She gets 2 allergy shots a week , which are helping tremendously and is
getting speech, occupational, and physical therapy. She is developmentally
delayed by about 2 years and is in kindergarten this year. She loves school
and all the kids are very patient with her and never rush her to finish
speaking. Her stuttering has improved greatly but she still gets frustrated
a lot.. you can just see her struggling to get a thought out and she loses
her patience a lot. She has also been tested for ADHD and has a mild case..
if you can call NEVER slowing down a mild case.
She started
hippo therapy
about 5 months ago and is loving it sooooooooo much i don't even think she
realizes it is therapy. The tightness in her legs has improved so much she can
run without the stiff- legged gait that so many CP kids have. It has also
improved her balance where before she could be standing and turn her head fast
and fall down. I guess we are luckier than most I have been reading about
because she has not had to have any surgeries or pumps. She is in an AFO and
has had to be casted twice due to low tone in her right leg. She is so normal
in appearance that this is also sometimes a downfall. She is just now starting
to talk in 6 - 9 word sentences and is self conscious about talking to
strangers sometimes.. we were out shopping one afternoon and one of the sales
ladies was asking her what her name was and how old she was , where she went
to school .. ... all the typical questions and Katherine would not answer
her.. she just couldn't get it out and the lady turned to me and asked" does
she talk or what???" in a rather harsh tone. Sometimes it is hard for me to
find any sort of compassion for these people and I told her that yes she talks
to people she likes and knows. This may have been out of line but as most of
you know people will ask questions but it is just the way they put it
sometimes.
Katherine loves
animals and to play outside. She likes to fish,
camp out, and ride go carts at Putt-Putt. Her favorite color is pink and her
favorite foods are turnip and collard greens (rather strange for a kid), bacon,
anything with cream cheese on it and ice cream. She is a giant fan of
Rugrats and Blues Clues. I have very little family left ; my mother (gam-ma)
and my brother (who she thinks hung the moon) and they have been so supportive
and love Katherine very much. Katherine has touched many people in many ways
and everyone who has met her has fallen in love with her. She is a very
loving, caring, and sensitive little girl that always has a smile on her face,
and she has also taught me a lot about life!!