I recently read a thought-provoking piece on Babble by a wonderful writer I know, Lynn Harris, about whether too many kids are getting occupational therapy. Among other factors Lynn addressed how some moms, eager to give their kids a competitive edge and get them into the "right" kind of school, haul them to OT if they show the slightest delay. I don't know Those Kinds of Moms. If anything, I've encountered ones who were hesitant to get their typical kids OT or speech because to them, it carried some sort of stigma.
Lynn's piece that got me thinking about what life would be like if Max needed only one kind of therapy. It's really hard to imagine; he's been in various forms of therapy since he was a month old. In his early years Max got aquatic therapy and hippotherapy (horseback riding), along with mainstream stuff. Toys helped, too. There's Max above at age two with one that helped him pull to stand and encouraged him to grasp balls (it's the Fisher-Price Baby Playzone: Pull Up Ball Blast).
Here's our current list of therapies:
* Occupational therapy: Twice a week at school, twice a week at home (from the therapist who's seen Max since he was two months old)
* Physical therapy: Twice a week at school
* Speech therapy: Three times a week at school, plus twice during weekdays with one speech therapist and once on Saturday with another
* Music therapy: Once a week
* Giggles therapy: All the time, as often as we can. This is a cutting-edge therapy developed by me and Dave that involves making silly sounds, doing crazy dances, singing "MAX IS PURPLE-PURPLE-PURPLE-PURPLE" at the top of our lungs or bascially doing anything we can to make Max laugh. It may just be the most feel-good therapy ever invented. Soon to be patented!
Oh, and wait, I almost forgot about the world-famous, highly controversial toilet therapy. Max was mesmerized by the one on our first floor. It totally encouraged him to pull to stand.
So, what does your child's therapy list look like these days?
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