Wacky voodoo rituals

I am (and will probably always be) skeptical of the whole Qi Gong thing, but there sure are some interesting things that happen there. Maria has always looked at him and reached her arms out toward him more than towards anyone I've ever seen her around, including her own family. When he was working on her yesterday she got very quiet, with this half grin on her face and this expression of "Hey, I don't know what's happening but it's pretty neat". This was when he was behind her and just moving his hands around without touching her so she had no way of even knowing he was there. Also, when he was working on her from the front, her eyes kept tracking his hands. Not well, mind you, but more than I've seen her track before.

Maria continues to be phlegmy. Although it gets worse when she eats or drinks, I don't think it's aspiration because it isn't that "I'm choking" cough. She has been coughing to the point she'll spit up her milk, but she doesn't ACT sick. I believe Cathy is going to try and get her to the pediatrician today.

Cathy and I talked last night about the fact that we've been focused on *language* with Maria (whether spoken or sign) and maybe we need to focus on *communication*. Since Maria's vision and hearing are still poor, we need to focus on tactile communication. This might be as simple as doing signs on her rather than in front of her vision, such as making the "eat" sign on her mouth rather than ours. Or it might be a matter of coming up with our own cues. One of the therapists mentioned that each person in Maria's life should use an object that she can touch that becomes that person's "name" to her. So that's something else for us think about and work on. It's so hard to know what to prioritize.