Final Installment on Rosalie's story.... I think!

The kids don't have school today. It's nice to relax a little. Usually that would mean no time for blogging, but I find myself alone-ish. :) Katie has friends over, Natalie is at a friend's house, Rosalie is at a friend's house, and Cameron is sleepily reading the afternoon away after spending the night at a friend's house last night. So we'll see how this goes. :)

So there I was with Dr. Andy, watching his excitement as he explained that there was a family with a son who reminded him a bit of Rosalie. They had found this organization called REACH Family Institute (http://reachinstitute.org/) and taken their son to see them. They had been to see Dr. Andy just the week before (remember the timing of my appointment?) and Dr. Andy had seen huge improvement in this boy, as had the family. So much so that they left the information about REACH with Dr. Andy and told him to share it with others and even call them for more information. I walked out of his office with hope and a lighter step.

I called the mom of Dr. Andy's patient, and she was very informative and helpful. I called REACH. As I spoke with Charlie, I wondered if it would be any different. I wondered if he, too, would brush us off as if Rosalie would make it OK in life and not to worry too much. I asked him at one point if her behavior or the things I saw in her sounded like something to be concerned about and guess what? He got it! He got Rosalie. He got what we had been through to try to find help for her. He got my feelings of helplessness!! He just plain got it! I was overjoyed and relieved and blessed. We made an appointment for Rosalie. Little did I know that we were about to embark on a life changing journey. A challenging, but oh so rewarding journey!

We went to the REACH headquarters in Medford in August of 2008, right before school started. The first day of the evaluation we gave Rosalie's history. They asked all kinds of questions about my pregnancy, the birth, Rosalie's first years and all that we had done with her. It was fun, and taxing as well. The second day was an all day lecture for just Reid and I. (With the other couple who were there with their sweet daughter born with Hydra encephaly, a condition in which part of the brain is actually missing.) We learned incredible things about brain development, how the brain works, REACH's research and history, and their method of addressing brain injured children's difficulties. I love that they see the potential in every child, that they begin by working with what your child CAN do and build on it, not with a list of the obvious things your child cannot do. They love children, love your family, love your child and are wonderful people just to be with. Their names are Charlie and Conceicao Solis, a husband and wife team. They believe that parents are a child's best teachers, and that the family is the best place for a child with developmental or special needs to grow and learn. (I could go on and on, but will stop here and try to finish my story!) The third day, Charlie and Conceicao sat down with us and gave us a program uniquely designed to address Rosalie's needs that included work with speech, occupational therapy type activities, and much more. Activities that would go back and retrain Rosalie's brain where she had missed crucial development somehow. Once the basics were retrained, we could build from there and work on higher and higher brain level learning. There is so much more here, but 1. I don't feel qualified to speak for the Solis's beyond my own experience, and 2. It would fry my brain to try and explain it all, and then I would find myself in need of the program! :)

Over the last year and a half, Rosalie has made huge leaps and bounds of growth! She is less shy, is more confident and happy, able to keep up with her siblings and peers physically, interacts with other adults besides just Reid and I, looks people in the eye (even if she IS too shy to speak to them sometimes), has improved her vision, her voice is strong and sure instead of just above a whisper, she is more adventurous, is less picky with her foods, doesn't melt down anymore, has learned to read and is reading chapter books (I didn't know if she would ever be able to read!) and much much more.

We just returned from a re-evaluation and re-arrangement of Rosalie's program with REACH. We go every 4 months. Rosalie has steadily improved since day one... no plateaus, just consistent, steady growth. It is amazing and awesome, and she is an inspiration to me with all her hard work and her "can do" attitude. She's a fighter, determined in her own quiet way. I'm not even sure she realizes the magnitude of all she's accomplished in the last year and a half. But I am so proud of her.

Yep, I'm teary. I didn't think that would happen with this story, but oh well. They are tears of joy and pride in my little girl. And the rest of the family too, who have all been a big part of Rosalie's success, cheering her on when she was reluctant to continue, joining her in her hour + per day "therapy" program to make it more fun for her, encouraging her to join them in their adventures, helping her along the way, and loving her through all this.

I skipped so much of this story. I didn't mention all the work involved in helping Rosalie, or what life was like for us before we found REACH, but I would be more than happy to go into more detail with anyone who is interested. REACH helps kids who have been labeled ADD, ADHD, dyslexic, sensory integration dysfunction, aspbergers (sp?), developmentally delayed, and more severe problems like down syndrome, autistic.... the whole sha-bang. Pretty much, if your child receives any kind of therapy, or receives special help at school, REACH could help your kiddo, and change your life. They have helped families all over the world, and yet they live right here in Oregon.

If I can figure this out, I'll post a picture of Rosalie taken right at the beginning of kindergarten, a year before we found REACH, and a picture of her now. Of course there is age difference, but if you look closely, you'll see it. The transformation of a child. A beautiful child, I might add. :) Wow. Thank you Jesus. One big huge fingerprint of God on our lives.