Bogey: Behind the Scenes at Therapy

I thought some of you may enjoy seeing what a typical day at physical therapy was like. This is Ms Beverly working with her, she sees her twice a week. She is the one I credit for getting Haley to the appropriate doctors and involved in all the other programs. Thank you so much Beverly!!!!

She usually starts off on her belly playing with toys and trying to get her to push up on her arms, and also rolling over in both directions.

Now she is having her to push a ball and also working on kneeling

Then she has Haley straddle a bolster and puts blocks on one side of her and a container on the other. She has her bend over and pick up the blocks with her opposite arm and put them in the basket on the other side. This helps with trunk rotation. Notice how Beverly has to hold the arm on the same side to keep her from using it instead. Haley really doesn't like using the opposite arm because its a little harder for her to twist

Next she has Haley sit on the foam steps and bend over in front of her to pick up blocks. This helps with trunk strength too. It also helps Haley become more confident in moving her body on her own. After she is done picking up the blocks, she has her scoot off the step onto the floor. This is helping her realize she can move from one spot to another on her own and how to coordinate movements.

Then we work with the big ball. This is where things usually start going south. She starts on her belly rocking back and forth. Then she sits her upright on the ball and rocks side to side. This helps with balance and more trunk strengthening. She really hates the side to side thing because she feels so off balance, this is part of the JS, she lacks the protective reflexes to try to catch herself and she feels very unstable. But she is getting better, she is starting to attempt to put her arms down and catch herself.

Now is Boppy time. I had long ago put up Haley's Boppy, but its back out in full force. This provides a little support for her while on her belly. She has actually crawled out of the Boppy on a few occasions.

Then we "walk" to the other room. She is getting better at taking some steps, but she needs lots of help.

And we wrap up each session by swinging. This is kinda hit or miss, some days she loves it (like today) and some days she hates it. This works on her balance by providing vestibular stimulation (the part of the brain that is responsible for balance and coordination).