Re: let's get going
Gary Hardy (garyh@yarra.vicnet.net.au)
Tue, 20 Feb 1996 21:50:22 +1100 (EST)
Hi Tammy and fellow Preemie-l subscribers
Yes, we would really like to see the group get going too - there
is a lot to talk about and a wealth of experience to share.
Maybe we need to advertise the group more widely, and get more
parents involved, to get the activity level up - assuming that
the technical side is running ok (is it ? - anybody having
problems let us know)
Our baby Vincent (born at 26 weeks) is now 16 months old, or
corrected age 13 months. He is tall and lean, looks somewhere
between 14-15 months old, and looks pretty much like a normal
toddler. At every stage of his development I've wondered how he
would ever achieve what he has then gone on to do. His right
side stiffness first became obvious at about 5 months corrected
age - I was watching closely for it because, of course, we were
very worried about how severe it might be. He had a clenched
fist and stiff right arm at first and his leg only became stiff
when he was doing something exciting like kicking in the bath.
He learned to roll over (back to front) at about 8 months
corrected age and seemed to find it hard to get his head over.
His physio showed me how to pat the back of his head to remind
him to lift it. He sat up at about 10 months corrected age, a
bit wobbly at first and with his right leg bent stiffly. He sits
well now with both legs relaxed. In fact the stiffness only
happens when he is trying to do something difficult that he is
not used to doing.
He has been trying to crawl for about a month now and can finally
do it. He certainly tries hard. It seems he needs to make
significant effort with gross motor activities and he needs to be
shown. Very little is automatic or instinctive. But we're
thrilled with his progress so far - it looks like he's growing
out of the cerebral palsy or learning to work around it.
He is bright and sociable. In January, he had comprehensive
testing done at the hospital of his birth but we haven't received
the report yet. The thinking behind the tests seemed fairly
transparent - put the round peg in the round hole sort of stuff,
on which Vincent's motor skills (or lack of) could have an
impact. I also felt that where Vincent had had experience with
the sort of activity beforehand, he did way better than where the
activity was new to him - put the peg in the hole was cinchy, because
he does that at home, but drawing on the page was harder as we had never
given him a pen before.
It's hard as parents to get an objective view of your
child, but I figure our estimate of Vincent's capabilities,
built up after watching him explore and figure things out over
the last 16 months - is probably more accurate that something
done by a stranger after an hour. Though, again, the stranger
sees lots of kids at the same age, and maybe is better placed to
make some sort of comparative judgement. If her assessment
agrees with ours, I suppose we will conclude that it was a very
astute process, if it doesn't we will have to think again, and
harbour suspicions about the validity of the whole thing. We'll
know when we get the report.
Does anybody else have experience with these issues? We'd like to hear
from you.
best wishes
Anne & Gary parents of Vincent (13 months corrected) and Jessica (4)