Just Follow the Yellow Brick Road.

I have been writing a lot recently about Claire's communication.   It has really taken off, and we are thrilled! But, I would be remiss if I didn't report some of the challenges we continue to face in developing Claire's communication. 

I really wish our communication journey were a linear path--Point A to Point B, a straight shot with no bumps along the way.  It's not.  Building communication takes time, effort, and a lot of trial and error.

In that way, it's probably more like the Yellow Brick Road--full of twists and turns, with a fork or two, several obstacles and a few friends along the way.  It certainly makes the journey more interesting, and at times, enjoyable.

You see, Claire has great days and not-so-great days on her communication journey.  There are times when it is clear she "gets" what we are trying to accomplish and is willing to work hard to help achieve it.  Unfortunately, there are also times when she seems to take a step backwards.  The latter can be frustrating, that's for sure, but they also make the former that much sweeter. 

Just the other day, for example, Claire and I were using her head switch to play an educational computer game.  The object of the game--called "Mystery  Egg" (which can be found here)--was for her to hit her switch each time an egg appeared on the screen in order to "hatch" the egg and discover what was inside.  The game is designed to teach timing--players must wait for the egg to appear on the screen before hitting the switch.  If they don't, they hear an unpleasant beep, along with the message "incorrect switch hit," and they have to wait that much longer for a new egg to appear. 

The thought is that if  Claire understands "timing' and learns how to control her switch hits, she can later use her switch to select items from a list.  (For example, Claire, hit your switch to tell me which of the following you want to do:  Read a story, play outside, or sing a song.)

Claire seemed to pick up the game right away.  She would wait, then hit the switch as soon as the egg popped up.

After 10 minutes of play, however, she seemed to be getting bored, so I decided she might enjoy a "new" game to hold her interest.

As soon as I navigated away from the site, she started to fuss and cry--apparently, she "got" that she was no longer playing the game and still wanted to do so.  As much as it pained me to see her fuss, inside, I was thrilled that she was showing such awareness and cognition.  Not only had she understood the game, she demonstrated frustration that she was no longer playing it!!   Amazing! 

Unfortunately, not all days are like that.  

In the days since then, when we play the exact same game, she just keeps hitting the switch.  Forget about the "incorrect switch hit" message--she just keeps going no matter how many times it pops up.  It is so discouraging--especially on the heels of what seemed to be a gain. 

But, such is our journey.  

And we will get to the Emerald City eventually . . . we just need to take it one step at a time.