Anat Baniel Method

Everett Therapy Update – Walking with Upsee

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Everett has been working on walking with his ABM physical therapist (using the Upsee). They have been trying it out without the shoe attachment (which would lift his foot when she lifts her foot). Everett has been lifting his own legs and feet really nicely — the Upsee supports his body at the pelvis so it’s not like he’s bearing much weight on his legs, but he’s getting the concept of the stepping motion.

The shocking thing is that he can count up to eighteen or nineteen now. Once Carla gets him started he will say the next number all the way up. He’s supposed to correlate one number with each step, but he just gets so excited he jumps ahead a few numbers to one step. Eight seems to be his favorite number – he shouts it with gusto!

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Everett videos

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This first video is of part of a session with E’s physical therapist Carla Reed. She is using the Upsee to work toward walking. It allows Everett to have the sensation of some weight-bearing, but she is bearing most of the weight, which prevents him from “compensating” – or having to contort his body in such a way that he learns an awkward posture (which would be problematic because compensatory postures are nearly impossible to “unlearn” down the road).

In the next video, I say that Everett is feeding himself because before I started filming Everett was holding the cup of yogurt and bringing it to his mouth by himself. But, I didn’t actually get that on the video. You’ll just have to take my word for it =)

 

 

Everett is working on learning to sit and crawl! Therapy UPDATE Oct 2013

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We still have a long way to go before we achieve the “unassisted sitting” or the “crawling” (which is actually creeping) milestones, but we are making some serious progress!!!

 

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Everett can’t get into this position by himself, but he can hold it for a few seconds (which he couldn’t do before) and rock back and forth a bit before he shoots his legs straight. He IS bringing his left knee up bent (to the side, not under his pelvis) when he’s on his tummy, but not yet with the right knee.

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He’s really trying to get into the crawling position, as you can see with the picture below. He’s getting into this kind-of-side/kind-of-trying-to-crawl position more and more these days.

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I just added this one in because I think his cap is so cute =)

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a few more CA therapy pics and videos

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These marks on Everett’s tummy are part of Belly Talk – we skyped with Elinor Silverstein during one of our ABM sessions with Andrea Bowers. It’s supposed to help with constipation. It seemed to help for a few days, but we’re back to using prunes and still struggling.

While we were in CA to have therapy at the Anat Baniel Center in San Rafael, we added a week of sessions with Andrea Bowers in San Jose. We can’t wait to go back! She was so great!!

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Here, Everett is doing the “carp jump” which is a pre-crawling exercise. woohoo! Can’t wait to see some crawling (tummy off the ground)!!!

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Everett army crawled 10 feet!

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After one week at the Anat Baniel Center, Everett has made some small yet significant improvements! He crawled the farthest he’s gone yet this morning and he’s starting to lift his pelvis and really bring his left knee up!

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I think the most notable improvement has been with communication and honestly, the change has been just as much with us as with Everett. Now he says “yeah” for yes and “nah” or “augh” for no. This is such a help!!!!!

We can’t wait to see more changes in the coming weeks!

Brain Gut Connection – articles you do NOT want to miss!

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I recently came across a series of articles on Andrea Bowers’ blog on the Brain Gut Connection that I wanted to share. I think this series will be extremely eye-opening for any person with digestive/gut issues and especially for any moms with special needs kids (because every brain-injured kid that I have ever heard of has gut issues – usually constipation). Andrea Bowers is a practitioner in CA trained in both the Anat Baniel Method AND Masgutova Neurosensorimotor Reflex Integration!!! So exciting!!!

Part 1 introduces the experts in the Brain Gut Series: Dr. Mark Hyman and Elinor Silverstein

Part 2 starts the discussion about how the gut and liver work and how dysfunction can affect the brain, central nervous system, muscle tissues, and other systems of the body due to inflammatory response, inability to eliminate toxins, and/or inability to deliver nutrients to the cells themselves

Part 3 discusses the impact of nutrition,  genetics, and epigenetics in children with special needs. She also tells an unbelievable story about Monsanto working with Cal Poly scientists to genetically modify wheat in 1978! They increased the gluten content of the wheat to the power of FOUR (not four times – i.e. from 10 to 10,000). Elinor Silverstein (while getting her degree) worked in the lab doing the genetic modification on wheat for Monsanto!

Part 4 discusses the important role of Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (the MTHFR gene encodes the MTHFR enzyme), vitamin B12, as well as the overall “toxic load” on our bodies

Part 5 discusses how the brain (central nervous system) and the gut (enteric nervous system) are so closely related that it is impossible to damage one without damaging the other. So, kids with CP are said to be brain-injured, but that means that by definition they are also gut-injured (my words here). This information-packed article includes several videos with Elinor Silverstein explaining all this stuff and the post also includes a list of symptoms that can indicate your child’s issues with their musculoskeletal system/brain might be connected to their gut.

There is another Elinor Silverstein video HERE on nutrition and the MTHFR gene.

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What do you think? Is anyone else as excited about this as I am? Leave me a comment!