What to Write

On the first of October, I recommitted to being more diligent about updating this blog. Ideally, because October is Down syndrome awareness month, I would love to blog every day regarding something important pertaining to Ds. But the truth of the matter is that in our lives, Ds just isn't as big a factor as I thought it was going to be.

Right now, Levi is 27 months old and in many ways, behaves just like a 2-year-old. He formulates a plan about what he wants to do and then sets out to do it. If he gets interrupted or told "no", he gets mad and will seek to find a way to do what he wants anyway! He is curious and destructive and adventurous and full of laughter... (and naughtiness)

His current favorite naughty activity is stockpiling goodies behind the couch. Everything back there has been lovingly dropped from about 3 inches above the back of the couch - placed with intense care, like with a game of couch-Plinko.

The downside to Ds is that in some ways, Levi is much younger than 2. His ability to pay attention during certain learning activities is limited and his comprehension of following directions is less than many other children of his chronological age. There are also delays in fine motor and gross motor skills. This can be particularly challenging when trying to assist Levi in becoming more independent in activities of daily living. For example, he understands that shoes go on his feet - but he doesn't understand how to actually get it on his foot and even with a simple slip-on shoe, it can be challenging to him to get everything lined up just right so that he can get his foot aligned and into the shoe. The biggest hurdle is his lack of language. He seems to understand at least half of what we say to him when we talk about "regular" things in our day. But aside from the 10-or-so "functional" signs that he has and uses appropriately, he's not able to express his thoughts and feelings in a useful way.

So essentially, his babyhood has been extended in some ways and at the same time, toddlerhood is already in place. This does make for some challenging days. But luckily, Levi is adorable and sweet and affectionate and lovely enough that most of the time, no one minds the extra effort needed to help him through those challenges.