Playlab mid-year report, CLP Clinic

Here are some things that Howdy, her teacher, said about Dalia in her mid-year review:

She is delightful, an extrovert, she introduces herself to people.

Her "dramatic play", and the degree to which she stays in character is very advanced, very unusual. If she is Lightning McQueen (from Cars), and she is thirsty, she asks to drink "oil." If she is Painted Dream (a horse), she asks for "hay." If she is Perdita (from 101 Dalmatians), she wants puppy food. She has costumes, without wearing anything, and uses her imagination for props.

She is flexible, has healthy attachments, plays games, is a ringleader with her peers in a good way. She is clearly her own person, who she is as an individual is clear, and this is a strength.

She does have some boundary issues with body language and a bit of teasing, but it is age appropropriate.

She is always busy, can make anything challenging for herself.

She is recognizing letters and associating them with her classmates names -- all on her own. She says "that's a B, like Bella; or A like Armando, C for Charles."

From her report: "Dalia is a delightful child. She is outgoing, popular with peers and adults, and very engaged in everything that is happening around her. She is curious about everything and has a great sense of humor. She is very clearn in communicating what she wants and what she does not want." [Indeed!]

Dentist visit to Dr. Shon, her dentist. Her teeth are healthy and clean. Yea! What a relief. She is missing two of her teeth. An upper molar is coming in...

We also went to the Craniofacial (Cleft Lip/Palate) Clinic in Burlington. Dr. Laub (surgeon), Marinell (social worker), Liz (Laub's nurse), Gayle Belin - speech and Language pathologist (SLP) were there. Deb Tetrault, her SLP from Middlebury drove up for the appointment to learn more about what she could be doing with Dalia and the 2 other CLP kids she works with.

Within a few minutes, Dalia was sitting on the dentist's chair in the middle of the room. Gayle brought toys over, and she and Gayle were having detailed conversations about all of the characters, from Toy Story. Dalia was asking lots of questions, saying funny things, and making wise observations. The rest of the room was caught between laughter, amusement and amazement. Dr. Laub brought the chair up, leaned it back and Dalia opened her mouth wide so he could have a look.

Here's where we're at: Though her vocabulary is off the charts, and her pronunciation is much better, there are still some questions about whether her palate is able to close off and move as it should to allow her to make certain sounds without air coming out of her nose. We don't know whether this issue is habit or anatomical.

So - next step, in addition to increased speech and language therapy, i.e. possibly visiting Gayle in Burlington once a week in addition to the hour/week that Deb spends, Dalia is going to have a nasopharyngoscopy Jan 20 with Dr. Hubbell. It is outpatient, at his office. A scope will go into her nose and past her palate... it will be filmed and sent to Dr. Laub. From this we will know whether she needs to have another palate surgery, and when.

Brave girl!

Here is a photo of her with some of the CLP team from that day.