Mason first learned how to get around by doing what we call the "worm." He didn't have the arm strength to hold himself up. After he learned that we were wanting to work on him sitting but he had no interest in it because he learned he couldn't go anywhere from the sitting position. His therapist told me we need to teach him how to go from sitting to laying on his stomach. As he would sit she would put both his hands in front of him and to the side of his body then pulling his legs out from under him. It didn't even take him a week to learn that he could sit AND be mobile it wasn't one way or the other. He would go from sitting to his stomach just the way he was taught his hands would go flat on the floor and to the right on his body everytime. His therapist said to me "Hes like a poster child for a step by step, he does everything in perfect order."
The next step was to build his muscles to have more control of his body. His therapist said its time to introduce Mason to the stairs. Any parent knows the stairs are a pain because typically kids fall down them. For Mason it was going to be helpful. She started by sitting Mason on the steps to get balance, then put a toy table in front of him teaching him to pull himself up to it by holding his feet flat on the floor and I would hold his hips to help stabilize him. The table played music and was a great encourage. He caught on quickly. Therapy was over and she told me to continue to work with him on pulling himself up and balance.She said in a few weeks he will have the strength and be ready to climb the stairs.
His therapist came the following week and asked me how the stairs was going, with a smile I said I have to show you something. I took Mason to the stairs not only did he learn to sit on the step, or pull himself up, I taught him how to CLIMB the steps. I would take his hands, placing them on the step in front of him, then pull one knee up on the step, then the following knee. To encourage Mason I used one of his favorite balls, placing it on next step and when he would get to that step I would throw it on the next step. When Mason showed his therapist he could climb the stairs HE would put the ball on the next step, get to that step then throw the ball on the next step, just as I used to teach him. His therapist is always amazed at how quickly Mason catches on, how hard I push him and his determination. She particularly thought it was cute how he used the ball just as I used the ball to encourage him. She never saw a child do that.
That day she wanted to work more on Mason pulling himself up to the coffee table, and couch. She taught him by putting his hands on the coffee table then starting with the right foot she put it flat underneath him then grabbed the other foot putting it flat under him and he would pull himself up. Within the next week he would pop up to the couch and coffee table.
She always compliments me and says "Its you, you work so hard with him and every week he is showing new signs of development and learning so quickly." I always turn the credit around BC I don't know what the next "step" is or the little tricks on how to get him to do the next step. She teaches me everything I know. She teaches me something, I work with him through the week and we are ready for the next step. We make a great team!
Therapy has been something I don't LOVE but I'm always up for the challenge and of course want and love to see Mason succeed. I tell his therapist I enjoy showing her everything Mason learns in a week time and she says "not as much as I enjoy seeing it."
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