I think I have found one of his most favorite spots this week.
Put him on his swing with his headphones on and I have one happy little boy. Now if I could figure out how to incorporate both of those with the pool....then we'd be in heaven!
What pieces of equipment do you have for your child? Or better yet, how to do mesh it all into your daily routines? I don't know about you guys but I have a hard time being able to get everything I'm suppose to do into one day without it seeming like a constant therapy session. An example for you, we're suppose to stretch his legs to make sure they don't tighten up at least a couple times a day, he should go in his stander for at least an hour a day, he should have his leg braces and his hand braces on for a better part of the day too. He is also suppose to wear his leg braces at night too. We should also make sure he gets in some walking in the walker. Also some floor time (tummy time), also some weight bearing on his arms. We should be doing the iGallop too but this is something we don't use much and I kick myself for not finding the time. Could also be doing more in his power chair to prevent crashing, so, "drivers training" so to speak.
All of this on top of him getting fed multiple times, and going to outside therapy six times a week. Plus I should really incorporate some fun time right? Sometimes there seems to be so much to do and not enough time. Then the guilt starts to set in about NOT doing enough. That perhaps if I did more, he would be able to walk or sit up, or maybe even be able to talk more. Oh, I over analyze everything....the what ifs.
What does your daily schedule look like and tell me how you manage it all.
9 comments:
Well, I certainly feel like our therapists love to dole out stuff to do that would keep us busy 25 hours a day, but I feel like I'm MOM and I'm so glad I can pick and choose what to do with Emma because she is a great little kid and not a therapy patient! I like to set a goal for each day - for example, today we will focus on tummy time or today we will focus on standing and then I plan fun activities around the daily goal. That makes it manageable and I know we get to everything over the course of the week. Also, I don't focus on stuff the same day as her therapy - i.e., if she has PT that day I might make our focus playing with puzzles or some other fine motor skill.
As for stretching, well, we try and do that every day during stories or while watching tv. It doesn't take too long, though, which is nice.
I am an Occupational Therapist. It can be overwhelming, and I think that sometimes therapists forget that kids have to be kids and they can't do too much. When I had my own kids, the home activities that I suggested decreased significantly because I saw how busy parenting is, and how overwhelming it is sometimes. And to the person who commented before me, That is a really good idea to have one thing that you would like to accomplish a day. I may use that suggestion when I am doing home programs.
Swings and head phones? Parker would be in heaven.
He doesn't have much fun therapy stuff. Just his Vest which turns out to be 20 minutes of hell twice a day....sigh.
Tammy and Parker
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I am very happy to see another therapist commenter! Agreeing with Tonya. Long ago the idea of 'home programs' was foisted on parents but has not gone completely out of style, I see.
I don't recommend stretching for parents - thinking that technique takes a lot of training to acquire skill. (Okay, call me a stretching-snob.) However, stretching occurs when positioning is done well - as in standing with braces. Can you tell a difference if you don't do the stretching?
The thing about standing is that it is only a position, and other activities can be done while standing - even WB to his arms.
Barbara
Bennett doesn't have as much of the physical deficits, so we've been lucky as far as cost of equipment and so on. I can get most of the stuff I need to try to teach him things on the cheap.
But I think as he gets older if the communication ability is still not there we'll be into having to go further down the road on very specialized equipment. I've heard some parents talking about Apps for an iPad that help with communication.
But that's an expensive piece of equipment too, and I would hate for Bennett to hurl it across the room, which he does with many items he picks up.
My husband is home with Emily these days and I know he struggles with trying to figure out how to fit it all in. I will be the one home with her starting in August so it is going to take some time to get a routine down. I like Kristina's suggestion to focus on one thing each day - that is doable!
Emily does usually spend about an hour a day in her stander (2 - 30 minute stretches). Sometimes she does great to play with her toys and sometimes you have to entertain her the whole time.
She has AFO's, hand splints, and a TLSO. She usually wears the AFO's all day (even for naps), but lately we have been having some trouble with them (not fitting right) so we are taking them off more and more just for our own sanity! We have been told she should wear her TLSO all day, but that gets hard to do especially when it is 96 degrees outside! So we try to make sure we use in when she is in her stander or doing standing exercises. She wears her hand splints to bed, but really should wear them during the day.
Thankfully our therapists are really good and know that it is hard to fit it all in. We just have to do what we can!
I decided to take it one day at a time and try to do a different piece of equipment on each day..and while in the stander working on the puzzles or augmentative device.
Thanks everyone for your help
We try to something each day, like days when he does not have therapy, we do the standing dani or the pacer. We don't do much the days he has PT since he gets whipped out, but we may do some hand eye stuff or creative play those days. I try to strech his legs in the bath, since the warm water helps to loosen them and I also strech while feeding him. We just try to do what we can and still allow Memphis to be a little boy.
Our schedules are drastically changing right now but I use to aim to do 30 minutes of PT, OT, and Vision stuff a day. But I really like Kristina's idea.
LJ's old schedule went something like this:
Breakfast, 10 minutes of senswitcher (vision thing online), 30-45 minutes of stander time, then free time (he use to opt for playing in his crib), then lunch and 10-15 minutes of practice sitting (of course while being distracted), then sitting up in his positioning chair for about 45 minutes, nap, freetime, dinner, stander again, bedtime.
The hard part is developing a schedule around therapies. We have something everyday and sometimes twice a day. I think Kristina's idea would allow us more freedom in our schedule, although I think no matter what, I'd like to do 10-15 minutes of practice sitting because it doesn't make him mad.
he loves is aquatics therapy and HIPPOtherapy.
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