Clap Happy

Once Clare started clapping, she can't stop! It is so cute! She claps all the time now. She loves doing it. Maybe she likes the feeling of bringing her hands together. Maybe she likes the slapping noise. Maybe she likes the big grins and cheers she gets every time she does it. I can't describe the feeling of watching your child do something so simple, yet so incredible. And it's just clapping! I can't imagine how I'll feel when Clare starts walking or talking.

As Clare gets older, we notice more and more that she is "special." It's so hard to say that word sometimes. When she was a newborn, she did normal newborn stuff. But now that she's approaching her first birthday, it's obvious that she is different. Clare doesn't laugh, she doesn't crawl, she doesn't pull up, she doesn't really eat solids, she doesn't babble. The list goes on and on. And she's started to do some "special" things. Like rocking and head bobbing. Her therapist explained it's a way for Clare to organize her brain and figure out where she is in space (plus she probably likes the sensation) - two things that can be tough for kids with sensory issues and low muscle tone. And it provides stimulation for her. When Clare started doing it, I kind of freaked out because to me it seemed like it was a (and I am going to use the dreaded word) "retarded" thing to do. After discussing it with her therapist, I have since calmed down about my freaking out over it. Because Clare may be mentally retarded. Most children with WS are to some degree in the technical, scientific, medical definition of "mental retardation." It is so hard for me to admit that, but there's the stark truth. And, if she is, and needs to do stuff like that, we need to be there to help her. So the therapist showed us how to give Clare some deep pressure input. We can do this at times throughout the day to give her that physical stimulation she needs and do it especially when she starts rocking or bobbing. And it's okay that Clare does that. She is going to have to learn as well how to function in this big bad scary world.

I listed what Clare can't do. However, the list of what she can do is so long, I couldn't name them all. She lights up a room with her smile. She makes everyone she meets fall in love with her. She inspires so many with her story. She brings joy to us each and every day.