and that she is completely aware of her achievement. How I wish I could show video's like this to the Neurologist who told us when she was four months old that she'd 'never be a thinking person'.
I challenge you to watch this without smiling... :-)
Pretty good, no? Credit to her awesome Teachers and her Support Worker for their excellent planning, patience and tireless encouragement in extending Elin's abilities each and every day, which allow her to achieve in this way. As if that wasn't enough, after all that hard work today Elin continued to work on her targets by 'showing an interest in her own reflection'. Her focus is stimulated in the wonderful dark-room resource they have at her school, by using UV lights, brightly coloured wigs for her and in this case, flashing bunny ears. All of which make it easier for her to find her own reflection, which she clearly does on more than one occasion. No video this time but some pretty gorgeous photographs..
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