Ipad

A couple of weeks ago we got an ipad for Victoria. This was after a friend had showed us his - I could see that it would meet all I was looking for in a small lap-top for Victoria (except CD drive...). For those of you who have children with D.S. for whom you'd like to get the most useful apps, here's a list of the ones which Victoria likes best (though the first one is now 'hidden' because V. would spend all her time on it otherwise....):

Ansels Africa - two aliens (would you believe it!!) are touring africa, 'photos' can be taken and a sort of scrap-book is formed. Information about the various animals (which I think is passing her by altogether) is printed and read. Jolly music (which hasn't been so awful I feel compelled to switch it off!) happens. One of the things I've seen her do is move 'blank' animals under a machine which drops spheres of various skin-patterns - if you get them the matched up you're commended for dressing them appropriately! Well, she enjoys it......

Special Words (this has the words which Victoria has been learning - obviously developed in cohoots with the Down Syndrome Education Trust - with the option to change the word and record the sound yourself - as well as adding more words / pictures / audio files) Essentially it is a matching game - words to pictures, pictures to pictures (turning the sound off with words to words gives the highest level of challenge!) with 4 'cards' per 'page'. This cost £10 and is well worth it.

Injini childhood development package. This is brilliant. I can't praise it highly enough. The free trial version was so good that I took the plunge and paid the £35 (ish) for the full version. This is a collection of 9 (so far - though they say more will be added) games including matching, puzzle, farm (where you can 'make' the sunflowers grow, shear the sheep, wash the pigs, feed the chicks, hatch the eggs, feed the cats and toss carrots to the rabbits). Frog gives the child practice in tracking and drawing a line from the reptiles mouth to an insect - whereupon he sticks out his tongue and eats it. One of her favourites is 'find it' - a polite little angelic-type being stands patiently to the left of a drawer which opens to reveal various objects - a request is made to 'find' an object and pass it to the duly thankful angel. Another favourite and helpful game involves tracing a line - various directions and angles as well as curves - whcih then morph into aspects of jolly pictures - then the word describing the main object appears - along with a voice saying it. I'm aware we've only had it two weeks - if it's still this popular in three months (and has had a positive influence on her development) it will be super-brilliant.

Sound Touch Here's a game with lots of categories - each has illustrations which, when touched, take you to a photo with sound. The muscial instruments have been of particular interest to Victoria sending her off round the house to get her ukelele or recorder to join in with the sounds and images.

Drawing Pad - the stickers - which one can make bigger or smaller - have been more fun than the drawing . Once Victoria got over her astonishment that scribbling a purple line on a screen hadn't made the end of her finger purple (though she scrutinised it very carefully!!) she's not been tempted back.

Bobble writer - Slightly aggravating when you don't get it EXACTLY right - but the demo is good and you can see where you went wrong because the line goes from black to red.

Pairs deluxe - This pairs game gives you the option of using only a few cards - in which case, the rapturous applause offered when you've finished is more frequent (guess who figured that one out!!)

Memory Fun - all the memory opportunities of 'pairs' without the possibility of losing the cards!!

Silverline Arts Zoo and Farm - This looks interesting to me - though V stays on it for less than 5 minutes!

Tab Tales' Animal Zoo Each drawing of an animal has the name at the top - when you press it it is read, the animals do funny things (tip, move around etc) as well as making a noise (sometimes purely fictitious).

Bob Books She's spent quite a bit of time spelling three-letter words - you can set it so it only accepts the letters in the correct order (as I have!) - or not.

Interactive Alphabet (Piikea) Raw fun - but I have to get her on to it - she'd not go looking for it.

Dexteria A couple of times it has closed down on us but it gives the child a chance to put their hand on the screen and then, after calibration to fit her hand, offers 'buttons' for you to press with each of your fingers. V's not good at it - but I can see it's something she OUGHT to practice! Pinching the crabs is another aspect of this program which is very good - though I detect that with the screensaver and a few days of grotty fingers on the screen increases the reluctance of the crabs to be sent packing....

Splingo (following instructions - flexible regarding number of words and what type of words are used in the instructions given by a child with a good 'northern' accent!!)

Intro to Maths and Intro to Letters - Montessori Good solid education!

Bubbles slide your fingers over the screen to make pretty blue bubbles - then pop them with your finger.

Draw Stars take a picture of mummy and smother it in stars - or wipe them all away

Clean up taxonomy for preschoolers

We have other things which are less useful - but I could keep this blog updated with what is. From what I can see, there are THOUSANDS of apps available. Some we downloaded were useless, so have gone already.

annual cardiology appointment update

The word for the week is 'perhaps' - though it's pronounced 'prehaps' - I love the way Victoria discovers and practices new words!

This morning we saw the cardiologist. This was after an ECG which (although Victoria was decidedly anxious) went very well. Victoria laid down on the bed and said 'I love it, don't I?'!!!!! That information and (wonder of wonders!) a successful pair of blood pressure readings (higher than they ought to be) confirmed what could be seen on the echo - that the kink is causing increasing problems. The cardiologist confirmed that it is the same problem as was revealed by the catheterisation back when she was two. 'Something will have to be done' about it - but not sure when. Just as they said when she was 2, the choices are a) a stent or b) surgery. We're going to have 24-hour blood-pressure monitoring at home - the machine will be sent out by post to us.

I'm praising the Lord that Victoria doesn't find the whole hospital appointments experience cause for massive trauma. She even 'enjoyed' a visit to the dentist last week and asked to go again the next day!!

overdue update

I only just realised that it is SUCH a long time since I posted. It was remiss of me not to add pictures of Victoria at the wedding even. so here are some.....

funny girl

here's a picture of Victoria who decided that she was going to be 'sick' - she equipped herself with a bowl and then decided that since she was using it, the dolly needed to also....

where she's up to with talking is discovery of the present tense of the verb 'to be' - getting her to put 'is' in the right place has been amusing and constructive. Today she began to explore the plural - I guess she must think it all very odd, but she bears with us. A lesson on 'where are the biscuits' ended up with the conversation being moved, by her, towards actually getting her teeth into some! She's endlessly amusing, caring, interested in people, and developing nicely. She's often longing for a cuddle with David who's often not here but she makes do with anyone else who is nearby at the time.

When trying on her wedding dress she was heartbroken at having to take it off again. I have a sneaky feeling she's going to enjoy Saturday immensely and that there will be a very real danger of her stealing the show if Lucy's not careful!

cute picture

This afternoon we went shopping. Watching the boys try on their suits got Victoria in dressing-up mode so while they were trying them on, complete with shoes, once home, Victoria slipped into my boots and looked cute. Her speech is coming along nicely - she says 'after' (instead of affer) and bessus instead of fessus (this is the evolution of the word breakfast!). She expressed disappointment this morning when she asked was it Sunday and I told her it wasn't. She's very good at following what is going on. She says 'elephant' very nicely since having watched an ancient national geographic film a couple of days ago. She's just asking Shoanna (Joanna) to do the 'abbit' on the 'lap top' - that's reader-rabbit of course.

It might be that the next pictures you will see of Victoria will be her in her bridesmaid dress (which i have still to sew up - but at least it is cut out!).

various photos

This is one of everyone who was home this morning - we had David for the weekend.
this was what Victoria looked like last Sunday evening - after her first ever Cadbury's cream egg! Samuel fed it to her and didn't do too bad a job, considering. We were all thankful that I carry babywipes in the van still, however!
This is dear Julie Barker, without whose help at the start of Victoria's life (she secured, delivered and hired for us a super-dooper breast pump) we wouldn't have such a healthy daughter now.

eyes

Writing the title for this just reminds me that I was looking at James' schoolwork file - on one of his maps he had correctly identified the location of Orkney - and wrote the second part of the name 'eyls' !!!

I digress...

Yesterday we had a visit from our dear visual impairment lady. She did a test to show at what point in her peripheral vision she picked up on a tennis ball on a stick being introduced from one side or the other. Her right eye - which is officially the 'stronger eye' was actually not so good in this case - at one point (I was sitting opposite her and could see what was going on with her eyes) - her left eye had wandered in towards her nose and picked up the object approaching from the right side of her face!! Meanwhile she had me (or whatever I was holding) so firmly fixed with her right eye that it wasn't easily distracted. Another thing which became aparent is that whatever the 'refractive error' discoveries are made by the one looking in to the back of her eye, she is functionally short sighted. Last week one particular boy came into the room and she mis-identified him. this is not because, like me, she can't find the right name quickly enough - she ALWAYS gets them right when she looks at the pictures or sees them close enough - but at about 12ft distance she is losing some clarity of vision. All v. interesting stuff!!

I think I understand now that although the experts identify a 'perfect' eye from the outside, there is something of a discrepancy between that and what Victoria does with the information her eyeballs light on.

patching continues, and bi-focals continue because it seems to help make her left eye stronger and less inclined to wander.

so thankful for experts who listen and offer sensible advice. Seems V's functional eyesight will prevent her from driving a car (phew, one less thing to have to worry about!!).

She, of course, is very happy with how things are nontheless.