Aiden

When Aiden was 2 years old his Neurologist told us that we needed to prepare ourselves that Aiden may never walk, talk or feed himself. He told us that our best hope for Aiden was to get him as much therapy as possible. Only Aiden would know what he is capable of and every brain injury is different. Per the Neurologist, Therapy, Therapy Therapy!!!

Aiden is now 12 and can walk, he is learning to talk with a device and can use a spoon with minor assistance and is even learning to stab food with a fork.

We took the doctor’s advice and Aiden has participated in all types of therapy since he was 2 years old.

Starting at the age of 2 Aiden had the traditional therapies: Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Feeding Therapy and Speech Therapy.

We also got Aiden into non-Traditional therapies. We strongly believe that these non-Traditional therapies in correlation with the traditional therapies have gotten Aiden where he is today.

We started Aiden with Hippa / Equestrian therapy when he was 2 years old. He could only sit up for very short periods of time and had very little balance. Aiden started at Hippa / Equestrian therapy in the Fall of 2007. When we started Aiden needed full assistance to stay upright in the saddle. By the end of the Fall session Aiden’s upper body strength had greatly improved. Aiden was able to sit up independently and was beginning to crawl. By the end of the Spring 2008 session Aiden was beginning to take steps. By the time Aiden was 4 years old he was able to walk independently in familiar areas and was sitting in the saddle without assistance.

Aiden participated in VitalStim Feeding therapy. Refer to a separate article on how this helped Aiden with his feeding issues.

Aiden started Cranial sacral therapy (also known as craniosacral therapy) which is a gentle, noninvasive form of bodywork that addresses the bones of the head, spinal column and sacrum. The goal is to release compression in those areas which alleviates stress and pain. Aiden started at once a week and has worked up to once a month. His teachers have commented that they can tell when Aiden has had Cranial sacral therapy as his attention for the days following is better. It just helps Aiden’s body relax as the Cerebral Palsy can tighten his muscles.

Aiden loves music so we also got him in Music Therapy both at home and at school. Music is used to help him learn.

Aiden has exceeded all of his doctor’s expectations and continues to develop due to the motto the doctor gave us of Therapy, Therapy, Therapy.

If interested in Aiden’s medical history see this in the VitalStim Feeding therapy article.