Two weeks down, two to go!

On Friday Jessie completed the end of her second week of camp at the Conductive Education Center of Orlando (CECO). Some of the improvements we have seen thus far:

• Potty Training - Jessie stayed dry and clean all day Friday and most of the day Saturday! We started putting underwear under her pull-up and replacing it whenever she wets her pants. This combined with the daily routine of camp seems to be helping. At one point today, Jessie began whining and when I asked her what she wanted, she said "pee-pee"! Unfortunately, we did not make it to the potty in time but I was excited that she used her words to tell me she needed to go potty!
• Trunk Strength - Jessie is pulling herself up to sitting more in her stroller now instead of always lying back. She is getting better at sitting on the floor or on a bench for extended periods of time without falling down.
• Posture - Jessie's sits up taller and holds her shoulders back a little more instead of leaning forward. She is holding her head up more and responds nicely to verbal queues and reminders like "sit up tall" or "hold your head up".
• Standing and Walking - Using the ladder/slider, Jessie stands up a lot straighter and will hold onto the rungs without letting go.  With assistance, she can walk 10 feet or so before she starts fussing or collapsing her body. In the mobi-rover, Jessie will take a few steps independently to get to someone or something she wants.  She has done it a few times in the RMH kitchen to get to other children.
• Crawling - Using elbow splints, Jessie will maintain quadruped position longer and will allow teachers to guide her through crawling in order to get to a toy she wants. On the first day of camp she would not even hold the position without crying and fussing a lot.

Jessie still has a LONG way to go and lots more work to do, but I can definitely see that the intensity of this program is helping her. We are hoping to get a home program that we can continue when we return to Fort Mill.

Video of Jessie walking with assistance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JTq9p8tjW8 

We have been enjoying the wide variety of things to do in Orlando. Swimming at the YMCA, playing at a local park, the Orlando Science Center, Downtown Disney, Wet 'n Wild, etc... Last Friday, we went bowling with a really sweet family we met here at the Ronald McDonald house. It is starting to feel like a "home away from home" here!