PT Recap: Same stuff, with progress

Here's some new vids of E at PT:

Obstacle Course: E needs to take small, controlled steps and then go uphill.


Obstacle Course: Down steps (going for step-through), and slalom.


Moving Backwards: Real progress here!


Walking on Mats/Stop: Controlled stepping over uneven surfaces and co-contraction to stop.


Even Hips: We're trying to get Elena to equalize her hip stance when standing or walking. Here she needs to lift up the hip/leg that isn't on the platform.


Stepping Backwards: Using a ball helps stabilize E, but also helps her realize to stand up tall while moving backwards (otherwise the ball is left behind).

PT recap: Stopping (NOT Ending Therapy--"Slowing to a Stop")

We've been focusing on stopping at PT for a while. Elena can now walk a reasonable distance in a forward direction. Her stopping ability is not reliable. This is a huge issue when other elements are added to the walking problem; other people, objects on the floor, no handholds (for instance). E also tends to reach her destination by stopping short and leaning onto an object (wall, table, person, etc.).

We are trying to teach her to walk to her end destination (end of hallway, for example), STOP, then touch the wall. We have had countless falls because she stops short and leans for a handhold for balance, only to miss it, or have the handhold move (door swinging, etc.).

E is definitely better at stopping when wearing her AFOs and shoes. She still leans for walls, but overall she can stop in the middle of a room and avoid falling or running into people. With her sneakers (sans AFOs), this still needs a lot of work, but this skill is definitely emerging.



In just a week, though--huge improvement!

PT recap: Good movement

E was great at PT last week. She started it off by pulling a toy into the therapy room. This is a short video--but check out this POSTURE! No AFOs, standing very tall! Note this is NOT E's usual position. Normally her knees are bent, and her right knee slightly caved in (you see this is in the video too). But she CAN stand very, very nicely!



Here is E doing another obstacle course.



And one on an incline--this is a long movie. I am there as a spotter in case E falls. I'm also trying to observe how Theresa helps operate E on an incline/decline--this is something I have not had the courage to try at home. Inclines would certainly be easier if E's tendons weren't so tight!



Theresa ended the session with a few walking drills for E. The object was to stand up, carry a car across the room, STOP, and slowly bring the car to the starting line. Then she was to stand up, walk back to the other car(s), STOP, and repeat with the next cars--a total of three cars, one for each of us for a car race. Elena's main issue here is stopping--she cannot reliably stop her forward walking motion wearing her sneakers without AFOs. She can reliably slow down, as she falls to the floor.



Overall, a very productive morning!

PT Recap: Obstacle Courses

E has been doing a mash-up of CME exercises at PT, rather than just one at a time. For instance, if she will be walking over boxes, instead of placing her on them, she'll start on the floor and have to step up (or down). This has definitely improved her ability to go down steps (she's been going up them well for some time now--with one hand held and one on the rail).

Here is E at PT last week.





E really didn't feel like doing much CME...she'd rather play with the swing on the mat. So we tried to get her to move to it herself. This is a big deal, b/c it involves her stopping, starting, walking, and stepping up in a controlled manner where she doesn't have the support of her AFOs.





It occured to me yesterday that this post contains clips that E has done before, with her AFOs. Each of those clips took FOREVER for E to do, months--years--of training. She's only been working without her AFOs since November. Her progress is incredible. In our experience, this CME therapy has been amazing!

Red Light, Green Light

I finally got a film clip of E playing Red Light, Green Light in The Hallway. She is getting much better at her starts and stops. She gets very upset when she falls, as if she's "lost the game". As long as she can get up and do it again, though, she's happy again. She got up twice after falling without assistance, and without hanging on (one of them took more than one try).

This is a short clip, b/c the light in the hallway made it hard to film, and I can't dynamically zoom while filming. If you're interested in seeing a whole hallway clip, try here.

After Christmas Party

Two of E's neighbor friends turned 3 right after Christmas. (Happy Bday L and K!) We were invited to their party--E is the only non-walker at this point. A lot of these kids are pretty close, as they play together often or attend the same school/day care/church. They run, chase, roughhouse...things E doesn't do. Still, they are all very nice to her, and E enjoys their company and, so far, doesn't seem to mind that she's not in the chase game or something like that.

Some of the kids were playing with balloons around the room. It was a first for us...a gross-motor activity that E's peers do that now SHE CAN DO TOO! Sure, E falls a lot. But sometimes she didn't! She walked to the balloon, stopped, picked it up, turned around and walked while carrying it, then threw it! She did it several times and really enjoyed herself. Here is one clip, not her best, but I did get it on camera.



Good times, great company, and even some milestones for E. Yay!

Will the Real Doodle Please Stand Up

E was awesome at PT yesterday!

We did a lot, but here's the highlights. We've been working a lot on getting E to SLOW DOWN, so she can better control her movements. Here is Theresa trying to get Elena to stand up, walk, STOP, and step down.



E has also been doing some great walking (FYI, she's in her current--purple--AFOs here). We have a goal of E walking 100 feet, with distant supervision. This supervision isn't so distant, but E looks pretty confident, and she turned this corner very well.



And now, for the BIGGIE of the day...E stands up! We've been working on this for SUCH a long time now. She can stand up from the floor, without assistance, maybe 25% of the time. But she can do it. Practice, practice, practice!



Elena we are so proud of you!!

PT recap: Power of the Tutu

E wore her puffy tutu last week to PT. She spent a lot of the time working on controlling her movements while walking--start, stop, stepping up, and down.



Her movement on the mat was really great! We are starting to see her "stop" and "start" in normal settings. Very exciting!

NOVA weekend

This weekend we went to Grandma and Grandpa's house. We went to the Smithsonian and the American History Museum. E's favorite part was the "bugs" (insect zoo).

On the way there, she walked through the bones exhibit--not too bad! She has been doing very well walking 10+ feet while having to navigate around people (including stop/start, 90 degree turns, without falling or holding on to strangers).



BUG PIC



Even though it was late, she did a lot of walking and playing around the interactive children's section of the American History museum, including navigating a room of playing kids and not falling! (No vids or pics though.)

The next day, we took E to a playground. She loves a challenge. Steps are not her favorite, though...



She played with some boys on their "Pirate Ship"--she was the captain!



Abandon ship! I want to take this same pic in another year or two...maybe E can climb out of there like those two boys. Right now it's just a dream...a cute, bittersweet picture.



Up the "Castle Ramp"--it's a ramp with little wooden planks (not steps, more like a texturized ramp).



My FAVORITE!! E walks on PEBBLES! This was the 4th time. The first two were better (10+ steps, no falling) but I did get this one on video.



There were also other great opportunities--web ladder, suspended balance beam, rope bridge--but I was on assisting duty so I don't have footage. Overall though, E does well with heavy assistance on a playground like this. It's very challenging for her, and she has a great time!