Self Portraits x 26

Maggie is really using her new IPAD. We've been doing it together up until now. I had to keep one hand on the IPAD at all times to keep Maggie from flinging it across the room.  We were waiting for the mount to arrive so that we could secure it to the pole that holds her talker. It arrived yesterday and the thing is SLICK!

We are still waiting for the switch interface to arrive. This will allow Maggie to use her switches (buttons) that she uses to operate the dynavox. The switches she has now will plug into the interface which then connects wirelessly with the IPAD. There will be no stopping her then.

Of course there have to be apps that work with the switches and I have downloaded several, but we will see how much Maggie actually utilizes them.
Even without the switch access, she is already using one of the new apps like crazy. I have to thank Diane Tom, an OT at CCS for this one. It's called "Big Button" and it allows her to use the camera function of the IPAD by pressing anywhere on the screen. That was the best $2 I've spent in a while.

Maggie was having a ton of fun with that today at Girls Rock! Camp. If you put the IPAD so the camera points at the user, Maggie can take pictures of herself. And that's just what the world needs, more pictures of Maggie.

Maggie took 31 pictures at camp today. 26 of them were self portraits. Flipping through the IPAD pics is a riot.  She looks concerned, worried, happy, irritated. confused, delighted and more. She is many things, but Camera Shy is not one of them.

Here she is trying it out with her nurse Mary Joy, figuring it out, figuring  it out and then cracking up (but not centering)

 

The best are when there are girls surrounding her and she is so excited she's turning to look at them, forgetting where the camera is.  (I don't think it's cool to put pictures of other people's kids on the internet without their permission, so I will just put up one of her where she is looking for them.)

I will add this one of her and her new friend Jackie, because Jackie is over 18 and one of the helpers at the camp. She and Maggie really hit it off and the two of them had fun with the camera.

Do you think Maggie is having any fun at this camp?

Forget Mr. DeMille, Maggie can do her own close up anytime she wants.

Praise the Lord and pass the IPAD

It is Sunday evening at the end of what was technically NOT a long weekend, but certainly felt like one.  I am tired and content.

My plan was to recap the weekend in this post, but I have to limit it because there's too much to report from the 4th of July.

First and foremost, Eddie was home with Grace!! They arrived around noon and Maggie was very happy to see them. Though Steve and I have both seen Eddie a few times in the past months, he has not been home, so Maggie has not seen him since before Christmas.  She was very happy and excited to have him here. She hasn't seen Tim since he left for Chicago in January, so there has been a serious big brother drought around here. With Eddie here Maggie World righted itself a little bit.

I tried to take a picture of just Eddie and Grace but Maggie was in the background and this is now my new favorite picture of her. She's still just delighted even while she's covering her face. It's as though she cannot believe her good fortune to get to see one of her boys, and Grace is just a bonus. 

We did have the traditional 4th of July barbecue and my mom, my sister Kate and Eddie's friend Chris joined us. Steak and flag cake all around!

But that was the end of the evening. There was one very strange encounter in the morning. 

Maggie and I made a quick trip downtown to FINALLY buy her IPAD. She was excited and she impressed the hell out of the geniuses in the store with her opinions and preferences. She picked the color and responded appropriately to several complicated "yes/ no" questions.  I was impressed that they actually seemed to "get" her differences and needs and that they respected her intelligence. (Genius recognizes genius) Of course the accessibility expert was asking me a ton of questions for apps etc, and I was passing along the info I learned from Diane, Maggie's former therapist and assistive technology guru at CCS.  

That was all good, the strangeness came when we left the store.

There was a man washing windows at a building a door or two up from the Apple Store. That was curious in and of itself, given that is was a major holiday. He turned toward us made a strange move. When you live in a big City, you learn there are times to keep moving. Strange people are everywhere and not all of them are harmless.  My maternal instincts (spidey sense) started tingling. I was momentarily worried about our safety. Was he going to strike us with his window washing equipment? Was he going to block our path? What was going on here? 

Little did I know what he had in store. 

He looked at Maggie and SHOUTED at the top of his lungs, 

"IN DA NAME A JAESU CHRIZE, SHE WILL WALK!!!!!!!!!!!!*"

Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! That's a lot to take in on a downtown street when one is flush with the accomplishment of purchasing an IPAD and conversing with geniuses. 

I did what any other mother would do and picked up the pace. I nodded my thanks to the man who was absolutely glowing with pride. He was holding his window washing pole as though he was in an honor guard.  As it turns out, he meant no harm, but it was a strange strange moment. There was no way I was sticking around to discuss this with him. We were around the corner in record time. 

We arrived home shortly before Eddie arrived. After the initial hellos, I shared my story of the evangelical window washer. I told Steve, Eddie and Grace what happened doing my best imitation of the guy. Steve raised one eyebrow, Grace laughed and Eddie said, "Hmm, too bad you didn't run into him 18 years ago. Things would have been a lot easier." 

Maggie threw back her head and laughed at that because Eddie is hilarious and Eddie is home and who cares what that weird dude with the long stick has to say.  

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*I'm typing this the way he sounded. I could not place his accent but English was not his first language.