At Parish School there is a separate but together therapy center for the kids. You don't have to attend Parish School to get services there, but it's on the same campus which makes it super easy for the kiddos to leave class, do therapy and rejoin. The only "problem" is that it's all self pay and they do not file with your insurance. So, that's a lot of money out of pocket and paperwork to try and get insurance to cover it (insert hysterical laugh here).
We decided to keep Will doing "home health" speech and PT and move OT services to the new place. They have a huge variety of more physical options such as a ball pit and other equipment. So, it's more like gross motor OT versus fine motor OT which we were doing.
Will LOVES going to Ms. T's classroom and another little girl in his class goes about the same time on the same day as well, so they can enjoy the ball pit and some play time together too.
I haven't seen any major physical changes, but I think this is giving Will's body a different kind of work out and a lot of the play mimics the challenges he would have on playground equipment so it is helping improve some of the coordination required there and helping build his confidence.
I don't know if we'll ever see another HUGE leap on the physical front. That portion of his brain is simply gone, there's no fix for the ataxia or lack of coordination, but there are good days and bad days. Right now the good outnumber the bad and like they say, if you don't use it, you could lose it. So doing this type of workout is good for his body. BTW, he's 53 pounds and 4 feet tall now!
He climbed up on the stack of mats by himself and hung on for a second or two.
Blurry, but he went flying!
A child size elliptical! Who knew? It was interesting to watch him trying to coordinate his body to make it work. He got it going a couple of times, but you could tell it was difficult.
Ball pit!
New boots....
I swear, only one pair of six boots Will has had has ever gone smoothly. I won't waste my time or yours rehashing the frustration and exasperation this process seems to require...
We got these new SuperMan boots back in October and it took multiple trips to the boot place (a 45 minute drive both ways) to get it done correctly. I'm pleased to say he eased into wearing them well and he's now sporting new shoes and new boots.
He totally picks the theme of the boots each time and I'm always curious to see what his selections are - UT Longhorns, Sports and now SuperMan. I'm just thankful he hasn't selected the pink daisy one. He's pretty adamant when he picks the theme and knows exactly what he wants. Pink daisy's are great, but these boots are already enough of a discussion point with random people, we don't need to add another layer of complication into the mix :-)
BTW - did you know that the special socks he wears with the boots are $8 / pair? That doesn't include shipping and handling. We get our money's worth as we just restocked our sock drawer and tossed out a bunch of socks with holes.
The boots are a perfect choice for our little hero. Of course, nothing tops the longhorns but I'll say this is a close second. The PT looks fantastic! Definetly not something that could be easily replicated at home. Seems like a wise choice to separate them out that way. Its a shame they won't bill insurance, but I understand why too as an SLP. So much hassle. Its one of the reasons I didn't ultimately work in a clinic (cannot stand the insurance stuff. total headache). Big hugs to the Martin family!
ReplyDeleteXOXO
B