Need help stimulating 1yo SN daugther

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  • Our 18 month old daugther suffered a stroke in utero, so we are dealing with developmental delays, as well as spasitc diplagia. She can’t walk yet, can’t sit unassisted, barely crawls (more of a drag) and doesn’t talk. She signs a few things but that is it.

    She is a very happy child, and content to play by herself, which I am grateful for as I have 5 other children at home, but I feel like I’m short changing her. When I have time, we do some exercises that her Physical Therapist and Occupational Therapist taught me, and her other siblings will play with her, but otherwise, she doesn’t get much stimulation.

    We don’t really know the extent of her delays, and we may never know. How do you stimulate your young SN child and know that you’re doing it enough?

    Thanks! 

    lgeurink
    Member

    You may never know if you did “enough”.  We probably don’t do “enough” for any of our kids or at least we could probably always do more.   I am also willing to bet that with seven other people in the house your daughter is getting plenty of attention!  My oldest has special needs and she sucks the attention from us whether we have time or not!  If you are pleased with that amount and the content of what your OT and PT have given you and you are able to accomplish it in your day, then you are doing great.  If you feel you want more ideas or more creative ways to accomplish them, they would be great people to ask.  We have changed every doctor and therapist we have had in the last ten years and we love the team we have for our daughter but it took years of researching and visiting with people to feel that way.  Don’t be afraid to look into other therapists or doctors while you are still seeing your current people, there are many ideas out there.  Abilitiations is a company that sells all kids of toys, supports, and things for all types of needs so even just looking at their catalog or website may spark some ideas for you.  As far as time spent specifically with her, could your other children, based on age and ability, take 5 minutes or 30 minutes or whatever to be her “buddy” and take responsibility for an exercise or song time or whatever she likes?  One of the biggest blessing we see to our daughter’s disability is how amazing it is shaping our other children and teaching them about serving.  We try really hard to give our other kids normal experiences too so they don’t feel obligated in a negative way or strapped down because of their sister and we talk a lot about how hard it is and how sick of it we can get.  It helps them (and me) to be honest with how we feel and to work through those feelings together so they don’t feel bad for not wanting to help or sacrifice for her.  Another resource we have found is in local college kids.  Do you have any at your church you already know or a college nearby with a special education program?  Even if you can’t pay them, most special ed students will love to have the experience of working with kids for their resume.  Most colleges have online job sites you can post on for interested applicants or you could contact their education department.  You can interview them and they often have daytime hours they can come and do your daughter’s exercises and give you an extra hand.  The may also be able to use the time spent at your home as part of their class credit.  They love the connections to the OT and PT or other therapists you may use and we feed our girls and let them do their laundry at our house while they are here.  If they are from out of town, they love having a family to love them too.  I hope some of these ideas might be helpful, and know you are absolutely the best family for your daughter.  The people you will meet and the ways her life will forever impact your family will amaze you as I am sure they already have!

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