"Dressed" to the Nines

I've blogged before about my three goals for Claire: 

• Independence
• Quality of Life
• Self-Esteem

and the things Brad and I do to advance those goals.  Medical interventions and therapies help a lot with "independence" and "quality of life," but self-esteem is an entierly different matter.  Fashion plays a big part in my efforts to build Claire's self-esteem, which is why you will often see her in the cutest and most fashionable little dresses, always with a matching hair bow.  It's no secret that Claire has become quite the little "Dress Up Diva," as you may recall from this post.

Yesterday in vision therapy, Claire tried on a very different type of dress--the Hopsa Dress.  A Hopsa Dress is a piece of therapy equipment that holds a person upright and allows them to bear weight on their legs.  It was developed by Dr. Lilli Neilsen, the same person who developed the Little Room--one of Claire's all-time favorite things!  You can read more about the Hopsa Dress here.  

This dress, of course, has nothing to do with fashion or self-esteem and everything to do with "quality of life" and "independence."  It is a great teaching tool, and Claire's vision educator, Ms. Anne, decided to use the dress to introduce Claire to new textures and encourage her to use her feet. 

After securing Claire in the dress (which itself was quite the endeavor), Ms. Anne put Claire's feet in a basin of water, hoping to see her splash. 

Claire wasn't sure quite what to make of it! 

In fact, she yawned a few times and kept trying to go to sleep. 

So, Ms. Anne decided to get Claire's attention by encouraging her to look at one of her favorite objects--a pen light with a yellow monster on it. 

It worked! 

Pretty soon, though, Claire had decided she'd had enough of the Hopsa Dress and signaled to everyone that she was ready to get out!  After all, she didn't want to be late for Music Therapy with Ms. Jacque!