Therapy Update

Maddie attends therapy sessions weekly and has had a total of 5 Anat Baniel Method (ABM) therapy lessons/sessions. We drive to Royal Oak and meet with Kathleen (her therapist) in her home. The room we use has dimmed lighting and is quiet with some soothing white noise in the background. Kathleen greets us and gets started right away! Maddie is beginning to know where we are and gets excited to show Kathleen what she is able to do from the previous session. The two of them get along and work well together, they have built a sense of trust. I can see Maddie building a relationship with her therapist and it makes me so happy. I can see the joy in her when she accomplishes even the smallest thing!

I already feel attached to Kathleen and have only met with her 5 times. I feel as if I have known her for years, and also that she "gets" me and Maddie Boo. You have no idea how many doctors/therapists we have seen in 15 months (more than I have seen in my 28 years) ... to have a person understand my vision for my daughter's therapy and care is unbelievable. Needless to say, we have found someone that we would like to continue seeing for a very long time!

Maddie has already started showing progress in her movement abilities and also with her self-awareness. Al and I have noticed that she kicks her legs more and is able to pull them up and in towards her belly. This was one of the first signs of change and she is continuing to move her legs more purposefully. Maddie has been practicing what Kathleen is teaching her!! She is now also able to (when laying on her back or sitting) bend her knees and put her feet on the floor or chair. These may seem like small things to some, but for us any new thing is exciting!

During Maddie's therapy sessions she works on putting the pieces together to roll over. I have watched Kathleen show Maddie what to do and work to help her roll. She is able to throw her leg over at times and even roll her hip/leg to roll from back to belly. She also helps to use her head and neck when trying to get onto her belly. She has a long way to go, but is really working hard on getting this new skill :) Maddie wants to be able to move around and rolling will give her some independence!!

I wanted to share all of the exciting news and thank you all for your support with purchasing Team Maddie t-shirts and Team Maddie Bowl-a-thon tickets :))))) I will post how many sessions she has received from all of you soon! I have the shirts and will begin sorting/organizing them tonight and Sunday. I will start to send them out next week :))) Yay!!

SHOW YOUR LOVE AND SUPPORT FOR MADDIE AND HELP HER TO BE ABLE TO CONTINUE RECEIVING THIS THERAPY THROUGH PURCHASING TEAM MADDIE BOWL-A-THON TICKETS!!!

Tickets are $20 each and need to be purchased in advance ... We would love to see you in your Team Maddie attire while you bowl, eat pizza, and win prizes :)) xoxo