Palm Family

by Sara Raynor

This is the Palm family. Madison “Madi” and Levi are parents to 3 year old Nayelli and 14 month old Dakota. They have had an exciting year, having moved into their new home just a month ago from a much smaller living situation. Everyone is loving the room to run around!

Nayelli is the oldest and she is a sensory seeker. She can be sweet or sour, and sometimes shy. She is easy to please if you know her favorite snacks and shows. She is currently non-verbal and going to speech and occupational therapy. Madi says there is progression and sometimes regression. Overall, therapy has helped but she knows that it is not going to fix anything overnight and a lot of the learning and work has to continue with the parents, at home. There are some things they wish they knew sooner, but it was an uphill battle to get services to begin with.

Madi knew they needed help, but had to visit several doctors before she could get the referral she needed for Nayelli to be referred for an evaluation by CDRC. She has learned she has to push back when she doesn’t get what she believes her daughter needs and that helps her to be the best advocate for her child. She has learned to ask questions when she doesn’t understand the purpose of an exercise. The therapist will gladly explain how an activity builds a skill towards one of the goals. With the confidence to ask questions, it helps her trust the process. 

Nayelli will be starting Head Start soon and that will be an exciting shift for the family. They have been enjoying their new home, and Madi is hopeful she can return to work part time. Their struggles still revolve around eating and sleeping. Nayelli has difficulties winding down. She was also having meltdowns between bites of food, but Madi discovered that by doing a countdown, it gave Nayelli a structure in time so she has calmed down when that strategy is used. 

The Palm family is thankful to have help from grandparents, but no matter how much they are involved, it’s hard to ask anyone to understand the children and know what to do in the hardest times.  They are glad for the offers of help and Madi says it’s a learning process to ask for and accept help.

Their favorite pastimes are going for walks and being outside. Swings are a favorite and keeping the kids busy and active helps everyone stay happy. Recently, Nayelli grabbed Madi’s hand to go over to the couch just to sit together. These are the kinds of moments that didn’t exist before so they are especially cherished. 

Madi mentioned she has a stack of books she hopes to read to educate herself more on her daughter’s situation, but she is also trying not to be too hard on herself for not getting to them sooner. She is working on confidence and acceptance. She says, “it feels like you haven’t done anything all day but you’ve done a lot! Keeping toddlers alive all day!” This is something most special needs moms can relate to. Madi just got involved with FEATT, and is pushing herself to open up to the community. She hasn’t felt like opening up to anyone who doesn’t have the same challenges because they may not understand. She knows she will find others in the FEATT community that know what she’s going through and already feels the solidarity. She volunteered at the Douglas County fair and she said, “I learned so much from talking to others who get it. I needed that!”