Wednesday, June 18

Spencer's Therapy Session

It was decided that Spencer would benefit from some occupational therapy this summer while out of school. Every Wednesday morning, he will have one hour of therapy. Work is allowing me to do this, no questions asked. My boss, also the Vice President, is a great guy to work for and didn't even let me finish explaining before he said yes. This was Spencer's second week. He skipped the whole way to the therapy center and sang songs in the elevator. No guessing if he wanted to go or not! One key factor in him liking this so much is his therapist, Patti. Patti has been involved in Spencer's life one way or another ever since his first surgery at four months old. She brought him through some very tough times while in the hospital and recently found us a larger stroller so Spencer can be comfortable during our walks. She is beyond wonderful and Spencer is so eager to please her during his session that I just sit in wonder at the things he can do for her.



One of Patti's many goals for Spencer is to help him use his mouth for something other than chewing and "teething" every and anything he can get his hands on. He is overly oral with strings almost to the point of obsession. Patti is using one of those toys that when you blow in the pipe, it hovers a ball over the little net on the end.



Spencer is copying her mouth movements here.




Here he is teasing her with the ball when he caught it!




I am probably not a good person to have included in these sessions. I try to sit quietly and not influence Spencer. Here Patti took out a doll, gasp and a naked one at that, for shame!, and pretended to feed it a cup of tea. She did this a few times and then asked Spencer to feed the baby. Every single time, Spencer took the cup from her, turned it over and placed it on the baby's head. I sat in the nearby chair and held my giggles in. Personally I would do the same if someone asked me to feed a naked doll! She needed some clothes first...

Needless to say, Spencer amazes me almost every minute during these sessions. He really does know how to do so many things I never realized and this is a time for me to learn also. I take mental notes on all the things done so I can do them at home too. Thank God for woman like Patti!

5 comments:

Tanya said...

I just love this post. I love how hard he is concentrating for her. He really does look older and so much bigger. He sits so nice in that chair for her too!

I'm so proud of him. So proud!

Faith said...

It is amzing how we can learn from this too isn't it. We as adults never stop learning. And we learn from our children too. Sometimes they have more patients than we do. He is just an all around lovable little boy whom I miss very much. I remember holding him at your moms with Elmo.

Brandy said...

Look at him! He's so focused and I love that. I don't know if it's the same for you, but for us, trying to get Nathaniel to stay focused can be difficult if he's not interested. He is ALWAYS focused for his teachers/therapists at school.

I totally understand where you're coming from on learning from the therapists. Throughout the school year, I'm in constant contact with the gals working with Nate so that I can continue working on things at home...so we're all on the same page.

Sheri said...

He really does try more than I have ever seen him. I told him Aunt Tanya was proud of him and he said, "okay, okay," like he really knew!

Faith - Spencer loved you from the beginning. As a newborn, he was so content to curl up on your shoulder when you would stop by after work, remember that?

Brandy, Spencer's attention span is almost nil so when he does focus, no matter what it may be on, I make sure to praise him!

Anonymous said...

I think it is great that Spencer is involved in the therapy. I've seen so many changes in him since I first met him a year ago. He is far more focused and coordinated; learning new words, songs and phrases all of the time. I'm proud of his progress and I admire your strength and poise through all of his ordeals. You are an amazing and wonderful person Sheri!

Love ya
Pam