Thanks to Rachel at Candokiddo.com for providing this amazing post in celebration of "OT Month."
Dawson was a 5-month old recently discharged from the hospital
following a Traumatic Brain Injury that resulted in one-sided weakness and
severe visual impairments. His young mother seemed at her wits end when I
arrived to evaluate her baby boy for home-based OT. As a result of his injury,
Dawson was totally different - he didn’t reach for toys, hold his head up or
look and smile like he used to. He had cried around the clock since coming home
and his mom said she was starting to just tune it out. She was told by his
hospital team to “do Tummy Time”, but no support or
strategies for HOW to help Dawson feel comfortable belly-down. He cried so hard
when she tried that she gave up the first day home. Together we set goals for Dawson to enjoy
playtimes in a variety of positions, including Tummy Time.
First, we brainstormed ways to soothe Dawson - I pushed her to
think of things she hadn’t needed to do with him since his
first weeks and things that had helped her other children soothe when they were
babies. After some trial and error, we discovered that a swaddle blanket, a pacifier,
gentle rocking and mommy’s calm voice settled Dawson down. He
sucked furiously on the paci as his eyes shakily scanned his mother’s
face and they enjoyed a moment of reconnection. I talked through some basic
sensory concepts related to deep pressure and movement and encouraged mom to
experiment in the coming week with other ways to give Dawson the types of
inputs he was showing helped him feel comfortable.
With Dawson calm, it was time for Tummy Time to help him regain
strength, body awareness and to use his vision to the best of his abilities. We
began with Dawson positioned on his side, and I encouraged Mom to show him
simple toys and objects from around the house - a bowl, a hairbrush, a set of
toy keys - and watch his reactions. When she exclaimed that he really liked the
shiny mixing bowl, I coached her to roll him onto his tummy and help position
his weaker arm as he looked at the mixing bowl in this new position. She could
hardly believe that he happily stayed belly-down for 4 minutes!
As our initial session ended, I encouraged mom to take the time
she needed to calm Dawson completely before playtimes and to find toys or
objects that captured Dawson’s interest before
rolling him over for Tummy Time.
When I returned a week later, mom’s face beamed as
she gushed, “You HAVE to see this!” She
rolled out a soft blanket in the shade of a tree in the front yard and brought
a plastic tub of metal household objects - spoons, measuring cups, a mirror.
She showed me how he calmed almost immediately when he was brought outside with
a paci and slowly rocked as she walked a lap around the front yard. She gently
placed him on his side and captured his attention with a set of measuring cups
before lovingly rolling him onto his belly, all the while explaining that she noticed
he sees shiny objects best, especially when placed on the dark navy blue
blanket.
Not only was Dawson showing greatly improved self-regulation,
visual attention and much more even weight-bearing through his arms in just a
week, the way his mom interacted with him was dramatically different. She was
proud of him, confident in herself, connected and warm towards her baby even
when he grew fussy. She saw Tummy Time as a position for play, not an misery to
endure. Both mom and baby were enjoying belly-down playtimes. From then on, the
hour a week I spent in their home was merely a jumping off point and Dawson’s
mom continued to show me new activities and skills she discovered each week.
To read the previous post in the "little things series, click HERE!
To read the previous post in the "little things series, click HERE!
Rachel
Coley, MS, OTR/L, has been a pediatric Occupational Therapist for 8 years. As a
new mom, Rachel lets her personal passion for parenting and her professional
expertise in infant development collide in CanDo Kiddo, a family business with
a mission to help fellow parents understand baby development so that they can
confidently and playfully give their kiddos the healthiest start possible.
Rachel, Your story is both inspiring and wonderful. Your patience and ability to quicly assess the situation helped both mother and son! Great article. Thank you for sharing it.
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