Therapy Session #1

Well, we had our first session with JD, Siahna's therapist. He kind of freaked us out because after interacting with Siahna for 10 minutes we asked what his initial thoughts were. He said possibly autism but he would rule that out because she is interested in faces, is interested in him as a new person and doesn't seem to carry any of the classic symptoms of autism. Next was cerebral palsy. He was 90% sure that that was not her case but there is a form of cerebral palsy (spastic diplegia) that affects the upper motor neuron. This is something that he'll monitor as he continues her therapy but assured us that at this point is not something we need to think about. Thank you for freaking us out!

He also told us that part of the reason she may be tense all the time (arms back and hands by her face) could be due to her reflux. Since reflux affects the stomach area she could be reacting to some pain there and pulling back to relieve stress on her stomach/esophagus area. This is something we can only really work on from the outside - trying to get her to relax her arms on her own.

He spent about an hour and a half with us discussing Siahna's symptoms, the progress we've seen since her referral and his thoughts. He is pretty sure that this is something she can outgrow and overcome but will be delayed in all milestones pertaining to motor skills for quite awhile. For now we are to work with her on relaxing her upper body. Easier said than done! We are to work on getting her to cross her arms at center which she has done more of lately. We are to keep working on her tracking an object from one side to another so that she will look for toys that are beside her. He gave us a list of about 5 things to work on with her throughout this next week and in the weeks to come. He assured us that with our active involvement we will see her progress in leaps and bounds.

All that said, we still worry that this could be a delay that she has to deal with her whole life. We pray (and ask you to pray with us) that this is something she will overcome. In the meantime, we are having to teach her the things that most babies automatically do on their own (rolling, reaching, walking, etc.).

We do praise God each day still for the little improvements that she makes all on her own. That gives us hope and encouragement. A month ago she would never have been interested in a toy hanging from her carseat. Today she immediately reaches for it and plays with it. A month ago she was not happy sitting or laying for more than two minutes. Today we can put her in her saucer or play with her on the floor for extended periods of time. A month ago she was not sitting on her own. Today, we can prop a ball between her legs, pull her arms forward and she can balance herself and sit up. We do see progress and every little thing gives us hope.