Yesterday was our first trip to the Occupational and Physical Therapy department at Children's Mercy. Grandma Ellen went with us. Judy is our new PT and Wendy is our new OT. We'll be seeing them once a month to evaluate Toby's progress and make sure he is getting every opportunity available to him. This is what I've been waiting for since our first visit to Children's Mercy.
Toby has been in early intervention therapy since he was 6 months old. I have no complaints about either of his therapists through this program and we will continue to see them. Dr. Facchini, Toby's neurologist, suggested that we also see the PT/OT department at Children's to make sure Toby stays on an aggressive path of therapy.
Judy offered up suggestions that I hadn't heard before and encouraged me to get Toby to start putting more weight on his legs. This will encourage proper bone development and when he is ready to walk his muscles will be too. We also got two new splints called "pedi-wraps" to go over his knees while he is practicing standing.
She also folded him up like a frog so he would bear weight on his arms. He was giggling the whole time, especially when she started bouncing his butt up and down.
He was definitely done with therapy by the time it was the OT's turn. Wendy observed him a little bit and suggested some mild constraint therapy in his high chair. She said to choose the messiest thing we can think of (pudding, whipped cream, etc) to encourage him to explore it with his right hand.
People may think that I'm crazy for driving up to Kansas City once a month just to supplement therapy he is already getting at home. I even sensed that from one of the therapists. But if it means that Toby will form a new neural pathway or learn a new skill that he might not have if we just stayed in Springfield, then call me crazy. I don't really care.
Our next appointment is December 8th and I hope that we will have some exciting things to share with the therapist!
Originally written 11/8/11
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