June 26, 2007
Oral Motor Therapy Toys
Achievement Products offers innovative oral motor therapy items including chewy tubes, grabbers, Z vibes, Nuk toothbrushes, oral probes, bubbles, vibrating teethers and blow games.
June 24, 2007
Good Article on Success of Therasuit
The Therasuit is gaining more and more popularity as a treatment for cerebral palsy. The article below chronicles one child’s progress using the suit.
Hope springs eternal for
cerebral palsy patientsBy Johanna M. Sampan
Patients using the TheraSuit have shown a
94-percent improvement
in fine and gross motor skills, while speech
productivity and fluency is noted in 64 percent.My eldest brother, JS, is a teacher for special children. Day after day he shares the classroom with them and treat them like any other ordinary kid in school. But of course, he treats them with more patience and understanding. He always tells me that teaching the kids bring him mixed emotions of joy, fulfillment and sometimes helplessness because he can’t be there for all of them at the same time as a teacher. He also shares that he has so much love and respect for the parents of these special children who continue to show selflessness and unconditional love and affection.
Read the entire article. Find more information about the Therasuit for Cerebral Palsy.
June 22, 2007
Easy Off the Shelf ” Adaptive Equipment “
Have you found a product that you can use with little or no adjustments for your special needs child? Please share with us!
Here are some ideas for some “Adaptive Equipment” .
Use glue stick instead of liquid glue
Keep two sets of school books- one at home and one at school so they don’t have to lug back and forth.
Use a mechanical pencil ( one that clicks like a pen) - its easy to use and writing will be neater.
Travel mugs as cups -easy to to carry around
Large numbered watches with “expandable” wrist band.
Remove buttons from clothing and use velcro.
Adaptive equipment information for children with cerebral palsy.
June 18, 2007
Donate Your Child’s Used AFO’s
Not Sure what to do with your child’s AFO’s when she has outgrown them?
Why not donate them?
You can sell /trade or give away your AFF’s on our Cerebral Palsy Support Forum
Other places to donate used AFO’s- Give them to the place where you got them from. Your hospital or care centre will usually have some sort of program in place to help distribute used adaptive equipment to families that need them.
You could also donate to local special needs or special education school.
Wonderful Video Of Team Hoyt
Beautiful ad MUST SEE video about Team Hoyt- the father/son ( who has cerebral palsy) team that have been in almost a hundred marathons together.
From Team Hoyt website : ” Dick and Rick Hoyt are a father-and-son team from Massachusetts who together compete just about continuously in marathon races. And if they’re not in a marathon they are in a triathlon — that daunting, almost superhuman, combination of 26.2 miles of running, 112 miles of bicycling, and 2.4 miles of swimming. Together they have climbed mountains, and once trekked 3,735 miles across America. ”
More inspirational cerebral palsy stories.
June 12, 2007
Swimming Aids and Pool Floats for Kids with Cerebral Palsy
All kids love swimming, and kids with cerebral palsy are no exception! However the swimming aids available for kids are usually made for babies and toddlers.
One idea- using a PFD (life jacket) in combination with ankle weights ( about 2.0 lbs depending on child). The weights will help them control their kicking.
Try also the PFD with a swim ring or water wings.
You can also find TONS of products for kids with cerebral palsy to use for swimming (though pricey!) at Abilations under the category “aqua splash.”
Here is more information about aquatherapy (water therapy) for children with cerebral palsy.
June 10, 2007
Let’s play Buddy Ball! Buddy Ball Special Needs Althletic Leagues
I am looking to amass a National List of Buddy Ball Leagues Available.
Do you belong to a Buddy Ball league or know of one that is NOT on our list? Please let us know! Post in comments section so we can add to tthe list!
What is Buddy Ball Special Needs Athletic League?
Buddy Ball provides individuals with a mental or physical disability the opportunity to sports, regardless of their limitations. Buddy Ball helps individuals learn teamwork and promotes self-esteem, one of the tools needed to help overcome the stigma often associated with a disability. The Buddy Ball league is aware of the extra expenses on the families of disabled children.
Buddy Ball does not charge any fees to participate.
Buddy Ball League List
North Carolina:
WIlson County
Mickey Davis, athletic director for the Wilson County Youth Athletic Association, at 239-0652 or 230-2467.
Virginia:
Bambino Buddy Ball League
http://herndonbaseball.com/buddyball.html
Jay MCann janajama@att.net
June 5, 2007
Youth Speaks About Disability for Accessibility Advisory Week
Great Story from the North Humberland News:
Youth speaks about disability for Accessibility Advisory Week
Karen Lloyd
Local News - Tuesday, June 05, 2007 @ 09:00
“My speech is very slow and you need to listen very carefully to understand me,” 13-year-old Zach Andrus informed a small audience at the Port Hope Public Library Thursday night. “I have cerebral palsy.”
The boy’s heartwarming presentation was the first of three organized by the municipality’s accessibility advisory committee during Accessibility Advisory Week to help the public better understand what it’s like to live with a disability.
Deprived of oxygen for 20 minutes at birth, Zach has Cerebral Palsy - a condition he says makes it impossible for him to walk, run get dressed, feed himself or leave the house alone.
Yet, despite his condition, the young man has goals and aspirations for the future.
“I can dream like other kids about what I want to do when I get older,” he said. While his words might not be crystal clear, his message was.
Port Hope and other municipalities across the province need to think about the needs of all residents.
To view the entire story: http://www.northumberlandtoday.com, or read more inspirational stories about people with cerebral palsy.
June 1, 2007
Film Explores Being Sibling of Someone with a Disability
Film Explores Being Sibling of Someone with a Disability
Personal Effort for 12-Year-Old Filmmaker
May 31, 2007 - Last year, we introduced you to an autistic local teen who co-directed his own documentary about what it’s like to live with a developmental disability.
Now, someone else in the family is making a film about their experiences.
Twelve-year old Jace King is exploring the challenges of being the brother or sister of someone with autism, Down’s syndrome or cerebral palsy.
Jace and his mother are putting some finishing touches on their heartfelt and very personal film.
“The Sandwich Kid” shares the stories of brothers and sisters who have a sibling with a disability.
“Sandwich kid means that you’re in the middle of your life and what you want to do and being in the middle of all the other people who want to help your sibling,” Jace said.
It’s a challenging situation the 12-year-old knows all too well, his older brother Taylor is autistic.
Jace has grown up trapped between what he wants and needs and what his brother’s disability demands.
“So often the child with the disability requires our full attention and so unwittingly, we don’t mean to but we end up leaving the other child out,” Keri Bowers, Jace’s mother, said.
Keri calls them the silent majority.
It was during filming of her first movie with her son Taylor, which gave the world an inside look at autism through the eyes of autistic children, that she realized Jace and thousands of kids just like him had their own point of view.
“The Sandwich Kid” shares the siblings’ joys, frustrations and fears.
http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=local&id=5357435
May 30, 2007
Tips for Designing a Special Needs Bathroom for a Child. Adapting Bathroom for Special Needs
Here are some ideas to consider when you are building or adapting an existing bathroom for your special needs child. Spending the money to adapt your bathroom will make showering easier and more pleasant for you and your child.
1. Get a free standing sink. One that is bolted into the wall may not take the weight of child leaning into it.
2. A toilet that is not too high. Get a lower profile toilet.
3. Heat Lamps with timer.
4. Lots of light, look to put lights in shower/bath area.
5. Invest in non-slip tile. You can get ceramic tile made with silicon carbide that is designed to be non-slipping.
6. A bath chair that can be rolled into the shower.
