THERAPY BEGINS
In October 2014, after many months of fundraising and with the support of our local community we were able to begin our journey to the U.S.A. With much anticipation Jakob began his first intensive therapy program with the NAPA Center in Los Angeles. Here Jakob participated in therapy for four hours a day, five days a week, for three weeks. The disciplines of therapists included speech pathologists, physical therapists and occupational therapists. He participated in both traditional types of therapy as well the less typical therapies of CME and the NeuroSuit.
It is with this therapy that Jakob has shown his most significant developmental progression. To watch these changes happen and to see his confidence grow with his new found skills has been incredible. Over the course of two intensive sessions, a total of seven weeks or one-hundred-and-forty hours of therapy, Jakob has made more developmental gains than he has previously done in an entire year of therapy. Of course there are many factors that contribute to this progress. Jakob is the most well and medically stable that he has ever been and this really does allow for his body to focus on learning and growing, rather than just surviving. We know though that this intensive model of therapy really does work for him. His brain and body has responded extremely well to the forms of learning, this style of therapy creates, and the opportunity for repeated practice of skills has been critical to his success.
During his time in this therapy Jakob has learned to crawl, to transition from sitting into a crawling position and to transition from crawling into a sitting position. He has mastered the Auslan sign for 'more' and he has begun to combine this sign with a point to select between items. We have seen him begin to pull to stand from a kneeling position, to learn how to move his body over obstacle courses, helping him to manage uneven surfaces such as steps and move towards being able to climb over things. For Jakob managing his body and it's disproportions has been challenging. With this therapy he is displaying better body awareness, his core strength and stability has improved and his overall strength, weight baring and weight transferring has improved significantly. These improvements in stability and gross motor function have also led to skill development in fine motor tasks, like posting a coin or doing puzzles, even though they have not been a specific focus during the therapy. Most importantly, these new found skills have allowed Jakob to be able to engage more easily with his environment and the people around him!
It is with this therapy that Jakob has shown his most significant developmental progression. To watch these changes happen and to see his confidence grow with his new found skills has been incredible. Over the course of two intensive sessions, a total of seven weeks or one-hundred-and-forty hours of therapy, Jakob has made more developmental gains than he has previously done in an entire year of therapy. Of course there are many factors that contribute to this progress. Jakob is the most well and medically stable that he has ever been and this really does allow for his body to focus on learning and growing, rather than just surviving. We know though that this intensive model of therapy really does work for him. His brain and body has responded extremely well to the forms of learning, this style of therapy creates, and the opportunity for repeated practice of skills has been critical to his success.
During his time in this therapy Jakob has learned to crawl, to transition from sitting into a crawling position and to transition from crawling into a sitting position. He has mastered the Auslan sign for 'more' and he has begun to combine this sign with a point to select between items. We have seen him begin to pull to stand from a kneeling position, to learn how to move his body over obstacle courses, helping him to manage uneven surfaces such as steps and move towards being able to climb over things. For Jakob managing his body and it's disproportions has been challenging. With this therapy he is displaying better body awareness, his core strength and stability has improved and his overall strength, weight baring and weight transferring has improved significantly. These improvements in stability and gross motor function have also led to skill development in fine motor tasks, like posting a coin or doing puzzles, even though they have not been a specific focus during the therapy. Most importantly, these new found skills have allowed Jakob to be able to engage more easily with his environment and the people around him!
