Hallway Walking

At PT today E was all over the place. We started before the PT session:





E has been wearing Kiniseo (?) Tape at the last two sessions.



I think it "differentiates" her right and left leg. She moves better when wearing the tape. I think it makes her more aware of how she is moving.

She did lots of moves while wearing ankle weights today. Here she is walking with them. Overall, looking pretty good!



We played "Candyland" where I hid cards and E had to walk to find them and take them back to the board to move her piece. Great idea, Emily!



The session ended with Elena trying to kick objects off her feet. If she's not on a pedestal, she walks right along after kicking. She did it ONE TIME, on the right, and steadied herself afterwards without any help!

Pool's open

Well, the pool opened this weekend and E can't wait to get wet! In the past, the baby pool has been a real drag for us parents...we had to be there b/c she couldn't balance in the pool when sitting, and the pool was too slick for her when she was standing. Not to mention the fact that lots of spasticity and really cold water does not make it easy for E to move in the pool. It was very labor intensive, and it was very emotionally difficult, as the environment really showed how different Elena was from the other neighborhood kids.

Well, things are different now, thank goodness!

SDR has really decreased E's spasticity--granted, she still has tightness, but it's so much less now, she can actually put both heels close to the ground even in cold water. She needs to be reminded to "squish her feet" often. Since E doesn't dorsiflex well, she scrapes the tops of her feet pretty badly. I bought some 'water socks'--some breathable sock with a tread bottom--which protected her feet well (but they won't last long).

Elena moves differently than other kids, her tone is obvious--but she can move now, I don't have to be in the baby pool every waking moment. She can cruise along the edge, in either direction, and smush her heels down relatively well. She can operate a water pistol while sitting on the edge of the pool (she used to really straighten her legs when concentrating with her hands). She didn't get her whole body in the water (it was frigid) but in the bathtub, she can alternatively kick her legs from the knee down (but it's labored and slow).

We'll see what kind of pool/swimming progress we can make this year...I have the feeling we'll be spending lots of time there.

It's a Question of Motivation

I still haven't posted E's (very poor) recent attempt at walking with her crutches in the hospital hallway. I'll link to it HERE once I get it up (it's on another tape). Yesterday we went to Short Pump, they have a Toddler Train which Elena LOVES. So, that was the carrot to dangle for her to use her loftstrands. Our hope was to get her to walk 25 feet three times during our stay at the Towne Center. We got her to do that, and then some. She was dynamite (at least, in the beginning).

E on her 2nd deliverable (first one not filmed):



I'm not holding her shoulders--I'm just there in case she topples. She normally falls forward these days, and with the loftstrands, she gets REALLY tangled up and then won't use them for a good long while after the fall. I used to contact guard her midsection, but she's too fast. I tried to just have my hands on the upper crutch part, but it messes up her motions...so shoulders it is (for now).

And the carrot:





She got to ride the train (twice), then play in Pottery Barn Kids (she walked through the whole store--no crutches) and got to push the baby stroller for a good long while. Then I got a cutie pic of her and her little sister Vivian (Elena can get on the chair all by herself now!)



Shopping (before kids) used to be fun. Now, it's mainly viewed as exercise for E. Still, it's a great activity--mostly level surfaces, plenty of handholds, motivational stuff for her to see/do, and teaches her to try to navigate around objects and people.

Walking at School

We're trying to get E to walk as much as we can. That's not so easy in an unfamiliar environment, or on a surface that has any incline/decline or unsmooth surface (even tile to low carpet can make her fall). (DISCLAIMER: Keep in mind--even though these videos show her walking, her balance is still poor. Her protective response has developed to be "pretty good" after years of therapy. Now that she is older, she gets frustrated with herself more, as she realizes she is different from others. Our persistent goal is to challenge her motor skills in the most positive way possible.)

She is making great gains at school...I hope we can continue this progress once school is out for the summer.

Here is E walking to the front of the class at Circle Time to draw the letter of the day.



And walking back to her chair.



Thank you Ms. Geisha, Ms. Ruth, Ms. Ariel, and the rest of Bright Stars!! I cannot say enough great things about this program, it is AWESOME!

Yoga

We have enrolled Elena in a parent+child yoga class. The instructor also teaches a Yoga for Special Needs class at the local children's hospital, but the class time does not work for us. We have been in the "yoga for all children" class for about 5 weeks now.

Elena LOVES yoga class. The class is small, about 5 parent+child pairs and the teacher. Yoga sort-of evens the gross-motor field, as no one is really running around, and most people are attempting to achieve poses but having trouble along the way. Each child gets to have a say in what poses we all do, and some of them are done pairwise (for us, most of them are, as Jason or I end up holding Elena for balance quite a bit). It's also nice that every once and a while, there is another child in the class with special needs. Ruth and Bill (the instructor and her husband) are very welcoming and patient, and the rest of the families are very nice.

Flower Pose


Turtle Pose


I have hoped for a long time that Elena will incorporate yoga into her stretching regimen. I thought I would try that once she was able to stand reliably by herself. She can do that, but not for very long...this is better. Not only is she getting a good stretch, she is enjoying herself, trying new things, and fitting in well in a child-centered exercise class.

Emphasis on Up and Moving

E has been making good walking progress. Around the house, we have really been encouraging her to walk around by herself. She does not crawl much anymore. When she falls, she will crawl to the nearest object to help her stand up--steps, the couch, something with a handhold or horizontal surface (normally, not walls). She has gotten up at least twice, from hands-and-knees on the floor to an upright standing position, independently (but it was pretty ugly).

Here is Elena walking at PT last week!

Walking to the next room (just starting to walk for the PT session):


Walking back from the toy room (playing "hot and cold"):


Bending over to pick up balls (note--KNEES OUT!):


She does lean back against Theresa a good amount when squats to pick up a ball. She normally (used to?) lean back AND have her knees cave in really badly--so, this is quite an improvement. We have really been working on this, and it seems to have paid off nicely--E does realize her knees don't have to touch when she bends down. YAY!