First Physio Appt.

Bennett had his first physio appointment on Friday afternoon. He did very well and was providing the therapist with smiles within two minutes of our arrival. We discussed the nature of Bennett's cerebral palsy and the therapist provided us with a "Gross Motor Function Classification System for Cerebral Palsy". This provides us with a better idea of where Bennett is and the level of cerebral palsy.

According to the therapist and the chart, Bennett would fit into Level 1 or Level 2. Level 1 is the least severe and level 5 would be the most severe.

This is a quote from the chart:

" Level 1 includes children with neuromotor impairments whose functional limitations are less than what is typically associated with cerebral palsy, and children who have traditionally been diagnosed as having "minimal brain dysfunction" or "cerebral palsy of minimal severity". The distinctions between Levels 1 and 2, therefore, are not as pronounced as the distinctions between the other levels..."

So that is good news and more information than the pediatrican provided us with. However, we know that it is early yet and it will be hard to tell the full impact until Bennett is a bit older (over 2 years). A lot of what they use to classify children before the age of two is based on their ability to sit unassisted. Bennett has been an expert sitter since about 9 months - a little later than usual I know but still within the realm of "normal development".

Our first task with physio will be getting Bennett into a crawling position from sitting and making him take his weight on his arms - especially his right arm. We do this using a tube (at home - 4 towels rolled together). Our homework is to get him to do this 6 times from each side per day. We have also been assigned some stretching to do for his arm and leg.

We also worked on a kneeling exercise - Bennett did really well with this one. I've added a short video from our session. Is that not the cutest bum you've ever seen!

You'll notice in the picture that Bennett has his right arm and hand taped (he is sitting on the lap of his good friend John). This is called kinesio taping and is used to get his hand into a better position. It does seem to help - especially with the way he picks up objects. The tape should last most of the week and if it works, the physio will show us how to do it.

It was a good visit overall and we're looking forward to the next.