Children's Hospital, Broomfield Campus. Mia and I arrived for our weekly Occupational/Speech therapy session. Kelly and Liz came into the lobby and greeted us as usual. We walked through the hallway into the physical therapy room. "I want to try the bike again" Liz said. "Great!" I said out loud, but my head I was thinking "great" in a sarcastic way. The last time we had Mia ride a tricylce through the hallway it was pretty stressful on all of us. Not liking new things, Mia screamed the whole ride and threw herself to the ground when she was done.
We went into the closet and Liz pulled out the Buzz Lightyear ride. "First you need to put a helmet on" Liz said to Mia. Mia immediately started whining, she hates the chin strap tickling the soft skin on her neck. But to her credit she reluctantly gave in, leaving the helmet on as she pushed the bike into the hall. Liz pushed from behind as Kelly walked five paces ahead. Kelly held out a laminated paper with numbers velcro'd to it. When Mia would reach Kelly, her job was to match the numbers. I hunched over her as it helped her steer while Liz lightly pushed from behind. By the time we reached the number 3 Mia had started propelling herself under her own power. We are all thrilled and relieved that she was more receptive to the bike this time.
After we put the bike away, we went into the gym. Kelly tasked Mia with picking out her next activity on a tablet. Mia picked the slide. Going down the slide was a multi step proess. First she had to pick a puzzle piece, climb up the slide, put the piece in the puzzle and then slide down. She went through four pieces and Liz added another step. Mia now had to ride a scooter on her stomach down a ramp. Mia was cautious but took to it right away. Liz marveled at Mia's bravery and ability to focus. "She really is so smart" Liz said. "Its really unusual for kids on the spectrum to be able to transition from one activity to another." I could feel tears welling in my eyes. I am often confronted with activities Mia struggles in, and to hear that she is very smart had a profound affect on me. It gives me hope that she will be able to adapt to the world and make a life of her own.
