Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Water Therapy

Yesterday Samantha started water therapy. For 10 weeks, she'll be in the pool every Tuesday at noon. She loved it. Samantha loves water, so I wasn't too concerned about that. Unfortunately, the little boy she has therapy with wasn't so thrilled about the water at first. But he warmed up to it and started smiling before long. The water is very warm and cozy. I didn't go in the pool, but I may in the future. We'll see how I feel about getting in a suit. Leanne, her water therapist, is working on the same thing that her physical therapist is working on -- on land. Trunk strength and flexibility. Sammy has abs of steel. We all know that. But her core is almost too strong as it dominates every movement. Because of that, she doesn't have much back strength and she doesn't allow herself to rotate from side to side. If she wants to see something, she moves her entire body instead of being able to just twist. So, they are working on that.


The water has a natural calming affect which allows the body to relax a bit. The added buoyancy also helps when making movement. People can easily correct a movement without falling or stumbling as much.

One thing that Samantha is in constant need of is bodily input. That is one reason she is always bouncing, jumping, and loving hard, physical play. That also explains why she can't keep things out of her mouth. She's in constant need of oral input. So the wrestling, the chewing on everything -- not only is that fun for her, but it's what she needs. I don't quite understand it yet, but every therapist we've met and worked with has discussed that with me. Water gives her that constant input on her body -- and all over her body, which is possibly one reason she loves it.


Leanne said the session went really well -- that she saw big improvements from the beginning of the session to the end. Meaning: When Leanne began putting Sammy in certain positions, she would fight it at first. By the end of the hour, Samantha was responding immediately the positions, as she should. Yeah! Water therapy has been known to have dramatic results, while, of course, some take much longer to respond. Hopefully this will be a therapy Sammy continues to enjoy and that will help her in her progress.

8 comments:

Lindsay Jane said...

Jenny - of course I know who you are, I'm still a regular stalker! Ashley and I made the connection between us a month or 2 ago...we were talking about blogs and somehow figured out that we both "know" you (not sure I am in the "knowing" category, but you get it). The world really is so small...I just love how blogs bring people together. Ash and I were roommates about 4 years ago and have remained good friends ever since - she even sleeps at my house periodically! Anyway, thanks for posting on my blog, I'm glad you started checking mine so I don't feel like such a stalker!

sagebrushandbuttercups said...

Oh Jenny that looks so FUN for Samantha:) How wonderful that she enjoys the water!
Swimming is so fun, I hope you put on that suit and jump in!
Love,
Jan

Anonymous said...

Glad to hear things are going well for Sammy and that she's enjoying her new therapy. Go Sammy!

rachel said...

Okay, Jenny, I LOVE that picture of Callie on the sidebar. Absolutely adorable I tell you!

Heidi said...

It is so great that Sammy is getting so many wonderful interventions. Michael also had/has spatial learning difficulties, meaning, he doesn't really know where his body ends and space begins. That is why having something touching the body in a way that is easy to interpret (mere clothing can just confuse the issue) helps kids with this problem know where they are in space. Michael wore a weighted vest at school for a while which hung against his body in such a way that it helped him interpret things and made him much calmer. (He, however, NEVER put anything in his mouth if it wasn't food--he just wasn't interested!) THere is a thing called prioperception--he has problems with that, too. It is kind of the same thing. When we walk down the stairs, we have a sense of how far away the next step is--Michael doesn't. Sammy probably doesn't either.

Marcus and Jenny said...

I think you're right. She has no concept of falling off the couch, etc. It doesn't matter how many times she does it, the idea that the floor is far away from the couch doesn't sink in. Interesting.

Sara Firman (Sulis) said...

Hello Jenny

I'm putting together an online blog 'carnival' to illustrate the variety of mentions of aquatic therapy in the blogging world. I've just come across your delightful and moving posting and wonder if I could include it. You can see more by visiting this link: http://tinyurl.com/5tyewa.

maryirene said...

jenny that's wonderful news! i'm so happy for samantha! we've decided to put sammy in speech therapy when we get back to ny. do you have advice on how you've found such great help, and who to trust with your child?

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