Right before school got out, our main PT suggested I find summer placement for E. I could barely function--I was up to my multitasking LIMIT, I couldn't think about putting E in summer school. Besides...I wanted her summer to feel "different" than the school year (even though she had a GREAT time at school). I was worried if I got her in a school (vacation Bible school, Summer Day care, Day camp, community classes) she'd have problems with being isolated despite being in a group of people. She wouldn't know the terrain, and the teachers might not be able to see to her needs while there were 20 other toddlers running around. Once, in school, all the kids were drawing at a table before breakfast. Once food was ready, EVERYONE LEFT. The teachers were tending to the kids (they did need to eat), but E was left there--b/c she couldn't get out of her chair by herself (the table was very high, and the chair didn't have a step at the bottom. I was heartbroken. Granted, the teachers were very in tune with E, and she was happy coloring, and she did get to the breakfast table later. But what would happen with a room with less teachers per student--and those teachers NOT having any experience with special needs?
E's PT suggested a "shadow". Someone who would be there for E physically, while giving her the best opportunity to interact with her peers. Great idea! Now I had to FIND ONE! Oh, and find activities.
After some searching, I was directed to a very nice junior in high school. She came over to meet E--E was DELIGHTED--and SW started learning pretty quick how E moves/falls/etc. There wasn't that much time to prep SW before E's courses started--I picked a Music and Movement class and a beginning Ballet/Tap class (E LOVES girly-dancy-tutu wearing activities). (I could have picked some more artsy-sit-down classes, but we do enough art at home.) I had checked with the program director and warned the teachers of our situation prior to the class. So far, so good. No major falls!
In addition to the classes, SW helps E at the local library twice a week for fun activities, and this week also took her to the pool. I confess, I'm a little jealous-but this seems to be a very good situation--I get to work, E gets to play, and E's little sister Vivian gets some attention too. It's a little heavy on the wallet, though.
Saturday, June 6, 2009
PT recap: Scooter pushing
At private PT last week, Elena did some walking and some scooter pushing. She's done this before, but it's obvious from the videos she's getting better at working a kick-scooter.
Here is the start of PT--Elena trying to independently go from standing to sitting on the floor surface behind her. She fell here, but she's done better previously (hasn't fallen all the way backwards).
She also is working on walking backwards. She can do it when she is holding onto something, but not if her hands are free.
Scooter pushing--she does pretty well when pushing with her right foot (weight on her dominant leg). Pushing with her left foot isn't so good.
Here is the start of PT--Elena trying to independently go from standing to sitting on the floor surface behind her. She fell here, but she's done better previously (hasn't fallen all the way backwards).
She also is working on walking backwards. She can do it when she is holding onto something, but not if her hands are free.
Scooter pushing--she does pretty well when pushing with her right foot (weight on her dominant leg). Pushing with her left foot isn't so good.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
PT Recap: Rope Ladder and "Frog Pose"
I've been perusing the internet for new, constructive ways to challenge Elena physically. I mean--everything is a challenge, but I need to "keep it fresh" in order to keep Elena motivated. I think, this summer, my ideas need to revolve around getting out of Elena's "comfort zone" (and my own). Meaning, more activities on grass. Hills. Climbing. Water. Getting messy. I think my husband and I spend most of our constructive time with Elena working on making everyday activities fun--like walking around the house (hide and seek), steps (foot race), cooking, undressing/dressing, treadmill, stretches, etc. She is getting BORED.
Cue Emily at PT this week--getting Elena to climb up a rope ladder. This is challenging for the able-bodied; it's certainly not the first thing I'd get Elena to try to do. But, voila! A lot of assistance, but Elena definitely got better at it by the end of the session. She was pretty excited and willing to try, but got scared, got frustrated, and then got adventurous and had a good time!
She would collect cards at the top of the ladder, throw them to the floor, then descend and squat in "Frog Pose" to match the cards to a placard (Goodnight Moon matching game). She even held the squat unassisted (first time ever!)!
For placards placed far away, we had her do her "downward dog" or her "walk the dog" (downward dog with alternating weight shifts) to match the cards.
Cue Emily at PT this week--getting Elena to climb up a rope ladder. This is challenging for the able-bodied; it's certainly not the first thing I'd get Elena to try to do. But, voila! A lot of assistance, but Elena definitely got better at it by the end of the session. She was pretty excited and willing to try, but got scared, got frustrated, and then got adventurous and had a good time!
She would collect cards at the top of the ladder, throw them to the floor, then descend and squat in "Frog Pose" to match the cards to a placard (Goodnight Moon matching game). She even held the squat unassisted (first time ever!)!
For placards placed far away, we had her do her "downward dog" or her "walk the dog" (downward dog with alternating weight shifts) to match the cards.
End of Bright Stars Pre-K
Today marked the last day of Elena's first year of pre-K. It has been AWESOME. She has made some incredible progress this year, and the staff at Stone Robinson for the Bright Stars program are amazing.
When we first started the program, Elena had just started using words in a sentence. She had to take one word for each breath. She had problems pronouncing nearly half the sounds of the alphabet. She's now a complete chatterbox, and has very little pronunciation difficulty. She loves singing and even makes up songs herself.
Before pre-K, Elena did not have the opportunity to interact with her peers. Now she looks forward to playing with friends, and loves games, dress-up, and other peer activities. She is quite social.
Before school, the only place Elena was comfortable getting around independently was one floor in our home. She now readily will try to walk on any flat surface, regardless of terrain (carpet, hardwood, cement, etc.) and will use her crutches with contact guarding.
Here is a clip of Elena and some of her classmates (they couldn't all fit in the camera view) singing the first of three songs at the end of the year Bright Stars Party. She can be a little shy, at first (she did better during the second song, not filmed). She also is quite tired (it was nearly 800pm) and both of her feet needed to be readjusted in her braces. She is also one year younger than her classmates. The differences between Elena and her classmates are obvious. But, for the first time--SO ARE THE SIMILARITIES.
Words cannot express how thankful we are for being included in the Bright Stars program. THANK YOU Geisha, Ruth, Sherry, Maureen, Cathy, Ariel, Ms. Higgins, Neil, the rest of the Stone Robinson Staff, E's reading buddies, the Jumpstart volunteers--and to her classmates, who treated Elena just like a normal kid.
When we first started the program, Elena had just started using words in a sentence. She had to take one word for each breath. She had problems pronouncing nearly half the sounds of the alphabet. She's now a complete chatterbox, and has very little pronunciation difficulty. She loves singing and even makes up songs herself.
Before pre-K, Elena did not have the opportunity to interact with her peers. Now she looks forward to playing with friends, and loves games, dress-up, and other peer activities. She is quite social.
Before school, the only place Elena was comfortable getting around independently was one floor in our home. She now readily will try to walk on any flat surface, regardless of terrain (carpet, hardwood, cement, etc.) and will use her crutches with contact guarding.
Here is a clip of Elena and some of her classmates (they couldn't all fit in the camera view) singing the first of three songs at the end of the year Bright Stars Party. She can be a little shy, at first (she did better during the second song, not filmed). She also is quite tired (it was nearly 800pm) and both of her feet needed to be readjusted in her braces. She is also one year younger than her classmates. The differences between Elena and her classmates are obvious. But, for the first time--SO ARE THE SIMILARITIES.
Words cannot express how thankful we are for being included in the Bright Stars program. THANK YOU Geisha, Ruth, Sherry, Maureen, Cathy, Ariel, Ms. Higgins, Neil, the rest of the Stone Robinson Staff, E's reading buddies, the Jumpstart volunteers--and to her classmates, who treated Elena just like a normal kid.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Independent Treadmill!
Sidebars are GO!!
Here is Elena on her treadmill, moving independently thanks to Steve the Welder!
These bars are adjustable height, and removable so the treadmill and bars still fit under Elena's bed for easy storage.
The bars not only save our lower backs, but also allow us to help her initiate heel-strike, which we couldn't do when we were holding her by the waist. Hopefully, that will help her gait pattern. So far, she doesn't hold onto the bars with a "death grip", so she's not using her hands to stabilize herself too much--but she still (obviously) leans into her stride if not closely supervised.
Here is Elena on her treadmill, moving independently thanks to Steve the Welder!
These bars are adjustable height, and removable so the treadmill and bars still fit under Elena's bed for easy storage.
The bars not only save our lower backs, but also allow us to help her initiate heel-strike, which we couldn't do when we were holding her by the waist. Hopefully, that will help her gait pattern. So far, she doesn't hold onto the bars with a "death grip", so she's not using her hands to stabilize herself too much--but she still (obviously) leans into her stride if not closely supervised.
PT highlights
I am too excited about the next post to go too much into detail--
Dorsiflex drills are getting better. Here is E in the macaroni pool raising her feet. The more she does this, hopefully the stronger/more aware she will be to walk normally.
Here's the left:
and the right:
Getting better at this...
All her PTs (and myself) think there need to be some changes in her AFOs, b/c she's still "rising up" in them, despite the fact that when her braces are taken off, it's easy to reposition her feet (pre-SDR, it was very hard to flex her feet to get them back into her braces properly). The consensus is to add a toe pad to "break up" her tone by preventing her toes from curling. We'll see how that works this Tuesday.
Dorsiflex drills are getting better. Here is E in the macaroni pool raising her feet. The more she does this, hopefully the stronger/more aware she will be to walk normally.
Here's the left:
and the right:
Getting better at this...
All her PTs (and myself) think there need to be some changes in her AFOs, b/c she's still "rising up" in them, despite the fact that when her braces are taken off, it's easy to reposition her feet (pre-SDR, it was very hard to flex her feet to get them back into her braces properly). The consensus is to add a toe pad to "break up" her tone by preventing her toes from curling. We'll see how that works this Tuesday.
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