Wow. What a difference a two weeks makes!

Milla has settled into her new program fantastically. She’s thriving on the stimulation, enjoying the challenges and bonding with most of her therapists. She’s understanding the concepts being taught and showing improvements in each session.

Naturally there are therapists she’s responded to better than others – this is human nature but even more so with children. Milla is so clever – she is able to suss out a therapist in the first 30 seconds and know how far she can push them or if she will actually need to behave! The best therapists for Milla are firm but fair – they will play with her, giving her space to explore and learn but will reinforce their role as the authoritative figure when needed. There’s a clear correlation between those therapists that Milla has bonded with naturally and her progress in these sessions. And the corollary is that the lessons run by those therapists that she hasn’t bonded with are strained and full of tension.

Week one was a blur. New faces, new techniques, new building and even a new coffee shop. But as we have become more familiar we are becoming more at ease and comfortable in our new program.
The program consists of speech therapy, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, cognitive therapy and psychology. But all of the therapists use the same methodology and underlying principles and many of the sessions are similar to each other, which is great for reinforcing the principles. If only I was as consistent at home!!!

Over the last few days we have tweaked some of our therapists which has been even better for Milla. We’ve reduced the arguments inside sessions and instead focused on getting results through positive experiences. It appears to be working – each session Milla extends herself beyond what she’d done the session before. It wonderful to see the progress and Milla is enjoying the challenges and celebrating her successes. I truly hope that Milla’s progress continues in an exponential fashion and that she propels herself further to achieve what we could only dream.

It’s interesting – I obviously know Milla better than anyone and push her harder than anyone else. I could see subtle changes from day 2, however I have been unable to articulate them. She’s more receptive, more independent, more structured and overall more vibrant. This is hard to see over a 2 minute FaceTime call with Mr V., however I see it in every interaction I have with her. One example is her drawing. In the past it has been scribbles with no or limited shape/form. However, yesterday she drew distinct circles! What makes me even more excited is that my aunt can see these changes too – I’m not just another crazy and delusional mother (OK and if I am not about Milla’s progress!).

On a more personal level, this week I have found being away from home really hard. A good friend’s son’s bar mitzvah this weekend (sending you so much love – I’m proud of you!!), my friends going out to a concert and having a spare ticket for me… if only I could go home for 12 hours and then come back! Communication is really tough with home – the 9 hour time delay means that I either speak to people at 6-8am my time or try to catch them for 3 minutes during a therapy break and hope that Milla will still manage to get to the toilet or have something to eat. I am feeling quite isolated… even though I am trying to stay across everything that’s happening at home I feel like it doesn’t involve me. Mr V. and I often argue because we are tired, in different timezones, and basically living different lives with different children, each thinking that we have it tougher than each other (for the record, I am never more than 3m from Milla and she is hardly sleeping!! I am exhausted!!!). My focus for the coming week is to take a bit of time out for self-care – I want to go to the movies alone!

Have a great week! Wishing Milla luck for the week ahead and me luck for my dream of a movie alone!

J x