Physical Therapy

Colin had his 1st physical therapy session today and it went really well. The therapist spent almost 2 hours with us (even though she was only supposed to be there an hour! oops!) and she gave us a lot of great activities to work on with Colin. We felt pretty good because a lot of the activities she suggested are ones that we have already been doing with him, but she gave us a lot of modifications to the activities specific to his strengths and weaknesses. I have taken some pictures of the different activities for you to see so you get an idea what we will be working on with him.

We really liked the therapist and in a "small world" situation I used to wait on her at the bagel shop years ago in Lavallette!

Here are some of the activities we will be doing with Colin:

• Tummy Time with Towl Roll: In this position, we will be using a rolled up towel propped up under Colin's chest so that his elbows are on the ground. This works on head and neck control.

• Tummy Time with Towel Roll and Toys: This is the same position as above, however, we use toys in Colin's sight line so that he starts to reach for them as well as to move them so that he tracks them with his eyes while he is holding his head up. This works on head and neck control as well as focusing and tracking objects at the same time.

• Side-Lying: In this position, we use something propped behind Colin's back so that he is able to clasp his hands together and hold different toys. It is also good for his hips so that his leg drops over.

• Towel Roll Under Head: In this position, we use the towel roll under Colin's head so that he looks towards objects on his chest and starts to bring his hands towards his midline.

• Towel Roll Under Butt: We use the towel roll in this position to slightly raise up Colin's lower body so that he starts to bring his legs towards his middle as well as to use his legs to reach toys dangling above him (when using the "monkey gym").

These are just a few of the main activities we can work on with Colin. She also suggested that while Colin is on his stomach or back, we should take time occassionally to stabilize his hips so that he is not able to use his legs as much. Because his legs are so active and strong, it can sometimes cause him to use his upper body less. It's interesting to see that when we stabilize his hips, he is able to lift and hold his head for much longer at a time.

The PT stressed that overall he is doing really well; however, he has weaknesses as well with head and neck control and these activities are designed to improve upon that. Colin was very social with her and was smiling and interacting with her while she was here.