Survived the First OT

Well after a month of waiting we finally had Noah's first OT session and our first experience with "constraint" therapy. Honestly not sure if it was harder on Noah or myself! The therapist was wonderful and walked us through the benefits of the therapy as well as step by step how to do it at home with Noah. It was clear that she was very knowledgeable in regards to constraint therapy and had worked with children similiar to Noah before. This definitely made it a little easier to handle. She explained to us that the constraint therapy works well with the younger children as it helps them to become more aware of their affected sides. It also helps to "re-wire" their brains. There are a number of research studies on this type of therapy-I will try to post some links this weekend.

In order to restrain Noah's left arm she placed it in a ACE wrap sleeve and then wrapped the ACE around his left arm and body to keep it snug against him. It is pretty ridiculous looking-almost looks like a half wrapped mummy. I will post a picture once I get more used it as right now it all still seems-and looks-cruel. I know it is best for him but it is hard to have to do it. As usual it didn't really seem to phase Noah and he actually tolerated it a lot better than expected. The therapist said he was one of the best babies she had seen. He never ceases to amaze me and I don't know where his demeanor comes from-must be Brad! So after he was all "wrapped up the therapist had him try to play with a series of enticing toys. The first was a ferris wheel type of thing with bright colors that spun when you touched it. Noah was able to spontaneously raise is right hand and bat at the toy to make it spin. He did this about 5 times and I started to cry. It was so amazing to see him using his right arm. She helped him play with a few other toys with his right and then after about 10 minutes he had had it. Short amount of time but great progress.

In addition to the constraint therapy she also made Noah a splint to wearer on his right hand at night. It is to help stretch out his thumb because that seems to be the most stiff. He has been doing great at relaxing his hand but his thumb still tends to be tucked into his hand making it harder for him to grasp and hold objects. We'll see how well he toleratesit!

Overall a long day but feel good about a future plan to help Noah. Will try out both the therapy and splint in the next couple of days and keep you posted.