This past month Alpine went on her first road trip. We had to travel to Saskatoon for the weekend, and Alpine did so well. She spent the majority of the weekend in cape, which was something she had not done before. Alpine took everything in stride as she tends to do and rose to the occasion. Not only did she settle for the entire 6.5-hour car ride, but she also did amazing while in restaurants. Due to COVID, we haven’t had the opportunity to practice our skills in a real-world setting too often, and I was worried about how Alpine would handle everything. She exceeded my expectations throughout the entire weekend.
In class, we tried to identify ways to help Alpine when she greets people. Sometimes she gets a little too excited to meet people and can forget her manners. We have been working hard on having Alpine offer a ‘chin’ in hopes of using this when she meets people. This will allow her to keep her body still while allowing someone to interact with her.
The end of September marks 1 year since Alpine came into my life. These past 12 months have been filled with highs and lows as we both figure out how best to work and understand each other. I am proud of the progress that we have made and look forward to continuing to learn how to help Alpine reach her full potential, whatever that may be.
Submitted by: Stephanie
