Surprising Progress.

A young and revamped cardinals team beat Skenes and Ohtani in back to back series? I’m just as surprised as you are.

That’s progress.

We’ve been experiencing some surprising wins in the Roussin family, too. Here’s your quick update on Jude.

Eye Contact
This is not something most would notice, but Jude is getting better at eye contact. She’s making eye contact more frequently. She’s holding it for longer. She looks at me more often when I’m asking a question. That’s a simple social skill that most take for granted. It’s good to see her full face when we talk to her.

Tablet
Transparently, we haven’t pushed Jude to use her AAC Device all that much (more on that next week). But this week, she did use it for something important. She didn’t communicate a demand like snack or drink. She communicated a feeling. Unprompted she navigated to the words and typed “Good Day". It made me emotional because something I hand’t fully considered is how Jude will be able to express feelings with her device. Also, it gave me pause because I’ve never really known if her day was good or bad. It’s truly expanding her world or at least what we know of it.

Toilet
Jude will be 13 in July. And she’s still in pull-ups. This week, we took a cue from her ABA therapists and put her on the toilet at home. We set a timer. We stuck to it (for one day at least). She went. I was outside, but Megan said she grinned really big after. She was proud. The goal of potty training is in sight and it will be life-changing for Jude, for us as parents, and for other caregivers. We’re all at once excited about the prospect, but nervous about the process.

God thank you for helping Jude grow. Thank you for this time when things seem to be clicking like they’ve never before. Help us do the right thing in these moments. Help us understand when to push and when to chill. Please help us set a routine that produces good outcomes for all. Amen.