We have been working with one 5 year old girl, Amelia, very constantly since early June. We do a wide variety of activities with her, from reading books and playing outside to arts & craft projects and pretend play. Each activity is planned with goals in mind, and each time we introduce a new activity or skill, the staff and I evaluate where each individual is at. Back in June we introduced an arts project that involved coloring. We discovered that in order for her to attend to the project and for the fine motor skills needed to hold a crayon, she needed hand-over-hand assistance. Chelsea, one of the Respite Care Specialists at Gio’s Garden, worked in a coloring project each week for Amelia to continue to grow in this area.
Today her parents told us a story about what had happened at home last night. They have a little arts table set up at home for their son, so that he can have access to his crayons, paper, and other arts supplies any time. Last night, Amelia went to the arts table and was grabbing at random things, as she does. Then she grabbed a crayon and started coloring on a piece of paper. Her dad said that she has not drawn independently in over a year. I mentioned that we try to do some coloring once a week while she is at Gio’s Garden. He looked at her and said, “Maybe coming to Gio’s Garden has inspired her.”
Chelsea and I looked at each other and smiled. This is why we do what we do.
