Sierra’s hippotherapy

When I found out about hippotherapy, I was very excited.  Obtaining physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy or psychotherapy while on a horse made so much sense.  The sound and rhythm of the horses hooves, the motion forward in space while lumbering from side to side, the connection with the animal, the experience of being out in nature all seemed to be wonderful enhancements to receiving any kind of therapy.  And I couldn’t help but think it would be really fun for someone who did not have fear around the experience.

A HemiKid’s Birth Story

CHASA (Childhood Hemiplegic and Stroke Association) just posted a beautifully written blog post called “When That Feeling Hits“.  I still have a tear in my eye after reading it.  While you are there, check out the rest of the website and if you can, please give a few dollars to this wonderful organization that helps those of us who are raising children with hemiplegia, hemiparesis or childhood stroke.

Constraint Induced Movement Therapy (CIMT)

Last year when we did CIMT, people would stop me and ask about my daughter’s cast.  “Poor thing, did she break her arm?”

Have a Little Compassion for Chloe

This is for the people out there who think they know what is best for my Chloe and don’t really understand her challenges.  You see, Chloe has several sensory processing issues going on all at the same time, that cause her as a mere “almost three year old” to melt down much more often than other kids and cause her to have what looks like really bad behavior, but is really her inability to cope with the input to her body and brain.

Nurturing Siblings of Special Needs Kids

I just found out about this article from Shannon, a mom of a child with cerebral palsy: 9 Strategies for Nurturing Special Siblings.  Let me know what you think.

You can check out Shannon’s blog here and her Facebook page here.

Tips for Back to School for Kids with SPD

Someone just posted a great link for kids with Sensory Processing Disorder so I thought I would share it again here:  http://sensorysmarts.com/back_to_school_tips.html

What About Erika?

My oldest daughter, Erika, seems to be doing  well.  And I do mean “seems’. She is four years old.  She seems quite intelligent, she does age appropriate play, comes home from preschool with cute art and traced letters and numbers.  She knows all of her shapes, colors, letters and numbers.  She can recognise her name and a few other printed words.  She asks really interesting questions.

So why do I say that she “seems to be doing well”?  Because she has twin sisters with special needs who were born when she was only fifteen months old.