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.

Parent & Child Session with Conductive Learning

Gabe and I made it through a 2 week session of Parent & Child  therapy at the Conductive Learning Center.  It was a great learning and stretching experience for both of us. 

 I entered the program very hesitantly.  There were many concerns about how we would carry out our typical family routines with this added commitment, as well as my concerns about how this type of therapy would interact with the work we have been doing with the Anat Baniel Method. 

 

I  loved watching Gabe listen and participate during table time: snack speech activities, and fine motor practice.  He especially enjoyed painting and chose the green paint every day! 

 One of the main goals I set for Gabe, during my conversation with the conductors at the beginning of the session, was for him to continue to loosen his upper body and reach for things above his head.  We found that with the proper motivation {and a bit of whining} he was able to do it.  

He also spent more time experimenting with upright movement cruising along the tables, pushing small carts, and walking with our hands.  

 

A large portion of the session was also focued on "potty skills."  That is my lay mom's term for the CLC's proven method for beginning tolieting awareness.   Gabe actually enjoyed his time on the potty and has adopted it as part of his routine at home.  As for me, during the 2 weeks I learned the art of singing in rhymes, singing in my sleep, singing for snacks, singing for poop...basically singing everything I might ever want to say:)  

Overall, we were very pleased with the program.  It was run professionally and purposefully.  Every minute of the day was choreographed to encourage Gabe to experiment with movement, to play, and to learn.  It was fun to see the way the way he interacted with his friend, as well as with other adults and their instructions.  We really feel like his attention and vocabulary both grew during the two weeks.  It was a great reminder of all that our children are capable of doing when we have high expectations for them.

Might Want to Bring a Tissue to This Party

Getting There from Katie on Vimeo.

After a few weeks of more intensive therapy things really seem to be clicking for our Gabey Babe. This weekend he put some more pieces together to reach a pretty significant milestone.

Then the whole crowd of disciples began praising God for all the miracles they had seen.
Luke 19:37

Music

Today we saw Gabe's Early On therapist for the first time in a LONG time. She is the one who works through the school system, so during the summer months her schedule is a bit lighter. Our plan was for once a month between June and September, but because of unexpected obligations on both of our parts today was the first time she caught up with Gabe.

When she arrived she shared that she was not sure what to expect after not working with him for 3 months. She mentioned it isn't uncommon for kids to lose a bit of ground in the summer months, but yet she had high expectations for how Gabe would be progressing.

We visited, and they played, for about an hour. As she left she said, "He is doing so much more than I expected for him at this point."

That my friends is part of our miracle. That is your prayers. That is an amazing secondary therapist who is working confidently with what Gabe does have.

That is music to my ears.

Processing

Sometimes in the rush of appointments, therapy, and exercises at home it is easy to miss the progress Gabe is making.  The time is spent thinking and learning about they next step, the next need, and the next milestone.  Last week our family took a break. A week off appointments, therapy, and the extra exercises outside of Gabe's daily care routines. A perfect chance for Gabe to sleep, eat, and play on his internal schedule rather than his calendar schedule.  Interestingly,  during the week of rest he was able to process all that he is learning and snap together some new connections.

It appears this week he figured out a few fun things (or maybe we just slowed down enough to notice):

~Gabe discovered how to purposely move his fingers to wave.  He waves at us when we say "Hi" or "Bye" and when we aren't talking to him he waves to himself.

~He started shaking his head for "No!"   Specifically, he shakes at us when we say, "Gabe, are you ready to sleep." We are working on "Yes" too, but when we do that he just looks at us and smiles.

~Gabe finds a way to get where he wants to go by rolling, pivoting, and scooting...backward.  This week he began pushing up to all 4s and rocking, but hasn't quite figure out how to get his momentum going forward.

~We are borrowing balance bars from CLC for the summer and nothing pleases Gabe more than holding the bars while sitting on his stool and then pulling up to standing. {video to come}

~The week wasn't without a runny nose and a little extra drool - tooth #7 is just below the surface.

Guess we need to head out on vacation more often...

Finding His Feet

Untitled from Katie on Vimeo.

During the last few months of therapy Gabe has made progress in many small ways.  It would be easiest to measure progress in big movements: rolling over, sitting up, pivoting, crawling, creeping, etc. Yet, we have learned to watch intentionally, and celebrate quietly (sometimes), the itty bitty milestones. 

One type of therapy Gabe is receiving is called the Anat Baniel method. The theory is that the parts of our body can be mapped to our brain through light, slow touch and movement.  In fact, they believe we all learn to move through random movements that are successful.   All movement is initiated by the spine, so they teach that rolling, sitting, crawling, standing, and climbing climb can all be learned from our most natural position - lying on our backs.  We believe with them that Gabe's brain has the ability to change and form new connections in place of some that may currently be missing.  His therapist works intentionally with the movements and abilities he is displaying, instead of prematurely pushing him into positions that accentuate his diability.

A major goal in our last 3 months at BRAINS has been to help Gabe recognize his feet and to be able to rock his pelvis and bend his spine enough to get his feet up to his mouth.  This is the "map" he needs to be able to sit correctly and to eventually get in and out of sitting on his own.  As you can see he is finally initiating this movement on his own and we could not be more pleased that Gabe is finding his feet.

If you are interested in reading more, Kelly, who is trained as a "traditional" therapist wrote about her experience with BRAINS and is now in the process of training to be an Anat Baniel therapist.

You might also enjoy checking out some great clips highlighting the changes in another cutie and the way he is moving.

Exploring Possibilities

This past weekend I attended a 2 day workshop on the Anat Baniel Method.  The workshop was specifically geared toward parents and professionals who work with children who have special needs.  Anat Baniel is a student of Feldenkrais, who designed therapy to improve function within the body through movements that increase self awareness. 

To be honest, I was most looking forward to the time to catch up with, and bounce ideas off, my friends who also have new babies with spina bifida.  The conversations did not disappoint.  In addition, throughout my professional teaching career I was incredibly interested in brain research as it relates to learning.  The information presented throughout the weekend was right up my alley in that way.  I learned much about the brain's involvement in, and need for, movement with attention.  

The conference gave me a lot to process and left me with decisions to make as to how we would like to progress with therapy for Gabe in the months to come.  I am sure I will be writing more about this soon, but for now I need to take some time to review my mind's notes and summarize my feelings about what was presented.

Fox 17 Covers the CLC on National Conductive Learning Day

 

National Conductive Education Awareness Day

One piece of the therapy plan that Kevin and I have pursued for Gabe's early months is conductive learning. He attends the Conductive Learning Center in Grand Rapids, MI for one on one therapy appointments. The conductor, Andrea, works with us to teach developmentally appropriate activities for working the muscle groups that are not functioning "normally" for Gabe. Between appointments it is our responsibility to be sure he gets many opportunities to practice these movements, ideally in 20 minute increments 3-4x a day. Note: ideally. It has been difficult for me to get over the guilt of it, but with three other small kiddos it is not always realistic to devote this consistent time. I am committed to at least twice a day though.

Today (in addition to being Gabe's sweet aunt Amy's birthday!) is National Conductive Education Awareness Day.  The CLC celebrated with an open house.  Although we were not able to attend, I enjoyed reading the news article reporting the success of the event and the encouraging stories of students who benefit from the program.  Check it out if you are interested in learning more!