Kate Meissner’s Daily Routines
Our daughter Kate has Angelman Syndrome (AS). AS is a very rare neurogenetic disorder characterized by a severe global developmental delay. People with AS (or “Angels”) have little or no verbal skills, poor gross and fine motor skills, and possible seizure and sleep disorders. However, Angels do have a unique characteristic – they have a happy, pleasant demeanour with a wonderful smile and contagious laughter.
Kate is doing exceptionally well despite all of her challenges. She is very social and loves interaction with others. We hope that by integrating Kate into school at an early age she will become a well-adjusted and confident child. We hope that her preschool experience will help us develop the following for our daughter:
1. Draw people closer into her circle and deepen their relationships with her
2. Ensure Kate’s school day and home activities are preparing her for the most meaningful adult life
3. Ensure that Kate’s own interests and passions are informing her school activities and how we prioritize how we use her time
4. Remind us to constantly invite people into Kate’s life and invest in her relationships with time and activities
5. Intentionally plan for Kate to spend as much time as possible with the people she is showing the most interest in and who seek to spend more time with her
6. Develop Kate’s interests and the skills she needs to pursue those interests so she can see what she’d like to do as an adult and who she’d like to do it with
Outside Play
· Kate can walk now. She is still learning good balance so she will need assistance or someone to shadow her.
· She loves sand, but it’s probably best if she plays in the sand at the end of the day! She gets super dirty and it’s a big mess to clean up! It’s OK for her to explore the sand with her hands. She’s still learning…we’ve had good success encouraging her to keep sand out of her mouth
Inside Play
· Kate loves the water and all things with cool textures
· Kate will sit independently. We expect her to sit for circle time. If she tries to crawl away, bring her back to circle. She can sit on your lap (be mindful she will try to pull your hair) or you can find her one of her squishy toys. If she has something in her hands and mouth, she will focus better.
· During free play, encourage her to explore, play and interact with other children
o It’s OK to step back and observe…we don’t want to do too much for her as she’s working hard at independence
Snack Time
· Kate can sit in a regular chair but needs support so that she doesn’t get excited and slip out the side
· She drinks out of her sippy cup or a cup with a straw and she can do this on her own
o She needs to wear a bib to catch liquid that spills out of her mouth
· Kate can eat most foods and can finger feed herself bite sized food. She has a quick release with her left hand, which is an infant reflex that she has yet to outgrow. We are working at eating with a spoon and she’s meeting with huge success. It will be best to feed her something substantial with a spoon (until she’s ready to do it herself) for the first few minutes of lunch and then she can finger feed herself if someone gives her bite sized food at various time intervals
· Kate moves A LOT during the day (hypermotoric) so she burns a lot of calories and gets hungry easily. It’s important she has time to eat her meals or she’ll be fussy throughout the day.
Potty Time
· Kate is working on toilet training. She needs to sit on potty seat (we will provide) on the regular toilet.
· She wears pull-ups (we will provide)
· Please make sure she’s wiped clean to prevent urinary tract infections
· Put her on the potty after snack time (she can sit 5-10 min)
· Put her on the potty immediately after she has an accident in her diaper
· Read her stories or allow her to hold a squishy toy to keep her focused on the potty
Hygiene and dressing
· It is important to us and Kate that she looks clean and tidy. Kate’s smile is warm and welcoming. It draws kids toward her. If she is kept clean and tidy, children will not shy away from her. It’s important to remove all parts of her challenges that we can control (dirty mouth, clean clothes, tidy face, hands, and hair, etc)
· Kate needs assistance with changing in and out of her outside clothes. She has orthotics inside of her shoes that need to be transferred. The orthotics help her with balance and reduce her plantar fasciitis.