Because its a holiday weekend and we've been enjoying it to the fullest, I'll keep this entry short and to the point.

 Safi had a great week at school. I had my last day at big girl school and now I'm out for summer. It was a great day and I even asked a girl in my class to play ball with me. My speech therapist set that as a goal for me 2 classes ago and I was finally ready. She said yes and we tossed the ball back and forth two times! I was very brave, just like the social story Teacher Mari made for me about Buzz and Jessie being brave and asking friends to play. Everyone was proud of me and I was proud of me, too!

Mom's birthday was interesting.  Safi and I were both having an off day so it was a bit dicey.  However, it ended on a high note with a sushi dinner and cupcakes!

 Mom and dad finally got my psychological report back from the Regional Center evaluation. The following are highlights from the 10 page report:
"Test Results:
Chronological Age: 2yr10m
Mental Age: 4yr10m
IQ:  155+

At the time of testing Nixi's chronological age was 4 years 10 months, with a mental age of 4 years 10 months. Her IQ performance score fell outside the standardized normative samples used in both the original  and Arthur Adaptation forms of the Leiter.  By estimation using the two scoring systems as reference, Nixi's performance yielded an IQ score of 155, at minimum, placing her overall nonverbal intellectual functioning in the genius range."

My scores on the Childhood Autism Rating Scale-Second Edition (CARS2) which is used to differentiate autism from other types of developmental disabilities, as well as assess level of severity of autism symptoms.  There are 15 different areas commonly associated with autism that are scored from 1-4, 1 being normal - 4 being severely abnormal..with a maximum score of 60 possible.  Severe being a score of 36 or higher, with a score of at least 3 in 5 areas.  Nixi scored mostly 4's, with a couple of three in 14 areas.  The 15th area being verbal communication where she scored a 1.5
"Total CARS2 score = 53
Nixi's overall score indicates that she is exhibiting severe symptoms of autism spectrum disorder."

In reference to DSM(psychological diagnostic manual) criteria for Classic Autism:
"According the DSM-IV-TR, at least 6 criteria must be met to qualify for an Autistic Disorder diagnosis.   Nixi met 11 out of 12 criteria."

Diagnoses

Axis I  299.00  Autistic disorder

Axis II  V71.09 No Diagnosis (Genius Nonverbal Intelligence with Mildly Impaired Adaptive Skills

"Although Nixi appears to be cognitively superior at this time, her overall presentation and current level of adaptive and social capabilities suggests an increased risk of falling further behind in her development."

Then the psychologist recommended I continue with current services, address sensory issues with a qualified Occupation Therapist, etc.

So, I'm a brain inside this confusing little shell just waiting for someone to bust me out!  I'm sure mom and dad will find the key to my world and make a terrific bridge leading back to theirs.

This week is lots of excitement.  Dad is off from work all week, Safi has water fun day at school and I get to go, Safi's last day of preschool is Thursday, and Friday night we get to go the zoo!!  Its called Dreamnight at the Zoo, 32 countries participate in it the first Friday of June every year.  The park opens from 5-8PM just for families of kids with special needs.  We're really excited!!  So, make sure you check back in next week to see how it all went down!

Peace
Nixi

The super magical, totally awesome, never boring, uber amazing new popcorn popper!!!


Safi singing a song that Teacher Mel sings at school...."You got a line, I got a pole X....you got a line, I got a pole X.  You got a line, I got a pole we'll got down to the xx hole, honey..baby of mine!"

An interesting week...I swallowed a plastic Strawberry Shortcake shirt, we went to the sand park and I actually ENJOYED watching the bugs and played in the middle of them, Nixi had a great day at big girl school, we went to dinner at the China Buffet, and we had fun at the fountains over the weekend! Also, I got to hold some baby chicks at school and it was amazing...and I bought Squinkies with my allowance and Nixi bought a remote controlled dog she named Kayla! Tonight was a rough night for me, so this post is going to brief. Every night before bed Nixi and I each get to pick a TV show to watch. As you know, we're on a big My Little Pony kick. We can only watch Ponies through Netflix connected to the TV off of mom's phone and the internet wasn't working. No Netflix, no Ponies...no bueno. Yeah, I love the show and all but what I love..no NEED..is the predictability of the routine that is picking a Pony show before bed. So, I had a meltdown. See, mom and dad gave me about 5 minutes of screaming, going into the bedroom, and coming out again screaming before they just had to move on and let Nixi pick her show. Usually I pick first at night, but me being upset can't throw off the whole house or I'd be more upset and Nixi would be, too. So, Nixi picked The Wiggles. I couldn't take it......... I know I'm saying it hurts my ears, so it looks like mom and dad are torturing me. In reality, mom has taught Nixi and I to say "It hurts my ears" when each other is screaming instead of starting to scream ourselves. I have generalized it to any situation in which I do not like what is being said. Mom, dad, Heather, or a teacher can say something to me taht I don't like such as "no", and I reply with "ouch, that hurts my ears." So, that phrase for me has become a means of expressing my dislike for something...generally a rule or boundary. Anyhow, my ears were just fine...my "center" was not. Eventually I got it together and watched the end of The Wiggles. Low and behold, by the time Nixi's show as done the internet was working fine and I got to pick a Pony show. Still, rough half hour or so for everyone. Even though I'm happy that I got to watch Ponies, I never feel good about myself after a meltdown. No matter how much mom, dad, and Nixi love me...its hard for them to feel amazing after my meltdown, too. Everyone is just a little cautious and a little on edge around me and taht makes me sad. I get it though, so I try my best to say I'm sorry either directly or through my actions. By the morning all will be back to normal so I'm not too worried about it..just drained. So, I'm going off...more to report next week I'm sure. Oh, and I passed the Strawberry Shortcake shirt this afternoon in case you were wondering! xoxo Safi Some video from Friday...check out the intense imaginary play going on before Nixi went to school! Looks like it primed her for socializing because she interacted with her peers for the first time without prompting and she modeled her play after this play on the video. Her new buddy Carter loved it!

It was a fun in the sun Mother's Day, not without its dramatic moments...but generally a fun, exhausting day. So, I'm keeping this brief because we're all pooped! Safi had a great week at school. She's really in to the ocean theme and she got the biggest kick out of Teacher Mel letting me sing Slippery Fish with the class. It was super fun. I went to big girl school again and it was ok. I really like my speech therapist and the teacher, I'm just a little uncomfortable at this point with the kids. I also had a hard time "reading" one of the adults there and thought that she was mad at me so I decided I'd be mad too! Mom explained to me that the lady wasn't mad, but that that's just how her face was and I kinda bought it. Either way, I went, I did what I was supposed to and I was happy to see mom and Safi at the end of it! Mom went to Safi's IEP and it was ok. There wasn't really much for them to talk about because we still don't know what school Safi will be going to next year. The school psychologists from both school that are in the running were there but mom's really anxious to meet her new teacher. So, once they find out where she's gonna go they can pick a teacher and then mom will get to mee with her and tell her all about Safi. Hopefully it will all get figured out soon. We got to go to the fountains at the park with week twice after school and it was super fun. We also got to take Safi's best buddy Kameron to school one day this week and after we got to play at his house. He has a little dog that I thought was really cute and Safi was excited because his big sister put Spongebob on the TV for us! It was awesome! We also got a slip n' slide and a new canopy for the front yard so we have lot's of shade...super cool! We also got paid for doing our jobs and Safi bought a Pinkie Pie pony with the money she saved up and I bought a Cinderella electric toothbrush. Its really neat and we're just doing a great job of keeping up with all of our chores. Mom and dad are super proud! Mother's day was great until it wasn't anymore. I have a hard time remembering things. I thought Safi took my cup but it was really her cup. I started screaming and then Safi started screaming to the point that mom had to take her inside. On the way in to the house she clamped down on mom's hand and bit her. I played for a little more than me and dad went inside. After Safi calmed down she apologized to me and to mom. She felt really bad and told mom, "I'm sorry I made you mad." Mom just cried and scooped her up, telling her she didn't make her mad...but the bite hurt like heck. After they had some tears and some snuggles we had a great rest of the night. There you have it. hope you all had a great week and a great Mother's Day. Peace Nixi Water fountain fun!

We're baaaack............and we're working our tails off!

Ok, so it was a long month with no access to the computer but we're back! So, let's not waste any time...let's talk about our week! We did a lot of cool stuff this week. I had a great week at school. This month's theme is the ocean and I LOVE all things ocean. Mom and dad said that we might get to go to the beach this summer so Nixi and I are pumped! I got to finger paint HUGE waves and makes some sand starfish. It was awesome. This is my last month as a preschooler. I'm not so sure how I feel about that..I've really loved my classroom and all of my friends for the past two years. I guess I have all summer to get used to the idea. Luckily, we're doing summer school again so I'll still get to hang out with friends and keep on a good schedule. Fun times are ahead! Nixi went to big girl school again on Friday and she did a really great job. She adores her speech therapist who wears bright red lipstick and has a high pitched voice. She thinks she's the best. Towards the end of class she was wanting mom and me and started to get a little upset. By the time mom and I arrived she was excited to see us and ready to go home. When she got home she laid on the couch under a big blanket and just spaced out. Its good that she knows how to calm herself and this school is a lot less overstimulating and structured so she comes home with a lower level overstimulation. We're all happy about that. So, we got jobs this week! See, I want to buy more ponies and mom said if I want more ponies I have to have money. So, I asked her for a job. She came up with a cool chore chart for Nixi and I. We have a few chores we have to do everyday like making our beds, wiping down our tables, and feeding/watering the guinea pigs. Then, we get to pick one "special job" each day in addition to the regular ones. We can vaccuum, sweep, wash windows, wash dishes, feed the dog, or feed the cats. My favorites are vacuuming and feeding the dog. Nixi's favorites are vacuuming and cleaning the dishes. Its hard work but each time we complete a chore and we turn the chore picture upside down to show we're done we feel really good about ourselves. We get paid on Sundays, and today was our first pay day! We each got $5. Nixi bought a pony with light up wings and I opted to save up my money so next week I buy a bigger pony. It was really hard not to get something at the store. Nixi had a hard time with it, too, because she's uncomfrtable with us doing things differently from each other. So, even though she really wanted that pony it was hard for her to make up her mind when she realized taht I wasnt going to be buying one. She really struggled, screaming and confused. I can't stand it when she screams so I started screaming louder. It was kind of horrible but we got it together long enough to make it out of the store. When we got home mom let me pick a little goodie from her goodie bag to mark a week of good work and to hold me over until next week when I can buy the pony I've been drooling over. Dad brought home a surprise activity for us to do with him. We got to be farmers! I got to plant peas and Nix got to plant fantasy pumpkins! Dad planted tomatoes. It was awesome. We put the dirt in the containers, poked holes for the seeds withour fingers, planted the seeds, and watered the whole ball of wax. It was really cool. Can't wait to see our plants grow! So, that was our week. I ended up at the walk in clinic in Saturday with another sinus infection and ear infection. Mom has my IEP on Friday, where it looks like she's going to have to fight to get me to be able to stay at the same school I've been at for the past two years...they waitlisted us. Should be an interesting week. Make sure to check back to see how it all goes! xoxo Safi

Here we are, the last blog entry for April. I'm sick and Mike seems to be coming down with whatever it is that I have, too. I'm tired on all levels and I'm ready to move on. So, I'll give a brief run down of the weeks events then get straight to the part that really matters...letters to our girls and a letter to autism.

Nixi's birthday was rough. Lot's of meltdowns, mostly Safi...but Nixi was unbelievably overstimulated so she was a loose cannon as well. We still managed to give Nixi a 3rd birthday that she was elated with. Before she went to bed I asked her if her birthday was great and she said it was. While we wish it had been perfect, the great thing about Nixi is that she doesn't seem to really remember what she does in a day. So, as long as the last 10 minutes of her day are good, she claims the day as a success. We want to thank everyone for sending cards, gifts, money, books, and well wishes. It always makes the girls feel so special to see how many people are thinking of them. Mike and I appreciate it more than we can say, makes us feel much less alone.

Safi had a great week at school. She's been struggling emotionally ever since the last weekend so we're hoping she can find her "center" soon. We had one day where all was right with the world and everything in it...the day the mailman brought the massive lot of My Little Ponies that we bought off of Ebay. Both girls were elated and it was so fun to just see them enjoying themselves...even if it doesn't last forever.

Nixi started big girl school on Friday. She is going to the special services preschool that Safi went to for a summer leading up to when she started school at Lincoln with Teacher Jenn. It went ok. Heather, our BIA, went with her and she did well...much like she did when she first started the early intervention group she used to go to. The energy in the classroom was terrific, much calmer than the early intervention fiasco. While it ended in a tremendous meltdown from both girls, as Safi struggled with "letting go" of what used to be her school and Nixi struggled with being overwhelmed and overstimulated...all in all it was a much better experience for all of us than early intervention had been. We're feeling like its a really good fit for Nix and that's exciting.

That's the cliff notes of our week. So, now the letters to the girls. I'm thinking we'll do this every end of April. Its a nice way to share how we feel with the girls as well as a nice way to reflect on another year in the trenches of life. I hope they read this and know how very much they are loved...no matter how hard it is or how hard it gets. You are loved.

Safi Seifert, we love you so. Its been a tremendous year of growth for you. You are doing amazing at school. Your verbal expression has exploded! You have found your voice, my dear, and boy is it a roar! You have begun to recognise the subtleties of sarcasm and you use it often, much to our amazement and pleasure (for the most part!). Your world has continued to expand to include new friends from kindergarten (Candygarten, as you call it), new environments like Chuck E. Cheese and the zoo, and a new found thirst for independence and growing up. You recognize that you are a big kid in relation to Nixi and you want to do the things that the other big kids in our neighborhood do. Unfortunately, many of those kids are much older than you and have different rules than you and that makes you very upset with us. We love you, we want you to be happy and independent but we also need to keep you safe. In the following year we promise to work on finding better ways to give you more space and freedom without compromising safety. You deserve those things and we recognize that. You are becoming more and more engaged with the world outside of our front yard and, while scary for us, we couldn't be prouder of you. You are outgoing, funny, sarcastic, silly, intense, thoughtful, sensitive, and stubborn. Our wish for you this following year is a wish for joy and ease. We understand that you work for everything, hard. We see that most things do not come to you with ease and that you are acutely aware of this. You want so badly to just bound into a room and start friendships. You yearn so desperately for the confidence and ease to jump on a scooter and ride it, slide down a tall slide without a care, trip without looking to see if anyone was watching. You work at these things every day and every day you inch closer to the life you want so desperately to be yours. We promise that we will be there with you, 100% of the way..following a few steps behind, as is your wish. Never so far behind that we can't rush in and catch you at a moments notice. This coming year will be scary, exciting, fun, and overwhelming...and its going to be terrific!

Nixi, Nixi, Nixi. How we love and adore you. This year has been a rough one. Lots of steps ahead and lots of steps backward, by no fault of your own. You are a trooper. You are a survivor. You live every moment as though it could be your last, sadly often believing that it may very well be. You were tremendously brave this year and went to all of your Early Intervention classes. You were in the same space as a number of kids and you stuck it out. While it may not have outwardly appeared that you felt connected with some new friends, you told me a number of times that you enjoyed playing with a select few. You powered through changes in teachers and changes in kids as old friends graduated and new kids appeared. You have learned some new calming skills and you allow us to prompt you to use them even if you're upset. Despite your difficulty remembering things that have happened throughout the day you still manage to have moments of absolute clarity and joy. You love going to restaurants and you love sushi. You are a huge My Little Pony fan and you have your favorite characters independent of what your sister likes. You are more and more your own person and you have strong wants and needs that you express clearly. In the following year we would love to get your memory issues figured out with the help of the neurologist. We would like to see you having moments of rest and peace. We ask that you continue to allow us to be a part of your world, even if we don't always seem to do that well in it. We will get better at it, and you will get better at joining ours as long as as we all keep at it. We know it tiring and confusing a lot of the time for you. We promise that we will find better ways of clarifying things for you so that you can have more opportunities to feel successful and proud of yourself. We are proud of you endlessly and we want you to see yourself as the capable, strong little soul that we know you are. You are resilient, funny, adorable, goofy, intense, sweet, and electric.

And now, the letter to Autism.

Autism, oh, Autism. Last year I had some kind things to say...this year, not so much. You've really done a number on us. You've drained us to the core. You've amped up your attack on my youngest child to levels that are shameful. In your relentless pursuit of my child's mind and soul you've managed to drag my other child down with her. Luckily, she's a fighter and you've only managed to grab one ankle...FYI, she plans to kick the hell out of you with that free foot with as much vigor and enthusiasm as you display when you're crumbling her sister. You've physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually exhausted us. I think that's the plan. I am well aware that this is all a test of endurance, not speed or agility. There is no finish line, there is no winner...or at least there wont be if you have your way. While there may be no finish line, I need you to know that there absolutely will be winners in this game you play. You will NOT steal my children's childhood. You will NOT kill their joy and innocence. You will NOT be the ruiner of all things hopeful and promising. You will NOT...read that...YOU WILL NOT CLAIM MY CHILDREN. They are not yours, they are MINE and most importantly they are THEIR OWN PEOPLE! They are NOT YOU. They are NOT AUTISM. So, continue to play your games and continue to wreak havoc on our lives if you must, but remember, at the end of the day you are nothing but a part of neurology. A confusion in brain signals, or perhaps synapses. A gene mutation, maybe? You are NOT the whole and the sum of my children and they will live with you peacefully as long as you show them a little respect. If you don't, I'm not quite sure how just yet...but science, researchers, and I are going to be coming for you and it ain't gonna be pretty.

With that I say thank you for being a part of Autism Awareness month with us. Autism Awareness never ends in our house so I implore you to keep it alive in yours the whole year through. Talk to people about it. Read about it. Don't stare at people who are different or struggling. Support your friends and family that are living with autism. Be a part of the conversation, don't just listen.

Sarah

Its been a long week. We wrapped up Nixi's Early Intervention "school", had her IEP for the coming real school year, and were still coming down off of all of the previous week's excitement.

We got a visit from my mom, Nana Cummings. It was fun. Unfortunately Safi was a little off due to an incident with a red ant getting in her shoe at school on Tuesday. 44% of people on the Autism spectrum have multiple phobias. For Safi, bugs are one. Her teacher called me to come early because they had neveer seenm her so upset. I got there and she kept asking me to wipe her...as she felt like there were bugs crawling on her. That night she woke up at midnight and again at 3am screaming that there was a bug on her face, arm, etc. As I tried to console her my haor burshed against her arm and she about jumped out of her skin. So, when Nana was here and we went to the park which was full of bugs because its getting warm out she couldnt take it. She kept asking me to make the beetles go away. She kept wiping at her arms. She was on the edge and Nixi riding a scooter ahead of her was the match that lit the fuse. She exploded and attacked Nixi. A huge meltdown with screaming and the like ensued and we eventually just left the park. She was unable to relax outside at home because she couldnt stop looking for bugs that might touch her. She was all around miserable. We worked on doing some cognitive restructing this morning about bugs. We talked about what bugs bite and what bugs dont and we made a game out of the girls pretending to be bugs as I modeled what to do if a bug is bothering you. Later, outside, we used sticks to guide a pincher bug up our driveway. Lots of exposures combined with humor and education will eventually move her past this...until next time. There will always be a next time, unfortunately. The last time we had a bug issue was the spider in the bathtub resulting in me sponge bathing her while she crouched on a step stool in the tub for nearly 3 months. She's fascinated by bugs. That's one of the many things I love about that kid. When she's afraid of something she wants to learn EVERYTHING about it. She seems to inherently know that "flooding" (tons of exposure to the feared stimuli) is what she needs to move past things. A wise soul.

Its Nixi's 3rd birthday tomorrow and the house is vibrating with excitement. I have high hopes that she will have a great day...I am realistic that it will need to be much more sedate than Safi's birthday was. It will be different but equally wonderful, just like my girls.

Ill post lots of pictures next week in my last blog entry before handing the reigns back over to the girls.

Sarah

Chicken on a hot plate. Put a quarter in a box and music plays while a chicken in a small coop dances its heart out...or, rather, tries to escape third degree burns from the hidden hot plate that your quarter turned on. I saw one once when I was in high school at Barstow Station on the way to Vegas. Oh, yeah, sorry mom and dad..but I went to Vegas my senior year. But that's beside the point, back to the chicken. I have to admit, I put a quarter in and watched that bird boogie. It wasn't until after that I was told why the bird was dancing and resolved myself to steal the foul and liberate it on my way home. I never did...

We had to go to the courthouse to get Nixi's birth certificate. Her IEP (Individualized Education Plan) meeting for school next year is this coming Tuesday and we can't do it without it. Heather (our BIA: Behavior Intervention Analyst), the girls, and I ventured out in the rain on a mission. We got to the courthouse..a new and novel environment. As we walked up the big walkway to the building Nixi was watching her feet as she walked as usual and Safi was distracted by the falling raindrops. We were ushered through a security screening by a less than cheery civil servant. Heather and I were asked to pick up our pant legs so that she could inspect our shoes. The girls got through with no problem...until we hit the hallway. Safi, in that telling shrieky voices, repeated over and over again "My pants, my pants!" Game on. She needed to motor imitate what the guard had done to myself and Heather because she was anxious...and it was no help that it took us more than 30 seconds to realize what she was talking about. I told her to pull her pants up, which she did very seriously and then I told she could go on...as we had been told. Crisis averted! We got to the counter and were told that they only accepted cash or check, of which I had neither. We were told to go downstairs to the cafeteria for an ATM machine. Cool beans, no problem. We look for the elevators, noting that both girls are on edge and confused as to why we are in this huge, loud, fast, bright, scary place. Elevators located...we are ok to disco. We push the button and wait next to a one eyed woman looking for the probation department. Ding...down arrow lights up..WHOOOSH..giant steel doors open..and we're in, along with the one eyed lady. Going down............CHICKEN ON A HOT PLATE! Within milliseconds of the elevator moving Nixi started hopping frantically from one foot to the other as if the ground beneath had just been set ablaze...then the scream. Eardrum shattering, bone shaking, blood curdling. One eyed lady is composed and smiles. I try to pick her up but she is in both fight and flight mode and this is no joke, she's fighting for her life. I manage to scoop her up and make eye contact with her...now the tears. WHOOOOSH...the blast of cold air on her face as the steel tomb released her took her breath away, but only for a second. We walk down the hallway, Safi grinning ear to ear (she loved it and later went up and down with Heather as Nixi and awaited our paperwork), Nixi trembling and weeping in my arms and muttering "all done elevator, all done elevator, all done elevator.." We find the ATM and get the girls a treat from the cafeteria. We all sit at a table to compose ourselves and fill out forms when I am struck by what just happened. In the moment when I looked down at my child as those elevator does engulfed us I consciously thought, "chicken on a hot plate" and was mesmerized for a moment, rendered totally useless. Its just such a mind boggling site to see a being in such horror...its disorienting, confusing, startling, shocking. That's MY being...my kid. Wow. How sad. Really, really sad. The elevator ride was one floor down..seconds. In a matter of seconds my daughter went through the very real (for her) fear of death...like, really...fear of death, and now she's sitting across from me eating Funions and telling me that she "loves them so much, mama." Amazing.

Amazing for me because I can probably count on one hand the number of times that I have had the fear of death. Driving in the rain and hydroplaning backwards, car accident, house break in. Not so amazing for my 3 year old daughter who has experiences like this daily. Yes, daily. Such a bleak reminder of the world that my daughter is living in. A world where something as benign and mundane as an elevator ride is experiences as a very real threat to safety. Even worse, I was the one leading the lamb to the slaughter. And that's when it dawned on me. My little chick on the hot plate fought me when I swooped in for the rescue. She didn't grab me and claw up my legs into my safe embrace...she was struggling to breathe and she wasn't about to let me push her head under. That's how she experiences life...alone. We've always called Nixi our "island", because from infancy she's never trusted anyone. Why would she? We're all trying to kill her...I'm trying to kill her.

There's nothing I can do to change this perception. I am there for both of my kids 110%, always. My only hope is that over time the realization will be made that I am with them through these terrifying moments..even if they are moments that I have led them in to, and that they consistently come out of them alive. Safi gets that...like, in her soul gets it. Nixi says it, because that's what Nixi does. She says things, everything, we say. Does she "feel" it...no, not really. I hope some day she does. I would die for that child, without fear or hesitation. So, while I never was able to return and rescue that chicken in Barstow...you better believe that I'm not giving up until I am confident that I have rescued this little chick. And I will, one day, I will.

Safi's birthday worked itself out to be wonderful. It was not without its tears and fears, but she pulled through beautifully and had a great day. We went out, just her and I, first thing in the morning to get her pink pony. She picked a special pony for Nixi, because she's just that kind of sister. Chuck E. Cheese was fun. Our friends, the Shooks, met us there and it was off to the races. Safi took to the environment like a duck to water, her only hesitation being getting close to the stage with the giant animatronic characters on it. Nixi was overwhelmed the instant we arrived. She was excited, but terrified. She wanted to observe everything..and do NOTHING! The mere mention of the word "token" (the currency used for all games and rides) prompted screaming, some tears, some rage. Luckily, Safi didn't notice...she was quickly making the rounds with our BIA (Behavioral Intervention Analyst)and adopted member of the family, Heather. Mike and I took turns following Nixi as she darted from one game to the other, eventually asking for token then bolting at their sight. We got some pizza in her and she eventually played a few games and even braved a huge horse riding, race track game! The big success for Safi was getting right up to the stage and watching the characters. She wouldn't allow us of Heather to accompany her...it had to be Nixi. See, Nixi is Safi's bomb sniffing dog. Safi is very aware that Nixi is afraid of everything and always scanning the environment for potential threats. So, she send Nixi in first...and that day was no exception. She kept calling to Nixi and once she got her within arms reach she quickly places Nixi in front her as a human shield. As they inched forward, Safi nudging Nixi and Nixi engulfed by her senses so much so that she couldn't resist...I saw a lovely, quirky, heartwarming moment of two kids making dysfunction functional, together. Safi quite literally pushing Nixi into a new experience and Nixi trusting the hands giving her the shove. Mutual trust and understanding. Awesome.


Exciting and draining week.

Sarah

The Chuck E Cheese montage....