Happy Halloween! So it's the last day of October and I just learned that it is National Physical Therapy Month. I couldn't let the month slip by without giving a shoutout to Cami's physical therapist, Christine! Other than the pediatrician, Christine was the first provider we added to the team. She's been with Cami for more than a year, teaching our family many strategies to help Cami and consistently being an advocate and cheerleader for our girl. Christine, we are grateful to you and the Early Intervention program! Thank you for all you do!
Before this all started, I didn't know physical therapy for a baby was a thing. I didn't have close experiences with special needs kids and my only experience with physical therapy included several painful months following a broken elbow where I spent hours trying to straighten my arm again.
The day-to-day experience of a special needs child or parent just hadn't crossed my mind. Fast forward one year, and thoughts like "How can I turn this into a therapy exercise?" consume my life.
So for those who are curious, this is what a year of physical therapy has looked like for us:
Cami started weekly physical therapy at 8-months old. We started with sensory issues. She still had a very strong startle reflex and hated being moved around much. We began with "Circle of Life" exercises (aptly named by my husband) and moving her around in different positions.
Sometimes this meant lying her on a blanket and dragging her along the ground or swinging her in the air to give her new sensations to experience.
We were constantly trying to find new things to motivate her to move. String cheese worked for awhile. Now she goes for "novel" toys she's never seen before. The more lights and music, the better.
For the longest time, Cami HATED belly time. With her low muscle tone (hypotonia), it was essential we worked on this. We were most successful when she was lying on my chest, but even that was a struggle. It wasn't until 17-months that she finally began tolerating play while on her belly. We still "wrestle" often to move in and out of belly time as much as possible.
We worked on getting Cami to hold her own bottle. She figured this out around 12-months (super helpful!)
And sitting.... Cami's physical therapist gave us an adapted seat in the shape of a C that we used at home and at daycare. It was more supportive than a Boppy pillow but less supportive than a Bumbo seat. She spent a LOT of time in that seat and mastered sitting independently at 13-months.
Now at 21-months we are working on getting Cami to bare weight in her hands. She doesn't like the pressure on her hands - another sensory issue - so we massage her hands often. The other night she moved my hands to her feet to give me a clear signal that she'll take a foot massage over a hand massage any day. Message received, little girl!
We rock back and forth on all 4's (p.s. kudos to this Dad who will do whatever it takes to motivate his kid to move!)
And standing... At 18-months, Cami received SMO braces. She's doing well bearing weight with support. We've been testing equipment including a stander and gait trainer that will help her stand independently and begin walking.
It's not easy. Cami is nervous, frustrated, tired, or just angry through most PT sessions.
And I often worry we're not doing enough.
But every inchstone is worth celebrating as it is one step closer to another milestone! A BIG THANKS to our Early Intervention team for helping us through this journey.
Comments