Hi, my 7 year old daughter has a developmental delay, severe speech disorder. She is home educated.
It's probubly easier if I make a list of things Ineed to address.
- Constipation/ soiling. She can soil herself up to 6 times a day. She hates being cleaned and won't clean herself properly either. I have to shower her every time, as it's the only way of getting the poo out of her vagina (Sorry for too much info). She is on movicol but refuses to drink it.
- She doesn't drink enough. We've tried so many different drinks, but she'll just have little sips and we'll be lucky to get 2 small glasses down her a day. Her Movicol is also given in juce, so often she doesn't get nearly enough.
- Her behaviour has got very bad, particulaly in shops. She doesn't like shopping, so we only go when we really need too. She'll keep grabing things, demanding things and running off. I'm really not sure what form of discepline to use in public to be honest. At home, I'd send her for time out. She is also very bossy and demanding. She always has been on and off but it's getting much worse.
- Self help skills. I'm trying to teach her to dress herself but she has no interest. She'll just say "No, you do it!" or run away screaming with laughter if I try to catch her. On the rare occasion she does try, she gets so frustrated and starts screaming if she cant get her arm through or something.
- She is a bit overweight and eats loads. I've never heard her say "I'm full up" but she says she's hungery all the time. IT is usually healthy food, like bran flakes for breakfast, egg on toast, cheese sandwich on granary, fruit, yogart etc. Although she does like her crisps, ice cream and biscuits.
We don't have this in the house, but she eats a great deal of it at her grandmas who she sees a lot of.
- Hyperactive, not listening or paying attention. She's quite hyper most of the time, constantly chatting or singing or making up stories. She's always been very demanding of attention. She has a private swimming lesson once a week but she finds it very hard to listen to what's being said. She'll keep going under water when he's talking to her, doing something different to what he's asked. It must be so frustrating for him! She does love her lessons and really likes him too. When at home, she will pay attention for short amounts of time, if it's one to one with no other distractions at all and lots of praise!
If anyone could give me any advice as to how to deal with any of these issues or ways to organise myself better or some structures to put in place, I'd be really greatful. I must sound like a terrible mum! Perhaps I am. I just can't seem to get any of thses issues sorted.
I'd better add, these are the issues we are having problems with. There are so many wonderful things about her so please don't feel I'm putting her down. She really is a poppet and I really want to help her.