Fiona calls

Fiona called tonight.  She did not call last week and I was worried because I did not hear from Jane, nor did she respond to my email. Despite vaunting my Pollyanna outlook, with Fiona I am more likely to start fretting.  Too often it hasn't just been a staff member absent or forgetting to help place the call.  Too often it has been hospitalizations, arrests and worry about self harm.

Thankfully, it was NONE of those.  The call was missed last week because the storm delayed Jane's return flight and she was not there to place the call.  Floor staff, probably busy to the max, forgot or did not know. (note:  I do not have a call number so it isn't like I can call in when she doesn't.)

Fiona had a great Christmas.  I think her birthday was downplayed but that is okay because we were there a couple days before and made a great big deal out of it.  She loved her Hannah Montana lamp and the porcelain doll she had asked for.  In fact, she said she loved everything we got her. 

The school has changed their policy on how the students attain levels and I think the new system will work better for Fi.  The higher your "level" the more autonomy and privileges you have.  The trouble for Fiona is that in most placements this is decided on a weekly aggregate of behavior.  For someone with poor memory, a difficult time with cause and effect, and an only newly emerging sense of time, this has always been tough.  This is the first time in her life that she has begun to grasp the concept of a calendar, so saying good behavior for a week gets an off campus shopping trip  was not something that had impact.

Must be a lot of kids there like Fiona, because now they achieve their levels daily.  I assume they start at a high level and it goes down according to behavior issues but I am not sure.  At any rate, with the new system she has been level 4 several times.  I think with this type of system she can see more readily that if she does X she gets to do Y by herself. 

KC could not wait to tell Fiona that he was wearing the outfit she gave him.  In truth he rarely takes it off.  I am surprised--it is a very tangible sign of his love for her, because the motif on the outfit is pirates. Pirates are not super high on his list of things as he tends to be my timid guy and pirates don't mix with timid all that well.  But he wears that skull and cross bone shirt and pants three times a week at LEAST! LOl

Lissa was joking with Fiona as well and Rob seemed more relaxed than he has been in a while.  He was also noodling on the computer while he talked and i could not decide if that was a good thing or a bad thing.  Kids multi task in that way a lot--but I have reservations. But for tonight I let it go.

At any rate, Jane and I need to kick around some potential dates for the next visit but it was a great start to the new year for Fiona and I feel so happy for us all.