I worry about Ella. A lot. Though she is making progress in her ability to stand and walk with assistance, there are some areas where I see very little progress and in others, regression. Her speech has deteriorated recently. About a year ago she started making consonant sounds and soon after formed the beginnings of some words ‘Buh’ for bottle etc. Those are virtually gone now. I have not heard a consonant out of her for quite a while. It is baffling. On the one hand it seems like her understanding is enhanced. She picks up on what we are saying and responds. On the other hand, her expressive ability has diminished significantly. Another area of regression is her playing ability. It seems to me to have deteriorated and to have turned less purposeful, less controlled and intentional. Most of her playing is a repetitive sorting of items, examining them in a fidgeting kind of way. It is painful for me to see.
Having Netta around accentuates Ella’s problems. Netta is like quicksilver. She picks things up in a second; nothing gets by without her examination or response. Once a lesson is learned it stays learned. With Ella it is never a linear progression.
Things get learned, they get unlearned. Progress gets made, then unmade. Why?