One of the reasons I love having Haitian students is that the kids at the Miriam Center get more therapy weekly. More hands make the work lighter as well as allows us to provide therapy more frequently to each kid. All of the children living in the Miriam Center are receiving therapy 2-3x a week instead of 1x a week and the outreach children are receiving 1:1 therapy for 1-2 hours a week verses 20-30 minutes. Secondary to the greater intensity of therapy I have seen the kids make some GREAT progress over the last few months...
I hope you enjoy reading about the kids progress and seeing the pictures and videos! I would love to add 3 more Haitian Therapy staff to our therapy team this fall but that requires raising more $ to pay salaries. Please consider after reading the kids progress of making a donation towards this. Every little bit helps in enabling us to be able to provide these children with more therapy.
Den-Den
Den-Den is such a hard worker in Therapy...He has gained overall strength throughout his body. He has especially gained increased control with his hands for fine motor activities. He is able to trace his letters, copy his letters and color with an increased diameter writing utensil with increase precision. He can manipulate smaller sized objects purposefully now and even drum to a beat. He is so eager to participate in therapy and is such a joy to have in the therapy room.
Mary-Julie
Mary-Julie Has been working very hard on her walking skills. She can now take 10+ steps independently without holding onto anything before losing her balance and falling. She is gaining increased control of her legs with stair climbing and descending. One of her more recent favorite therapy activities is to climb the stairs all the way to the 3rd floor and look out in all directions from the roof. She has increased control with her hands for fine motor activities and is able to manipulate smaller size objects purposefully. She also helped make a PEC communication book for herself to use to help people better understand what she needs and wants. We had a ST come and help her.
Minushe
Minushe has found a new level of independence recently working on walking (taking steps) while in the bouncer swing. She has gained increased head control during sitting and quadruped positions. She also has gained increased control of her left hand. She is now able to use her left hand to purposefully play simple games on the IPAD. She can use her hands with increase accuracy and control for grasp/release activities and continues to love playing with switch adapted toys. Minushe loves therapy and squeals in Joy when its her turn.
Kem
Kem has found a new level of independence recently with an increased diameter eating utensil and a tray on her wheelchair she can now independently feed herself and with an adapted honey bear cup she can get drinks on her own and drink independently. She asks every morning for her tray and cup and will not let others feed her anymore! She has also gained increase control in sitting and prone. She can use her hands for fine motor activities with increased accuracy. She loves coming to therapy and looks forward to when it is her turn.
Walden
Walden has been working hard on his speech and is able to talk a lot more clearly which allows him to express his needs and wants more easily. He can drink from a straw cup independently when someone holds it for him. He loves working on standing in the stander, playing games and working on his writing/pre-writing strokes when someone helps him hand-over-hand. His favorite therapy activity right now is riding the adapted bike. One afternoon Joseph insisted on helping and it was the most precious moment watching them work together. Walden also received a new wheelchair that has been a blessing for him to allow better/more comfortable positioning all day long.
Joshua
Joshua has become a muscle man! He enjoys doing push-ups, climbing the ladder with just his arms. He can now independently get in and out of a chair all by himself using just his arms. He is able to trace and imitate the letters of his name. He has gained increased control with his hands for fine motor activities and can manipulate smaller size objects purposefully. He looks forward to his time in therapy each week.
Jean
Jean has been working hard on on his Fine Motor/Dexterity skills and Hand Strengthening skills. He is getting better at writing his name and has an increased attention span for non-preferred activities. He loves riding the adaptive bike which is great for ROM and strengthening of his legs. He tolerates standing in the stander but it is not his highlight. He loves to participate in arts and crafts.
Steven
Steven has been working very hard on his walking skills and balance. He can take 10+ steps independently without any device for assistance before falling. He loves riding the adaptive bike which is a great way to work on his coordination. He has also shown improvements in his Fine Motor/Dexterity skills is able to complete a variety of new activities he was not able to a few months ago. He loves going to therapy and most afternoon you will find him hanging around the therapy room hoping that someone will set him up with an activity.
Lovejinnie
Lovejinnie has gained increased strength in her legs and core and can now stand with minimal support at her knees for 1+ hour. She has also gained increased head control and is able to sit and maintain her head at midline. She enjoys riding the adaptive bike which is also a great way to work on head control and neck strength.
Rosalie
Rosalie has been working on tolerating prone over the wedge while playing with toys and prop sitting for increase lengths of time. She does not enjoy either of these activities but has gained increased strength and ROM from participating in these activities. She loves playing cause-effect games on the IPAD and will activate it with her hands. She also loves playing with Marti Graw beads.
Lounide
Lounide Enjoys her morning lotion massage and stretching. She also enjoys time swinging and enjoying rides on the adaptive bike. she has a new customized chair in which she spends the morning and afternoons sitting up. Standing in the stander is not her favorite activity but she tolerates it and it is great way to increase ROM and weight- bearing through her legs and to work on head control.
Bertho
Bertha can now stand in the stander which is a great activity to allow him to get weight-bearing through his feet as well as a prolonged stretch on his knees. Every morning he receives a lotion massage and stretching to help keep her muscles loose and prevent contractors. He then enjoys the stimulation from the therapy brush followed by 2 hours of wearing his hand/foot braces. Some of his favorite therapy activities include therapy ball, swinging, sitting in the corner chair hand-over-hand playing with toys.
Gildine
Gildine has a lot of therapy progress over the last few months. She is now on the move by crawling from place to place. She loves playing with toy's that make noise. She likes to pull herself up on the ledge in the birdcage. She enjoys time in the johnny jumper swing and in the stander. She can take 10-20 steps with support at her hips as well as when you hold her hands.
John-kerry
John-kerry enjoys time standing in the stander which is a great activity to allow him to get weight-bearing through his feet as well as a prolonged stretch on his knees. Every morning he receives a lotion massage and stretching to help keep her muscles loose and prevent contractors. He then enjoys the stimulation from the therapy brush. Some of his favorite therapy activities include therapy ball, swinging, riding the adaptive bike, and hand-over-hand playing with toys.
Emma
Emma receives a lotion massage and stretching to help keep her muscles loose and prevent contractors. she then enjoys the stimulation from the therapy brush followed by 2 hours of wearing her hand braces. Some of her favorite therapy activities include therapy ball, swinging, sitting in the corner chair hand-over-hand playing with toys. She received a new customized adapted chair that she sits in the morning and afternoons. She has been working on tummy-time and gaining more head control.
Niaka
Niaka can now stand in the stander which is a great activity to allow her to get weight-bearing through her feet as well as a prolonged stretch on her knees. Every morning she receives a lotion massage and stretching to help keep her muscles loose and prevent contractors. she then enjoys the stimulation from the therapy brush followed by 2 hours of wearing her hand/foot braces. Some of her favorite therapy activities include therapy ball, swinging, sitting in the corner chair hand-over-hand playing with toys.
Andy
Andy is not a huge fan of therapy unless it involves the IPAD. He is tolerating time on his side looking the opposite way than he likes (do to a muscle imbalance he always looks to 1 side). While on his side he likes to look in the mirror and has gained increased control with his left hand to activate cause-effect games on the IPAD. He has also gained increased head control in a sitting position and enjoys Hand-Over-Hand play with the IPAD and other cause-effect toys. Every morning he receives a lotion massage and stretching to help keep his muscles loose and prevent contractors. He then enjoys the stimulation from the therapy brush followed by 2 hours of wearing his hand/foot braces.
Henry Claude
Mr. Claude enjoys his lotion massage and therapy brushing in the mornings. He has a new customize chair in which he spends the morning and afternoons sitting up. he receives a lotion massage and stretching to help keep his muscles loose and prevent contractors. He then enjoys the stimulation from the therapy brush. He also enjoys time in the therapy swing.
Job
Job enjoys therapy. Every morning he receives a lotion massage and stretching to help keep his muscles loose and prevent contractors. He then enjoys the stimulation from the therapy brush. Some of his favorite therapy activities include therapy ball, swinging, sitting in the corner chair and hand-over-hand playing with toys.
Jimson
Jimson loves riding the adaptive bike and it is great way to help stretch his legs and provide increase ROM in a fun way. He enjoys taking walks when 2 people help hold his arms he will stand up and walk. He continues to love swinging and bouncing on the therapy ball. Every morning he receives a lotion massage and stretching to help keep his muscles loose and prevent contractors. He then enjoys the stimulation from the therapy brush.
Thamara
Thamara had 6-8 months after he surgery to help her gain more control of her legs where she fought therapy, fought having her braces on and fought being stretched. She has finally come around and tolerates therapy much better. She wears her foot braces all day. Will tolerate standing in the stander while completing Fine Motor activities for 45 minutes. She still likes to guard her right leg but tolerates her new chair that has a bar so she can’t bring her knee to her chest. She is super smart and enjoys challenging Fine Motor activities like Perfection. She wheels herself around in a wheelchair independently to get from 1 place to the next.
Natalie
Natalie loves coming to therapy. Her favorite therapy activities continue to be bouncing/rolling over the therapy ball, swinging in the various therapy swings, and massage with vibrating therapy brush. She tolerates longer periods of time sitting at the table doing fine motor, visual motor/perceptual, and hand strengthening activities. She can sit and attend to a non-preferred task for 20+ minutes now. She is getting better at sorting colors, simple 4-8 piece form board puzzles, and coloring.
Moise
Moise has been working standing during therapy. He enjoys spending time in the stander as long as you help him play with toys Hand-Over-Hand to distract him. He received a new specialized chair which helps keep his hips in better alignment as he was getting inflammation in his hips causing him pain especially at night. The new chair that he uses during the day helps him to not have as much inflammation. His favorite therapy activities are swinging and chewing on chewy tubes as well as going for rides on the adaptive bike.
Cherlinda
Cherlinda enjoys coming to therapy. She has been working hard on standing and walking. In fact the other day I caught her trying to pull herself up on the wall to stand. She enjoys spending time in the stander while playing with vibrating toys or making music with instruments on the IPAD. She also likes walking when 2 people help by holding her arms. The other day she tried walking in a walker for the first time. It was difficult but she worked really hard and was proud of herself. Her favorite activity by far though is spending time in the swing.
Jenny
Jenny enjoys most of her time at therapy. She continues to seek out oral-motor input through biting herself and non-edible objects. We have been working with her trying to teach her to bite on chewy tubes. She loves rolling/bouncing on the therapy ball and swinging in the swing. We do Hand-Over-Hand play with her to help her learn to use her hands for functional play. She does not like the stander but tolerates her time better if she can chew on the chewy tube or have a vibrating brush massage to help pass the times. She loves playing with shaving cream!
Ti-Willy
Ti-Willy loves coming to therapy. One of his favorite activities is standing in the stander. He loves standing up like a big boy and completing simple play activities with assistance on the tray while standing. He enjoys riding the therapy adapted bike, propelling himself on the scooter board. He has made great gains with his right arm. He tolerates stretching and wearing his hand brace without crying. He tolerated Hand-Over-Hand play with that arm as well. He has started feeding himself with Moderate assistance to prevent spilling food or tipping spoon upside down.
Kenderson
Henderson loves coming to therapy. He continues to seek out vestibular and proprioceptive sensory input through running, jumping, shaking his head, and bouncing/rolling over the therapy ball. His favorite activity continues to be swinging. He has been working on self-feeding with a spoon and can bring a loaded spoon to his mouth. He is learning to learn to ride the adapted therapy bike. He loves being pushed around but is now starting to push the pedals on his own! He has more interest in toys and will sit and play for a few minutes at a time. Every morning he enjoys a lotion massage and therapy brush with the vibrating therapy brush.
Hope
Hope loves coming to therapy. In fact many mornings Hope watches for me to head to there therapy room and heads that way. She loves laying on the therapy matt and just hanging out in the therapy room. Her favorite therapy activities include riding the adaptive therapy bike, bouncing/rolling over the therapy ball, swinging in the various therapy swings, and looking at herself in the mirror.
Isaac
Isaac enjoys coming to therapy sessions. He has been working on climbing up and down stairs with better control, increasing the range of motion and ability to grasp/release objects in this left hand, tolerating standing on 1 foot (his left foot), and completing bilateral hand activities. His favorite activities continue to be swinging in the various therapy swings and bouncing/rolling over the therapy ball.
Ti-carlos
Ti-carlos loves coming to therapy. He watches for me to head to the therapy room every morning and comes running after me. His favorite place to be is hanging out in the Therapy room. When he is asked to leave he starts crying. his favorite activities include playing with the therapy balls and swinging. We use these are used as rewards. During therapy we focus on increasing his attention span for seated non-preferred activities, imitating pre-writing strokes, sorting colors and shapes and tolerating wearing shoes. He has made great progress over the last 6 months. He can now sit and attend to a non-preferred task for 20 minutes, can sort colors with 75% accuracy, and tolerates wearing socks/shoes and asks to wear them. He is becoming more vocal to let you know what he wants. He will imitate what you say and loves music.
Owens
Owens loves coming to therapy and is such a hard-worker. He has been working hard on his balance while bench sitting and completing activities requiring 2 hands together and crossing midline. Over the last 6 months he has gained increase bilateral coordination, balance with sitting, and can tolerate standing in the stander for a longer period of time! Owens loves his new wheelchair which allows him to participate in his daily activities with greater ease and enjoyment. He also loves riding the therapy bike which is an awesome activity to increase range of motion in his legs and to increase his core-strength and head control.
Markinely
Makenly loves coming to therapy. He has been working on overall strengthening, increasing his handwriting skills for school, and fine motor/hand strengthening activities. The other day during therapy I captured the most precious moment of him helping Carlos with a craft (Hand over Hand) as Carlos was struggling. Makenly loves playing board games, riding the scooter board, climbing the the latter, and completing obstacle courses. He just started to be able to tie his shoes with minimal assistance. He has been working on this for months. So proud of him. This will make getting ready for school each morning easier.
Gilbert
Gilbert enjoys coming to therapy. During therapy we work on arm/hand/finger strengthening. His favorite activity is playing board games. Last Friday he loved the shaving cream party!
Joseph
Joseph enjoys coming to therapy. He likes doing theraband strengthening activities, Yogarilla, playing board games that challenge his fine-motor/hand strength skills, making crafts. He has been working hard on learning to tie his shoes, handwriting skills, and improving his speech/pronounciation skills. This past friday he loved participating in a shaving cream party.
Carlos
Carlos loves coming to therapy. During therapy he works on increasing attention for seated activities that are challenging like coloring, puzzles, prewriting/handwriting activities. He has been working to learn how to tie his shoes on his own to make getting ready for school in the morning easier. He enjoys participating in Yogarilla, theraband strengthening, playing board games, and scooter board activities.
