Physical & Speech Therapy: Session 4/23/09

Today, Bertrand had a joint speech and physical therapy session. I gave both therapists copies of his occupational therapy evaluation from Annie Miller and his developmental evaluation from Maria Escolar at UNC. We discussed his impending evaluation at Shriners (the future of the gait trainer), his new hippotherapy (yes, they watched the video), our trip to UCAT (we'll be making another trip), and lastly Bertrand's amazing progress/mood shift thanks to his medication.

Both therapists were shocked at how talkative and happy Bertrand has become. They also couldn't stop mentioning how open his hands were, how fantastic his eye contact was, and how steady he was while sitting/standing. I am so happy that B's progress wasn't all in my head. Meghan and Kirtsten left our session singing the praises of neurontin.

At our speech session next week, I will be working with Meghan on flashcards for B. These flashcards will contain photos of his objects: bottle, yogurt, exersaucer, book, etc. These will serve as an unsophisticated and inexpensive precurser to a tablet communication device. Depending on Kirsten's availability, Meghan may be the only therapist coming with us to UCAT to pick out a few switches/toys to assist Bertrand in effecting his environment.

For our next physical therapy session (5/4/09), Kirsten will be joining Bertrand, Matthew and I at the National Ability Center to observe his hippotherapy session. Kirsten has gotten to know Bertrand extremely well, so she should be able to provide excellent insight and assistance to Kim, the hippotherapist. Also, seeing Bertrand in a different environment may help Kirsten gain a better understanding of how surroundings affect him.