Physical Therapy: It's Amazing!!

Abby is now almost 19 months and she is very close to walking.  Abby's cCMV issues seem to be isolated to gross motor delays, and knowing all of the possible complications, we know how lucky we are to have her be such a healthy little girl.  About a year ago, I started looking into the Illinois Early Intervention program.  We knew Abby's development was slowing down and we wanted to make sure she had the extra support she needed to catch up to her peers.  I called and left a message with the office in my area and a few weeks later they called me back.  It took another few weeks to set up an evaluation, but in early January 2013, she was finally evaluated and diagnosed with a 38% gross motor delay.  This meant she qualified for services.  As a parent, this news comes with mixed emotions.  While I was happy that Abby would be getting the services, it confirmed for me the fact that she was pretty significantly delayed.

Ready to move!

Finding a physical therapist in our area that could work around two working parents proved difficult and it took 2 months for EI to find someone, but she ended up being worth the wait.  When Laura started working with Abby in March of 2013, Abby was 11 months old and non-mobile.  She was not rolling or crawling, she was unable to put herself into a sitting position (but could sit if you put her down like that).  She was not pulling to standing.  I started to dread filling out the developmental questionnaires for the pediatrician because the questions they were asking about gross motor development were so far ahead of her skills.  We set a goal of Abby becoming mobile within the next 6 months.

A few weeks into therapy and we were all learning how to help Abby and what bad habits to look for.  No more sitting with locked knees, no more "w sitting."  Laura would come every week and push Abby to new limits and we would try her new strategies throughout the week.

It only took a few weeks before Abby was able to get into sitting on her own.  By mid-may, she had started crawling (thus meeting her goal!)  By August she was pulling to standing, and now she is cruising on the furniture.

practicing with Shannon as extra resistance

When I think of where she was 7 months ago, I am so proud of Abigail and so appreciative of the work  Laura has done with her.  Abby is currently still cared for in the infant room at daycare, but we are very optimistic that she will be able to move to the toddler room in January and run around with the other toddlers all day.

taking a few steps all by herself during PT!!