Leigh
07-13-2007, 09:48 AM
Yesterday, Iain had a follow up appointment with our OT to see how our Wilbarger was doing and to hopefully move ahead with his therapy.
She was absolutely amazed at the difference in Iain as she came to greet us in the waiting area and Iain was in a corner playing with a beaded table with another little boy on the other side of the table and his Mother sitting in a way that sort of blocked any retreat. NO way would Iain have allowed himself to be cornered like that, interact with someone strange nor would he have allowed an adult that close to him, especially if it blocked his retreat.
We got into the room and the shrieking started. He actually slammed the door to keep the OT out. lol She came in and he began to relax and surprisingly he calmed down very quickly. Again, this is another added bonus. Slowly, he began to interact a bit and then he flopped on the floor and begged for Wilbarger, so I complied. Immediately, he was much calmer and shortly thereafter he was fully interacting with her. He pretty much ignored me and was thrilled beyond belief at a big tunnel she had that he could use for heavy work and he just kept on going and going and going until he was sweaty. He really worked hard yesterday. She was able to redirect him a bit, but was not too worried about it as she was still developing a repoire with him. I believe he now would see her as a buddy and hope the next session will be better.
She told me that she spoke to the OT who did the initial screening of Iain and that they decided we should continue on with the Wilbarger for now. Although they do usually begin to wean kids off the protocol after 2 weeks, there are no set rules and as Iain really seems to need it, we shall continue for now. I am to try to cut down a bit, trying to stick around the 3 X per day for now and see if he "asks" for it more on the weekend. If he does, then we give it to him. I am also to start doing some figure 8s on his back instead of just straight brushing. She gave me a new brush as ours is a bit scratchy now. We will likely touch base on this again once she returns from holidays in early August.
She noted his speech explosion as he has never been that verbal around her. He was definately much more relaxed and open to interaction. He was not as "anxious" at all. She is absolutely thrilled at his progress and so are we.
I told her that we have had trouble still with the transitions at daycare and that for one week he ate in total at daycare one grape. He is back to eating a bit again and is definately eating better at home now. She was hoping this would translate into better eating overall, but it is still early on. I have had several days where it tears the soul right out of me lately when I drop him off as he is sobbing so hard. She will visit the daycare and perhaps train a teacher there to give Wilbarger in the afternoon and will also come up with a sensory diet and schedule for the teachers to do. I hope they will comply. It has become abundantly clear that I do indeed need to change daycares as we have had tremendous success with this protocol and they have seen only what they view as "nominal" success there. They simply can not and it seems at tiimes, will not accomodate him and his needs. That breaks my heart, so I am trying to get to another daycare but it will not be easy to split the boys up, there are very few daycares in my area and the ones that are here and recommended are full.
I am to continue to provide pressure around his mouth and continue to attempt to get into his mouth. She does not want me to use the Nuk brush yet and will guide me when she gets back with that, if Iain is ready. He has allowed me to put my fingers in his mouth and touch his gums a few times fleetingly.
We talked about his stance and knock knees again and she said he is not knock kneed, but hyperlastic (sp?) and there is a difference. Although when he stands he looks like an "X" as his knees knock together she said not to worry as he is still within normal parameters. He is just super flexible and does have good tone now. This is terrific considering at even the age of 2 and a bit beyond he was a rag dog with no tone.
Although we did see a rough transition period of about 2 days, we are beyond thrilled with Wilbarger and what it has done for Iain thus far. I love this OT. She is very patient and has a plan for Iain. She is in tune with him and rejoices her success with him as much as I do. How different things can be when you have a therapist that is so great.
She was absolutely amazed at the difference in Iain as she came to greet us in the waiting area and Iain was in a corner playing with a beaded table with another little boy on the other side of the table and his Mother sitting in a way that sort of blocked any retreat. NO way would Iain have allowed himself to be cornered like that, interact with someone strange nor would he have allowed an adult that close to him, especially if it blocked his retreat.
We got into the room and the shrieking started. He actually slammed the door to keep the OT out. lol She came in and he began to relax and surprisingly he calmed down very quickly. Again, this is another added bonus. Slowly, he began to interact a bit and then he flopped on the floor and begged for Wilbarger, so I complied. Immediately, he was much calmer and shortly thereafter he was fully interacting with her. He pretty much ignored me and was thrilled beyond belief at a big tunnel she had that he could use for heavy work and he just kept on going and going and going until he was sweaty. He really worked hard yesterday. She was able to redirect him a bit, but was not too worried about it as she was still developing a repoire with him. I believe he now would see her as a buddy and hope the next session will be better.
She told me that she spoke to the OT who did the initial screening of Iain and that they decided we should continue on with the Wilbarger for now. Although they do usually begin to wean kids off the protocol after 2 weeks, there are no set rules and as Iain really seems to need it, we shall continue for now. I am to try to cut down a bit, trying to stick around the 3 X per day for now and see if he "asks" for it more on the weekend. If he does, then we give it to him. I am also to start doing some figure 8s on his back instead of just straight brushing. She gave me a new brush as ours is a bit scratchy now. We will likely touch base on this again once she returns from holidays in early August.
She noted his speech explosion as he has never been that verbal around her. He was definately much more relaxed and open to interaction. He was not as "anxious" at all. She is absolutely thrilled at his progress and so are we.
I told her that we have had trouble still with the transitions at daycare and that for one week he ate in total at daycare one grape. He is back to eating a bit again and is definately eating better at home now. She was hoping this would translate into better eating overall, but it is still early on. I have had several days where it tears the soul right out of me lately when I drop him off as he is sobbing so hard. She will visit the daycare and perhaps train a teacher there to give Wilbarger in the afternoon and will also come up with a sensory diet and schedule for the teachers to do. I hope they will comply. It has become abundantly clear that I do indeed need to change daycares as we have had tremendous success with this protocol and they have seen only what they view as "nominal" success there. They simply can not and it seems at tiimes, will not accomodate him and his needs. That breaks my heart, so I am trying to get to another daycare but it will not be easy to split the boys up, there are very few daycares in my area and the ones that are here and recommended are full.
I am to continue to provide pressure around his mouth and continue to attempt to get into his mouth. She does not want me to use the Nuk brush yet and will guide me when she gets back with that, if Iain is ready. He has allowed me to put my fingers in his mouth and touch his gums a few times fleetingly.
We talked about his stance and knock knees again and she said he is not knock kneed, but hyperlastic (sp?) and there is a difference. Although when he stands he looks like an "X" as his knees knock together she said not to worry as he is still within normal parameters. He is just super flexible and does have good tone now. This is terrific considering at even the age of 2 and a bit beyond he was a rag dog with no tone.
Although we did see a rough transition period of about 2 days, we are beyond thrilled with Wilbarger and what it has done for Iain thus far. I love this OT. She is very patient and has a plan for Iain. She is in tune with him and rejoices her success with him as much as I do. How different things can be when you have a therapist that is so great.