Showing posts with label IAHP. Show all posts
Showing posts with label IAHP. Show all posts

Sai Kishore is creeping with support now !

Sai Kishore is ready to creep...

That's what our IAHP advocate said to us on the last visit.

Eight months back, SK was able to crawl well and push himself up to the quad position and hold for 5 seconds at most.Later on, he was able to do it for a maximum of 15 seconds after which he will fall down and start crawling.

He was not able to move past this stage and was getting a bit frustrated.It was a tough period for us.He didn't want to crawl anymore. 

When we showed our advocate one such video where he holds the quad position, falls down and stays put there due to frustration, she said that he was ready to creep and that's why he didn't want to crawl. She advised us to give him some torso support to creep and it has worked. 

Now, he is happily creeping around the house ( of course, with support) and smiling at everyone with his eyes saying " Look, I am creeping now !". He wants to do it all day. 

Here is one such video where he creeps in cross pattern.



This is definitely a great moment for us.

There is still a long way to go but what is life if you don't celebrate the little things... For these little things add up to give great happiness one day... Every small achievement will soon be one amazing success. That's what we hope for and work for... 

Clinical Evaluation Visit - Part 1

JANUARY 2017 

It was on January 11th, 2017 that I got an email from IAHP that, for the first time ever, a clinical evaluation visit was scheduled to happen in India. It was such a great surprise for us because we were wonndering how we could take SK to Philadelphia with so little finance in hand.

We registered for the evaluation visit as soon as we received the mail because we didn't want to miss such a wonderful opportunity.The Evaluation was to happen in the last week of March and that meant I would be less than 2 months postpartum when we attend the evaluation.I had to plan well before the visit on how to tackle any health issues that might arise during that period.

Our slot was confirmed and we were eagerly looking forward to that event. There were days when I would be so worried whether I could make it, health wise.I was wishing to have a normal delivery and for my recovery to be quicker so that I could attend the evaluation without much to worry about.

Arranging the finance was not an easy task.It was taking so much effort on our part and we were still looking for ways to pay the fee amount.

FEBRUARY 2017 - MARCH 2017

Welcome Chanakya !

Baby C was born on Feb 3rd,2017 after approximately 10 hours of labor. I got dehydrated when I was 8 cm dilated and I started to cramp during the pushing stage. I was getting tired with every push and the doctors had to deliver the baby using forceps for the safety of the baby as well as mine.

While I was being stitched, I realized how lucky I was to at least have a normal delivery under such a situation. Yes, it sucked that I had 30+ stitches, but we were safe and Baby C was healthy.

It took me a few days to even walk without trembling.Sitting was more painful than standing or walking.I had severe blood loss and my haemoglobin levels dipped to 6.6!I was not able to regulate my body temperature and I constantly felt dizzy. The doctors suggested blood infusion in order to up the levels of hemoglobin. After a session of blood infusion, my hemoglobin was 8.8. At this point, I was allowed to go home with a prescription of iron supplements.

There were many other ailments of which I am not going to write here but it was a really tough time. It took me more than 20 days just to sit and more than 40 days to sit comfortably. I used to worry whether I would be able to travel and attend the evaluation.It was only with the help and support of my husband and our family that I was able to recover quickly than expected.

A million thanks to my husband, without whose support and encouragement, I would still have been lying on the bed saying 'I can't'.

Even as I am writing this, I haven't healed completely; but, I know that healing takes time and that I would be totally fine in a few more weeks.

Planning for the visit

We planned to leave Chanakya with my mom so that we could attend the evaluation with complete focus on SK. I was exclusively breastfeeding baby C and I didn't want to him to be formula fed while I was away. So, I calculated the amount of milk that he would need when I wasn't around and I started pumping a few days before to build up a stash.

Other than that, I had to review all the old notes and write down the details which were required.It was a daunting task as I had 5 big notebooks that contained information about his daily program.

The Evaluation Visit

Days flew by and it was time to leave for the evaluation.So far, everything went as planned and I had 3.5 litres of milk in the freezer on the day I was leaving to New Delhi.It was not easy on my mind to leave a 6 weeks old baby at home but the fact that baby C was still getting my milk gave me some peace.

In order to maintain the supply while away from the baby, I had to exclusively pump every 2-3 hours. I had to wash all the equipment, sterilize it and safely store the expressed milk after every pumping session. It was tiring but well worth the effort because I bought back home more than 2 litres of milk.

Even after so much planning I had to face a few issues with engorgement which fortunately subsided after a few pumping sessions. Luckily, I did not get any plugged ducts or mastitis in that period.



SK with his paternal grandma at the airport


I was also worried whether SK would feel groggy or disturbed after travelling in the air. I was comforted by the fact that he managed the travel so well.Throughout the visit, SK was wonderfully co-operative and thus the evaluation went smoothly.

PART 2 - click here

My experience : The 'What to do about your brain-injured child course?'



'The What to do about your brain injured child course' is a 5-day video course that teaches parents of brain-injured children on the whys and hows of treating their child.

My experience:

Overall it was a fantastic experience and it is a course that I would recommend every parent of a brain-injured child to attend.

The content and time period: 

The course was divided into 3 major parts- intellectual, physical & physiological over a span of 5 days.
Every day started between 7-9 am and ended by 7 pm (approximately). Some days were longer than the others due to the content discussed.Every topic was discussed for an hour followed by a break of 10 mins.

The auditorium & food:

The auditorium was purposely maintained cold and the explanation for it was given in the course. The food was not even palatable , in my opinion, and we attributed it to the cooking style of the hotel where we had lunch. Only by the 3rd day we were told that there was no salt in our food and that is why the food tasted bland(can also be read as bad).

DAY 1:

The first half of the day was mostly about introductions; introduction of staff, course etc. By mid-day, the lessons started and it was all about brain injury- what it is, the causes, how to deal with it and so on. 

DAY 2:

Day 2 was the continuation of day 1 and it was a bit more scientific in approach. After lunch, the developmental profile was discussed and the parents were taught how to evaluate their children. With the help of the staff, everyone created the initial developmental profile for their children. Personally, I liked this day very much because it helped me see where my child was and where he needs to move up on the profile. 

DAY 3:

This day was dedicated to the Physical aspect of the program.

We were made to crawl and creep. Though the whole activity was fun , it also helped us realize how tough it is for our children to crawl and creep.
We were made to pattern children (Different types of patterning for different age-groups of children).
There were also live demonstrations for crawling and creeping by children who have been on the program. It was a touching experience to see children who were determined to move in spite of their injury.

DAY 4:

This day was dedicated to intellectual and physiological excellence.

Intellectual:
This part of the course dealt with the importance of the flashcard program( reading) and why it would benefit the child if included in the daily routine.

Physiological excellence:
It was all about creating a toxic-free environment for the children and following an excellent nutrition program.

We were also made to design our home program as a part of the home-work.

DAY 5:

Summary & certification ceremony.

IAHP Course Certificate
My certificate


All of us were requested to answer the question "What is the most important thing that you have learned?".

Everyone had something wonderful to say and it was enlightening to hear what other parents felt. Most of them have been through a lot and it was evident in their speech.

The course concluded with the certification ceremony.

You can check out more about this course at http://www.iahp.org/hurt-kids/what-to-do-about-your-brain-injured-child-course/

Note: I am in no way endorsed with IAHP and the above written text is my own experience. I have not received any monetary benefits for writing this article.

I have completed the What to do course successfully!!!

My certificate



The "What to do about your brain injured child' course is a five-day intensive course that teaches parents on the whys and hows of treating their child.

Click here to take a look at the details of the course

The course was really informative and it is a course that every brain-injured child's parent must attend. The course was divided into 3 major parts- physical, intellectual & physiological.

I'll post the updates in a similar 3-part manner.I'm trying to plan a really good program for my kid and it is time-consuming. I'm allotting the first week for physiology, second for physical and third for intellectual. I will be back with the updates soon.

How I started teaching my baby using flash cards...

How I found out about Glenn Doman and his method of teaching:

I stumbled upon brillkids.com when I was randomly surfing the internet about brain development in babies. After reading through all the information I felt a little overwhelmed. For some unknown reason I felt compelled to try it out with my baby. The methods listed in the website were Glenn Doman's method and Shichida's method.I went with the Doman method.

Why I chose Glenn Doman's method:

1. Flexibility - you do not need to start from the first if you have missed a few days of the program.
2. Fun - The method promised fun for both the parent and the child.

Flash card method: 

Before jumping into the teaching stuff , I wanted to check whether he liked to look at flash cards. So, I made a trial set of 3 cards ,in big red font on a white background and flashed it quickly in front of him. He looked at the cards intently and smiled. I thought to myself "Oh well! It works. Or may be it doesn't. I will need to make more cards in order to know whether this program works."

I have been using Glenn Doman's method for the past 6 months to teach my son words and numbers. 
Whenever I show him the cards he smiles broadly which encourages me to move forward with this method. The only drawback in this method is that the method is against testing babies since testing kills fun. Glenn Doman says "Never test your baby". We just have to assume that he would have learnt the words or numbers or whatever that is shown in the cards. 

So far, I've showed him a lot of English words, dot cards for numbers and pictures( encyclopedic knowledge program). Making the cards is time consuming and requires a lot of effort from the side of the parents. 


flash card- sample 1
Flash card- sample 1

Dot cards- for math
Flash card- couplets- sample


Does it work? 

It is too early for me to comment about the results. I do not know whether the method works. Moreover, I do not care whether it works; as long as he smiles whenever I show him flash cards I will keep doing it. 

I hope that when he starts to speak I will come to know whether the program has worked or not.

Opinions:

'Teaching young babies'

Some people are totally for it and some are totally against it.

There are researches that support early learning and claim that they work; and of course there are researches which claim that these methods are a waste of time. You can see a lot of YouTube videos where kids less than 3 years old are reading books and identifying pictures. On the other hand there are a lot of newspaper articles which say these methods don't work. 

You need to decide for yourself whether this is the kind of method you want to use to teach your baby. Trust your parental instinct - because a parent never does the wrong thing for his/her child.

Do you want to follow this method of teaching with your kid?


The founders of this method claim that this works well if you start early.For more information you can visit the iahp.org or read the how to teach your baby to read book.

I have uploaded the flash cards that I had made for Sai in the free materials section. Instead of trying to make everything on your own, just download the ready made files with a single click and save your precious time.

You can also visit domanmom.com & classicalmommy.com for many more free materials. 

The only suggestion I can give is - Do not concentrate on the results. The moment you start concentrating on results , the fun part will vanish.

What do you think about using flash cards to teach babies?

*Update- 1/03/16* The flashcards do work. Though he is not verbal yet, he chooses the right word when offered options and he can even do math( dot cards). I would definitely recommend this method for teaching young kids.

The Developmental Profile



What is the developmental profile?

A developmental profile is a chart to measure the development of a child. It is broadly classified into 2 categories - Sensory & Motor - which is further classified into 6 categories - 3 under sensory & 3 under motor.
  • SENSORY: Visual, Auditory & Tactile
  • MOTOR: Mobility, Language & Manual.
These 6 categories are divided into 7 stages as per age (from birth to 6 years). So we have a total of 42 boxes in the developmental profile.

click here to view the developmental profile.

In simple words , sensory skills are receptor skills and motor skills are expression skills.

Sensory:

Visual : eye sight and its efficiency
Auditory: hearing and its efficiency
Tactile: Feeling (through skin) and its efficiency.
Note: Skills of Smell and taste are not taken into account.

Motor:
Mobility: Movement and its efficiency
Language: Speech and its efficiency
Manual: Use of arms and hands and its efficiency.

The 7 stages( divided by age ) are assigned the VIBGYOR pattern for colors. The 1st stage is colored red. The 2nd is Orange, the 3rd is yellow and so on till the 7th stage . 

The developmental profile is easy to use and it helps us compare a child's neurological age with his chronological age, determine the rate of growth of a kid and so on. 

For more information: 

Read the 'How smart is your baby ?' book by Glenn Doman

Thank you for reading this post. Do you have any information to add to this post? If so, please leave a comment below. 

'What to do about your brain injured child' - book review- a 2 min read

' What to do about your brain injured child' book written by Glenn Doman is one of its kind.


What to do about your brain injured child book by Glenn Doman



The term 'brain injured' is quite comforting to hear ( consider mentally retarded.. it is not nice to hear.. is it?). An injury has a chance to heal ; the term 'brain- injury' gives hope to parents (who have hurt kids ) that their kids might heal. 

According to Glenn Doman, everyone is brain-injured. Brain injury is like a spectrum.We all have it to one degree or another. 

Once we complete reading this book we will start to realize that brain-injured people are human beings just like us. They might have extra needs but their basic needs are the same as ours - they need love, care and affection. They are smart but they do not know how to express it or may be they are not able to express it. 

This book gives a new perspective in treating brain-injured kids and even adults. Though these methods are not yet popular in the medical community I hope one day they will find their way through.This is not a how-to book; it is just a book that details out the journey of how Glenn Doman and his associates discovered this kind of a treatment and why it works.

The treatments given for brain-injured children at IAHP include

1. Masking - to enhance breathing 
2. Patterning - to help a brain-injured kid with mobility
3. Stimulation of the 3 senses- visual, auditory and tactile
4. Hanging from a bar & brachiating

and much more...

Not many of the above mentioned treatment methods are approved by the AAP as scientifically valid. Still, we can find many parents who have achieved success with their kids by following this program religiously. 

I personally liked the book because I was able to relate the concept of brain-injury and healing with the theory that I already had in my mind. 

If you are a parent of a brain-injured kid then this is a must read. Even if you are not going to follow this method for treating your kid it might be of use to gain some knowledge about brain-injury.

Note: I am not affiliated to IAHP in any way.