OT

We met with an OT at the CP clinic this week. She was awesome with Mollie and I think she's going to be such a blessing to us. As I've said before, Mollie's CP is very mild. Of course that is wonderful news. But the downside to that, in my opinion, is that people, professionals, don't seem concerned about her limitations. I see how much she is capable of, and want to help her reach her full potential. Our new OT, Heather, is definitely on the same page.
We discovered that Mollie doesn't know how to crawl. She scoots, both arms and then both legs, together, not alternating. This is simply a brain signal thing, not an inability due to physical limitations. We can fix that! She doesn't use her right hand often, because her brain doesn't tell her to. But Heather liked the fact that she does use it at times, and feels that we can help her use it more by giving her more activities that require its use. The idea is to think of ways to incorporate her therapy into her daily play, rather than thinking of a separate "therapy time." Someday in the distant future we might do constraint therapy, where we limit the use of her left hand and force the use of the right, but obviously we won't do that until she can fully understand.
One of the ways Mollie is getting stronger is by exercising in our home gym. She goes to Crossfit with us every day and has obviously been paying attention, because she has created her own WODs (workout of the day) in our gym. I'm not kidding- she does the exercises and makes marks on the chalkboard like she's keeping up with her rounds! She does push presses, sit-ups, russian twists, jumps, and hanging from a bar!








Her social skills continue to improve, and she is becoming better- adjusted every day. She understands who her family is, and who is important in our lives, and she is accepting those people into her life. Tonight she even stayed home with S&A and my sister Debbie while Perry and I went out for a quick dinner. THAT is progress!
Sleep has finally come! She wakes a few times during the night still, but it's quick. The long awakenings, bad dreams, night terrors, etc have faded away, and only return occasionally. Her anger has also subsided tremendously. She doesn't fight me at nap time anymore, and her tantrums are rare. She is adjusting so well. Such a blessing.
We will be attempting a roadtrip with her later this week. Should be interesting...hope it doesn't set us back.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad