Highs and Lows

Well, I'd like to put up a big ole post, but I went to type it and found myself blank. I guess days away from the computer can make you blank.

Anyway, the good news these days is that Charlie has started to pull himself up onto low steps. He does it from a prop sit and he also does it from the belly-crawl position. His PT is over-the-moon excited about this new development and so am I.

We are managing the tantrums. Time out in his bed seems to be effective. We're also pretty much glued to our schedule, but it's working and that's the important thing.

On the downside, my PT is ready to have a medical equipment vendor come out to the house and help us figure out a good wheelchair option for Charlie. You see, before we know it, Charlie will be going to school and we're going to need a good, supportive option to get him through the lessons. Right now I just cart him everywhere in an umbrella stroller, which probably won't be an option for very much longer. I'm not upset about the wheelchair part. There's this handy chart that helps put kids with CP into distinct categories. Charlie is easily a III. If I follow III all the way into adulthood I can see that he may need to use a wheelchair--especially for long distances.

I want to be clear about something--I do believe that ABR and Feldenkrais will help him make gains that this chart doesn't account for. We're already starting to see him make reciprocal movements with his legs, which is more common in II's than in III's. He's also pretty good at playing in the sitting position although balance is definitely an issue. But, he's still got a long way to go, and I don't think it does him any justice to keep him from interacting with others on their level.

So pretty soon I've got to pick a chair. And that's the yucky part. I wish there was a manual! I imagine it's very hard to decide these things and insurance companies only pay for one wheelchair every couple of years, so I better get it right. The pressure! Gah!