You Think You Hate Mondays
Mondays are getting harder for Lyn.
On Monday mornings, her speech therapist arrives for their weekly one-hour visit. They practice words together by reading easy reader books in addition to a number of other activities. The therapist always asks Lyn for an update on her week and gives my sister her undivided attention. They have been working together for over a decade now.
Mom and I have mentioned in the past how there are times now that Lyn is surly on Monday mornings. Her therapist has noted it and asked that Lyn eat a bowl of cereal before their session to help give her a bit more energy.
Mom makes sure that Lyn is up, dressed and fed before the therapy session. The timing for this is neither rushed nor different from her other days when she's getting ready for day hab. However, Lyn's behavior is completely different on Mondays than any other day. She'd sleep until noon if Mom let her. She's surly, slow to get dressed and often completely non-responsive now. When her therapist arrives, she pulls within herself saying "I just like to be quiet."
This behavior is pretty new and getting worse. If you knew Lyn or spent any significant time with her, you'd know that she doesn't just like to be quiet. She's always been social, cheerful and chatty.
We don't know what is causing her to respond to her therapist like this now. I suspect she doesn't like struggling with the words more than she did in the past. I suspect she no longer enjoys the sessions and finds them very frustrating. Yet, when Mom or her therapist ask if she wants to stop the sessions, she states "No" emphatically, saying that she enjoys them. Her behavior suggests that she dreads them though.
It is a quandry though that casts a pall over the entire day. Should she stop the therapy sessions she seems to no longer enjoy and get some relief from that stress? Should she continue because it is one more mental stimulation without which she may decline faster?
On Monday mornings, her speech therapist arrives for their weekly one-hour visit. They practice words together by reading easy reader books in addition to a number of other activities. The therapist always asks Lyn for an update on her week and gives my sister her undivided attention. They have been working together for over a decade now.
Mom and I have mentioned in the past how there are times now that Lyn is surly on Monday mornings. Her therapist has noted it and asked that Lyn eat a bowl of cereal before their session to help give her a bit more energy.
Mom makes sure that Lyn is up, dressed and fed before the therapy session. The timing for this is neither rushed nor different from her other days when she's getting ready for day hab. However, Lyn's behavior is completely different on Mondays than any other day. She'd sleep until noon if Mom let her. She's surly, slow to get dressed and often completely non-responsive now. When her therapist arrives, she pulls within herself saying "I just like to be quiet."
This behavior is pretty new and getting worse. If you knew Lyn or spent any significant time with her, you'd know that she doesn't just like to be quiet. She's always been social, cheerful and chatty.
We don't know what is causing her to respond to her therapist like this now. I suspect she doesn't like struggling with the words more than she did in the past. I suspect she no longer enjoys the sessions and finds them very frustrating. Yet, when Mom or her therapist ask if she wants to stop the sessions, she states "No" emphatically, saying that she enjoys them. Her behavior suggests that she dreads them though.
It is a quandry though that casts a pall over the entire day. Should she stop the therapy sessions she seems to no longer enjoy and get some relief from that stress? Should she continue because it is one more mental stimulation without which she may decline faster?
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