If your LO gets PT...
Are they always really worn out after? DD was getting really crabby by the end of her session, and as soon as it was over she conked out. She normally rarely naps at all, so it was nice to have a little break! Although it seemed like she wasn't making much process since she was so crabby, as soon as she woke up I set her down expecting her to sit, and she put her feet down and straightened her legs to stand instead! She's never done that before, so I'm really excited. So, it must have been beneficial in some way.
My question is...should I be working with her at home to the point where she gets pooped out like that? We practice a lot, but she never gets tired after when it's just us doing playing and doing exercises together. Should I be trying to spend more time and exercise with her more often? How often do you do PT related stuff outside of your actual PT sessions?
Re: If your LO gets PT...
I think there's a tricky balance required with this whole new "parent education" model that they're pursuing in early intervention programs. The therapists are supposed to be working with the child while at the same time teaching the parents to be at-home therapists. That way, the child can get therapy every day, and the county EI agency doesn't have to spend as much on licensed therapists (call me cynical, but I'm pretty sure cost-cutting is the biggest rationale for this, even though it is painted as a "family-centered therapy" effort).
Anyway, off soap box.... My point about balance is that you're her Mommy, and while you should definitely work with her you also need to be her Mommy that she loves and loves being with and playing with. By putting so much of the therapeutic burden on the parents, EI can sometimes turn you into a drill instructor (I know, I've caught myself being one!). So one day I was talking to our social worker about how I felt like all of this pressure to be the best therapist my DD has was making me feel like I never just enjoyed playing with her, and I also worried that it was messing with our Mommy-daughter bond. I felt like I needed to be a tough coach who would make her work to her fullest potential every day, so that we could get the most out of EI.
Her take was that the parental therapy should be a scaled-back version of your EI sessions. Incorporate therapy into play, incorporate it into bathtime, diaper changes, playground time, etc., but don't feel the need to go for as long or as hard as the therapist does. She said you're still doing good things, and that because you have the luxury of spreading the exercises out across the day you can afford to let your child enjoy things a bit more and not be as stressed out about it. The EI therapists have to do everything in one session, so they have to be more aggressive. They can also get away with it because they're not trying to maintain parent-child attachment, they're teachers/instructors/etc.
Others may disagree, but I've chosen to accept that approach and I'm much happier with it (and I think DD is too!). We've made great progress, and we manage to preserve our feelings of normalcy at the same time.
I work DS out for about an hour a day and then do things throughout the day. He is used to it so doesn't get very tired. I work from home so I can work it in to my schedule. Some days are better than others.
I never feel "good enough" though, esp. since he can't sit up on his own yet. I hate leaving him laying on his back and he won't stay on his tummy. So even though I do put in that big chunk of time, I feel badly the rest of the day.
Like PP was saying, the parent-as-therapist model puts a lot of pressure on parents.
luckyfrgg said it quite well. I find it really stressful to be his mommy who just wants to PLAY with Dean and be with him and meanwhile at just about any opportunity I *could* be doing therapeutic exercises with him to help him out. Like I don't want to help my kid? But I don't want to blur that line either. I'm really not a fan of the parent-education model. I have enough to do besides being his mom! If I need to do it, so be it, but I'm not the one who went to school to become a therapist, you know?
Hope that made sense and didn't come out like I don't care. I do!
I think that it is really easy to incorporate PT into our play stuff. I don't know if it is because DD is older, but I can take her to the playground and she will walk up the steps and go down the slide by herself and walking on the different surfaces etc I consider PT.
Even helping with dinner and having her do clean up she is getting up and down and working fine and gross motor skills. We do a lot of shape sorters and she loves dumping out her piggy bank and refilling it. I know that was in her PT/OT test, so I think that since she loves doing it, it counts as part of her therapy.