3.23

{well, I have to admit this isn't a scenario we anticipated}

Kids Beyond Limits

Anat Baniel is the founder behind the method of therapy we have gone out on a limb on to commit to with Gabe.  It is outside the norms and while it has been researched extensively, we are among the first to use it for a child with Spina Bifida.  We have been so fortunate to find a passionate and kind practitioner close to home.

On March 27th Anat's newest book, Kid's Beyond Limits will be released.  We are looking forward to reading it in whole and sharing it with others that may benefit from learning more about the method.  In anticipation of the book's launch Anat is sharing pieces of her philosophy on the Huffington Post.  I especially appreciated this article,  

Children With Special Needs: A Revolutionary Approach Gives New Hope.

Here's a couple of my favorite quotes if you aren't into reading the whole article.

"...if the arm of an infant is not doing the typical  because of an injury to the nerves  the brain will not be able to get information it requires to learn to control that arm well, if at all." 

(in our case consider the statement to include an injury to the nerves in the legs, feet, and toes).

"...Will moving her arm in that passive way, that is, by physically taking it in our hands and exercising it, result in her brain getting the information it requires to move that arm well on her own? Will trying to get her to do what she cannot do provide her brain with the missing information?"

 (ex. being propped in sitting before he is ready,  standing with extensive bracing, walking with any type of ambulatory device) 

"As counter intuitive as it may appear, the answer in most cases is that it won't. It is way too limited! The healthy infant does thousands upon thousands of small, highly varied movements that are not the final skill... It is this flood of seemingly irrelevant information that the child with special challenges also needs."

"{ABM} provides tools... to wake up the child's brain and flood it with information it has to have for that child to be able to successfully move from the impossible to the possible. This is not some kind of magic or esoteric system but is founded on scientific principles that have been demonstrated over and over again by leading researchers the world over. Science has shown how the brain possesses a remarkable ability to create alternative solutions to physical and mental disabilities when given the information to work with. Through the spontaneous process of differentiation (discerning increasingly finer differences), the brain creates billions upon billions of new neural connections; these are the very connections that every child's brain needs to figure out how to stand, walk, talk, think, and do everything he or she will ever learn to do"

Now, THAT is this kind of thinking that hooked me when I attended Anat's conference a year ago this March. Since then we have seen Gabe work beyond the limits of his diagnosis.  We are certain ABM has been part of our miracle.

3.21

                                                                              {18 Months}

photo credit: walcott imaging

Learning to Stand

This happens to be Gabe's favorite indoor activity.  Although with the wonderful sunny weather he spends most of his indoor time whining at the door to go out and chase "da ball, da ball, da ball."

Anyway, his chatter in this video makes me smile (so does the standing work he is doing!).

This video was actually taken a couple weeks ago now, but I couldn't resist sharing it.  Notice the couch cushion.  He usually  pulls one down when he wants to practice standing.  I think it is fascinating that the activity is self initiated and shows that he is a bit cautious not wanting to smack all the way to the floor while he is experimenting. Although, he is able to do it without the cushion also.
 
"Balance is not being rigid, but being able to catch ourselves, support and steady ourselves and move on....one of the things we explore is how to use support from the environment (usually the floor, sometimes a chair or the wall) to facilitate effective movement." Clyff Smith

Oh, you want to see more?
Sure!


Speaking of experimenting, while I have yet to catch it on video Gabe has been taking 2-3 steps completely independently when transitioning between pieces of furniture around our house.  Talk about exciting days in our home!

3.18

{boy's best friend}

Mom?!?!

HEY!

What's the hold up here? 

 I gave you all those cute videos to post.  

Where are they?