Review: Feldenkrais

I had heard of Feldenkrais as a therapeutic activity through one of the newsgroups I belong to; I have to admit, I had low expectations. I figured, if I walked in some place and they started burning incense and ringing bells, I was outta there. I wasn't sure if it was some new-agey hocus-pocus snake-oil miracle cure some crazy was trying to put on me. Still...I figured, well--it's worth a try. It couldn't hurt, right?

I looked up to see if there were any practitioners in my area; there are four. That surprised me. I called a few and left messages, and two called me back. One called me back twice--this is ALWAYS great for me, b/c it means 1) they are interested in my business and 2) frequently I forget to do things, and I like people remembering for me. I made an appointment with the gentleman caller. I also gave Keith this blog as a reference, which he checked out. AND he saw us on TV the night before our visit--bonus!

After entering his workspace I was immediately relieved. I saw lots of familiar tools--foam rollers, all kinds of balls, mats, etc. He was always focused on Elena and how she was moving, and took time to see how E reacted to having him around her space. He gained her trust before trying to move her, touch her feet/back/legs, and Elena had a great time--so great, in fact, that she exclaimed later in the session--"Mr. Keith you are SO COOL".

Keith explained to me what Feldenkrais was about--I'll try to get this right--it's about improving body awareness by helping the client realize how to move in a different way. As opposed to our traditional PT, where we work on strengthening and using weak muscles through repetition, bargaining, and pressure, Feldenkrais is a gentle approach where the client is in charge, and the practitioner (if allowed) will try to show the client a different way to utilize their muscles as they move about freely. Keith ran the session so that when he spoke, he commanded E's attention so that she knew every time he talked it was beneficial to listen. For instance, Keith showed how he controlled a whiffle ball with the bottom of his foot, and asked Elena if she'd like to try. She did, and did it fine on her left foot. The other foot she couldn't do--so he told/showed her that she could use her right foot if she stopped leaning on it (and her right arm) for balance. It's a small nudge of change--but she was very receptive to the message. No magic light bulbs went off, but throughout the session (which was long--about 90 minutes) she did move in a slightly different way, and enjoyed Keith's company and challenges. As an added bonus, he videotaped the entire session--and then sent it to me, completely annotated, for my review. WOW. My husband was impressed with the time, detail, and patience devoted to this session. I will ask if I can cut a clip and post it here.

Am I sold? Not completely. I think it is valuable, definitely. My problem is two-fold: 1) It is expensive. I don't think it's expensive for the work done--I am happy with Keith's work (from my one visit), and especially impressed with his video commentary. It is expensive as another addition to our already pricey therapy/doctor/equipment list. 2) It is time consuming. E's school year starts at the end of this month, and our schedule is already pretty busy. I thought I might be able to commit a small amount of time to Feldenkrais, but I wasn't sure if that would garner any results.

Keith's suggestion is that we try a few visits in rapid succession, if time and money permits. He thinks that would be more beneficial than regular meetings spaced weeks apart. I agree with him. I am happy with our first visit, and I think I should give it a go. Our plan is to see what Elena's school schedule is--when she has a school holiday, we are going to schedule three visits during that week of E's school--one on the day off, one or two where we take her to school late or leave early, and/or ton the weekend (if Keith can swing it).

Overall--very positive experience. If time and money were no object, we'd definitely do this. At this moment, I'm unsure if it is worth changing/substituting Feldenkrais for something else in her current therapy schedule. We'll see.

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Home Highlight Reel: Walking/Stairs with Delicious

E was moving at a good clip here! Making the rounds before heading upstairs for bedtime:



And up the steps--meh. She's been better.



We've definitely noticed her movements are jerkier/hands are higher/attitude is poorer in the evening, since we've scrapped her midday nap. I expect her endurance to improve gradually. The tradeoff is an easy bedtime. SO WORTH IT.

Bday Weekend: Happy E, Cranky Mommy

Last weekend E was invited to A's birthday party. She was so excited, they were all going to Build-A-Bear Workshop and then to a park for the bday picnic. It sounded great! E was very excited about the stuffed animal process. She picked a lamb, and after a lot of jokes from Mommy as to what to name him, she actually insisted on keeping one of the suggestions.

Ch operates the blower while E "air-washes" Delicious


E wanted Delicious to have a baby carrier; I thought it was a fine idea--mainly b/c Elena does not have any backpacks, and she's never tried to move with one. Here goes--note her right heel is up (I'm pretty sure she's out of her shoe there) and that her weight is constantly on her left.



E and M-E at the computers


After the BaBW, the kids met up at one of the parks around town. I've written about how difficult it can be to handle Elena on grass...but this upped the difficulty by adding a "splayground", a sprinkler-splash playground. Uh-oh.

INSERT PICTURE OF PARK HERE (I don't have one yet)

I knew about it--but hadn't ever been there. I didn't know the playground would be a little "downhill"--but she navigated it okay with her crutches (with contact guarding)--but it took a lot out of her (and me, since I have to be rightthere when she's climbing a playground). I brought E's bathing suit, her crutches and her rain boots, hoping that *maybe* she could keep her braces on under the boots around the sprinklers. After I got there...NO WAY. She couldn't wear her braces in the splayground--they'd get soaked, and give her blisters--and she can't use her crutches without her AFOs/shoes. We currently don't have any walkers. Even with holding hands, it would be a challenge, and there were TOO MANY KIDS to just let her crawl around. I had a friend watch E while I surveyed the scene...there was NO WAY to work this playground other than for me to be her permanent attachment. I was very pouty, and I got very wet. Lately, when E is around her peers I have been noticing how similar they act--NOT HERE. It was a shock to me how very different, how very behind E is motor-wise during this part of the party. I left very frustrated, which was NOT my intention. *sigh*

But--the very most important thing, E had a great time. Honestly--never once said how slow she was, or she didn't want me to be around, or that she was always last or everyone had already left for the next activity. So, I must be doing something right. She had a BLAST, and loved seeing everyone at the party. We're thankful to be invited, and so glad that everyone is so nice to E. Happy Bday A!

PT recap: Catching and Chairs

Warm-ups for trying to keep those heels down: walking with downward pressure from the hips (not shown), cues to "smush her heels" (not shown), then the Bounce Catch drills:





I had brought up to Theresa my observations of Elena not being able to isolate her legs while sitting up (the idea of scooting down a slide, while staying up, or getting off a bench without a handhold). A good amount of time was testing her ability to maneuver herself on and off a sitting platform--this one had a place for her to hold onto. She did better than I thought she would. There are more videos of her Chair Trials on The Doodle; here are shown the highlights.

Getting up, transitioning well from climbing to sitting forward:


Theresa showing Elena weight shifts:


E trying these weight shifts (this is the second try):


My hope is that when she realizes how to shift her weight while in a sitting position, she will be better able to differentiate her midsection and her hips/legs while staying in a stable upright position--so she can stay upright while dynamically moving (like going down a slide, or scooting off an elevated flat surface).

We're on TV tonight!

E's blog will be featured on the local news station this evening! Thanks to CBS-19 for featuring us! Here are the video spots.

Big Weekend: Water Country and Busch Gardens

Last weekend we had a big trip. This was a pretty big deal.

We took E to two amusement parks; one per day, with her good friend A. They also got to spend a night in a hotel--a first for E, and they even got to sleep in the same bed! E's first sleepover!!

We went to Water Country USA as our first park. I wasn't sure how that would turn out...E can't swim (like most 4 year olds, though, so that's not a big deal) but she also would be without her shoes on for the entire duration of our time at the park. No AFOs, no shoes, no crutches (she can't really use them yet barefoot)...which either means a lot of floating, or a lot of carrying. Turns out, it was a pretty good day! Even though E isn't the most confident sometimes, she is a thrill-seeker.

Before getting wet


We started on a ride called the Hubba Hubba Highway. It's a "river"-style attraction with a medium current, where you just plop in with or without a life vest (we all wore ours) and float along. There are different styles of jets and sprinklers along the way. It was great fun for everyone--but I noticed something VERY QUICKLY: E cannot right herself in the water while wearing the life vest. We planned on staying together, but literally we needed to be holding her the entire time (or she was holding on to us) b/c otherwise she could not reliably keep her face out of the water. She won't stay "up and down" like the other kids. Not right now, anyway.

Really, any (age/height) appropriate attraction that involved a handhold was fine for E. This means any raft-type of ride, she could do, and loved it--even the fast ones! But any activity that involved no hand holds--slides, a mat-style ride, or straight up swimming was a no-go. We tried her on a small kiddie slide, with Jason helping her start sitting up at the top, and me at the bottom to catch her. At the bottom of the slide, since she was lying down, she slid under the water and got gushed in the eyes, nose and mouth. I caught her the best I could--but slides were a definite NO after that

Here is E on a smaller raft ride.


E "swimming" in the shallows--looking pretty good here.


Overall Water Country was great. Stay close to E, no slides--once we learned that, a fun time was had by all. The highlight (not shown) was when we all got to ride a BIG slide, where all 5 of us got to ride together in one big tube. The girls had a blast, and were pretty exhausted by bedtime.

Mr. Ben reading the girls a bedtime story


The next day we all went to Busch Gardens. Our first stop was to inquire about a Ride Access Pass, where Elena could have the opportunity to go on the rides without waiting in line terribly long. We actually didn't use this too often, but when we did, it really made the experience easier. People who have the RAP wear bracelets on their wrists--one to signify they have "priority access", and the other to inform the ride operator if there is a height restriction (in this case, E wore an orange band b/c she is shorter than 40 inches). This made for very little hassle getting to the front of the line. Everyone was quite nice, no one gave us any fuss, and no one who was waiting in line for an hour made any mean comments. Here are E and A on some rides!

Glider Girls


White Baronesses


At the entrance to DragonLand (a big playground, with some kiddie rides)


On the rope bridge at DragonLand (YES I am very tired!)


Interestingly, they have two large metal slides at DragonLand. I posted above how slides are a problem for E; she really wanted to try these. Jason took off her shoes (to let her slide better), and let her go. Turns out, the slides aren't so slippery; it was more of a inclined tunnel, as everyone had to "scoot" their way to the bottom. E can do that--and it was great exercise for her.

And last, the highlight of the weekend: Das Festhaus!! Ben thought the girls would like the show. That is a GIANT UNDERSTATEMENT--E was so excited, she started stiffening on her bench while clapping and yelling. Seriously, I have not seen her this excited EVER. Not Christmas, not her birthday, not having grandparents visit--Das Festhaus trumped ALL! One of the dancers--a VERY tall, handsome gentleman, came right up to E to see if she wanted to dance. ADORABLE!

ein Gentleman, wie er im Buche steht




One of the last dances was The Chicken Dance. A was very excited--she had been practicing before our trip! E knows the dance too, but has problems with the shimmy part, and when the dance speeds up. Still, she had a FANTASTIC time, I was just tickled to be there to witness it. I know the video is shaky, but hopefully you get the idea.



Thanks to the staff at Water Country, Busch Gardens, and Ben and A for a suPER FUN WEEKEND!