June 2016 – Page 3

Day 469: Accessible Home

Madison worked with Monika at Conductive Ed today. She did a great job working on straddle sitting to standing and independent standing! Madi practiced sitting and standing with a beanbag on her head to keep her balance and head up. She also took several independent steps today. She had an off day at school but seemed much more herself once she was with Monika and her aunts.

Since Madison’s diagnosis almost 2 years ago, we have been slowly finding ways to make our home easy for Madison to be independent and access what she needs. Something new to us right now is Madison’s desire to be independent outside. We love that she wants to be outside all the time, but she is not able to do it by herself because of the layout of our backyard screen door. The last couple of days she has asked to go in the backyard and we have let her try going in and out of the house herself as she wants. The freedom and independence has been exciting for her, but her walker does not fit through the door and then there is the issue of the steps. She has been crawling in and out but it has left her knees and legs bruised, swollen and cut up. We want to find a good long term solution but in the meantime we have tried padding her knees or laying towels down on the brick and concrete. We are thinking of applying to the Presidents Choice charity for home repairs or to Brian Baeimers charity for home repairs. We are currently looking for other organizations we could apply to for assistance either with materials or labor to help with this project, as well as an organization that provides accessible swing sets or playgrounds for backyards.

Here are Madison’s poor legs and feet 😦

Our back sliding door looks like this. Any creative ideas/solutions would be much appreciated!

Day 468: Our Little Sponge

Madison continues to amaze us each and every day. When Mommy picked her up from school her volunteer Tiffany was happy to share about their success during quiet time. Madison and Tiffany worked with letters today. Madison found all the letters in her name and spelt it, found all the letters in Jacks name and in her last name too! Mommy was thrilled!

Madison also did an amazing job with her horse Joe today. Her receptive language skills are developing so nicely. Madi is able to understand and follow instructions so well from her instructor. Mommy’s mind was blown seeing Madison do different exercises using either her right or left hand on request. They worked on stretching her arms and body while riding, reaching for rings to engage her trunk muscles and to practice shifting her weight on the saddle. Madi even worked on taking her hands on and off the harness while multi-tasking with a ring. Madison’s voice with Joe was also much louder and confident today. She is progressing so well and has become so comfortable and confident.

Madison spent some time with Pam and Medford before dinner. She played with her new ball they gave her from their trip to the museum, she helped Pam hang items on the line by squeezing clothes pins and she sang Medford Happy Birthday! When Daddy got home from work, they had some giggles in the backyard before bed.

Day 467: Jam Packed Day!

Madison’s teachers had a professional development day today, which meant no school! Mommy and Daddy decided to get some things done on the “to do” list, on top of the regular Tuesday routine which equaled a jam packed day.

Madison and Jack started their day with Aunt Nadia and Nate at their house for some breakfast and playtime. Mommy and Daddy had a meeting at one of the neighbourhood school options for Madison for kindergarten. The school is very close to the house, is completely accessible and had a good vibe about it. The resource room was large and bright and Madison would have all the support she would need. It was a good first visit and was encouraging to see the possibility of Madison going straight into a full day kindergarten instead of a specialized school program.

Madison then went to the Grandview Oshawa site to have a tour and check out their school program. Their school offers a school much like Bloorview. Madison would only have 6 other children in a class, would receive OT, PT and swimming during the school day and be in an environment with other children using equipment like hers like walkers. Madison LOVED checking out the accessible playground that the students use at recess. Mommy and Daddy have a lot to think about this summer.

Madison then headed to the other Grandview location in Ajax. She had a physio session followed by an OT session. Madison and Kate continued to work on her upper body strength, core strength sitting and bouncing on a ball and learning to move from sitting to standing by herself. Madison also did some breathing/speech exercises with Kate. Kate gave her a sound to repeat, and Madison’s job was to try and project that sound as long and loud as she could by taking a big breath. Once she understood what Kate was asking, she did a really great job.

Madison and Sherie worked on cutting straight lines, drawing circles and drawing horizontal and vertical lines in OT. They also worked on a few puzzles with small parts to manipulate and played with hand putty. The putty had different figurines hidden inside which Madison had to try and dig out with her fingers. It was challenging for her but she loved it.

After a long nap at home and a big dinner, Madison headed to the pool for a swim with Ryan. Tonight they focused on learning to push off the wall with her feet.