Hi Everyone,
We hope you all enjoyed your weekend! Corey has had a very good weekend. Although her therapy schedules are reduced, we kept very busy.
We’ve been out at the goose pond and the littlest gosling has grown so much in a week! It’s still struggling to get up the bank of the pond, but the important thing is it keeps trying and when it reaches the top of the bank, it flaps it’s little wings as if to say GO ME! Reminds me of another little blonde, don’t you think?
Two important updates, Corey moved her left leg spontaneously, bending it at the knee to lift her leg! This is brand new…I was so excited to see this. I’m sure she decided to move it herself because she’s tired of my range of motion exercises and wanted a break. No luck, just caused me to jump up and repeat the movement again and again!
The second piece is very exciting and may lead to better communication for Corey. We have been wondering if Corey could spell or possibly use the computer keyboard yet. When I asked her if she wanted to try, she instantly lifted her arm, pointed her finger but unfortunately, she doesn’t have the motor control of her finger, proper position to type and look down at the keys nor have the strength to move her arm to control her hand.
Needless to say, I have been networking with educators and therapists I know. I was given a laser pen. It is placed in soft sponge (similar to the ‘noodles’ you use in a pool – only 1” in diameter instead of 4”)
I placed the laser pen in Corey’s hand positioning the pen between the pointer and middle fingers with the sponge across the palm of her had to grip the tool. With my hand leading hers, I taught her how to move the tool just using a wrist motion; up, down, left and right. We practiced the movements trying to watch the red dot throughout the room on the clock, the ceiling, the plant, the computer screen etc.
After our initial lesson, I released my hand and repositioned it to her forearm as a brace. She then began her own game of laser tag. I called the object and she moved her wrist to try to hit the target. She was fairly accurate.
I then opened a blank page on WORD. I raised the font to 72 and typed A B C. We then used the tool to target letter recognition. She was spot on with A and C but we really need to fine tune the motor coordination before we can truly judge her accuracy and ability to differentiate between the letters. I’ve decided in addition to her YES/NO cards, I am going to make up cards that show the word and a symbol for HAPPY, SAD, HEADACHE, MOVIE, MUSIC etc. I will introduce them 3 at a time. Hopefully this will begin to build her vocabulary without her struggling to remember how to spell the words. Spelling bee’s will come soon enough!
Corey for the first night of trying, you did a great job! You’re ready to try anything new and we even had a few smiles as we played! What a great day you had. Everyday we watch you do something new that you didn’t do the day before. I’m so proud of you honey. Happy dreams, xoxo