Knitting

I have mentioned that since Thanksgiving or so, Akila has been trying to knit. One of her PCA's knits and did it with her at the end of the summer. On Thanksgiving, she worked on it forever with my sister-in-law's help. I don't know how to knit, and I really am not interested. It is not my thing. But I may need to learn.

I did get her some knitting needles-I know, I'm living on the edge. They could become quite the weapons. I have warned her that she will not see them again if she even threatens to use them as a weapon. She has went to Grandma Kathy's next door for help on it- Kathy has helped her twice. Her in-home therapist last week helped her and for nearly two hours, Akila knit. The therapist was blown away by her attention span. It is truly amazing.

One day this week, Imani even agreed to knit with Akila. Imani took a knitting after school class a year or so ago, and has some great beginner knitting skills. She has helped Akila on and off the past few weeks. But the two of them sat in the living room and knit for quite awhile. Here are some pictures:

I think with some of her fine motor challenges, it is not something that she is picking up on very quickly. After many hours and lessons with various people, she still needs constant supervision with it. It is similar to when she took piano lessons years ago. She really struggled with putting her fingers on the right keys. I would help her to place them on the right keys, and they would immediately go back to their regular position.

You might also notice that Akila is wearing a coat. We do have a drafty old house, but she is constantly cold and asking me, I mean yelling at me, to turn up the heat. I tell her to wear a sweatshirt or sweater, but she never wants to. She prefers her winter coat. I have never been able to get her to wear a weighted vest, or use a weighted blanket, but I think the coat serves in the same capacity.