Wheelchair assessment

We took Jason to the orthopedic dr at Duchess of Kent who thought Jason's back and neck is bending too low. It looks almost like a hunch but the difference is that his spine is not stiff and he actually has the ability to hold up straight .... but only if he wants to. The Dr. refers us to the OT at Duchess of Kent Hospital for a wheelchair assessment. She is of the opinion that we should get him a new wheelchair that can tilt in space allowing him to half-lie on the chair at an angle.  We went there to try a couple of "tilt" wheelchairs but the more it tilts, the more Jason bends his head/neck to resist the gravity.  That tells me his head-bending is his choice. Yet the OT still thinks this is the only solution (other than fixing his head position with a head band that is attached to the headrest)  and this solution would cost us $24000 HKD. Cost aside, both Dad and I are quite unhappy by her non-professionalism. The fact that a tilt wheelchair is not gonna help is quite obvious yet she still recommends us doing so.

I know Jason is a tough case and I don't expect anyone to have a quick solution to any aspect of his well-being but I expect a responsible opinion or at least an honest one admitting that there is nothing we can do to help. I know she may feel frustrated  because whatever she suggested (including the body brace, and a chest band she made - and she took the wrong measurement in the first fitting) didn't seem to work for Jason.  And I am sorry.  I want so much to tell them about ABR Therapy, the primary curve, etc... but I know it's a waste of my time and she will think I am crazy.  So now she is transferring our case to another OT, calling it quit I guess.

Fortunately, Jason's PT and OT at school are very nice and they are giving us the advice we need.  Since they know Jason so much better, they agree with us that a tilt wheelchair won't help. So we will take that off the agenda for now. Hopefully his neck will get strengthened enough through ABR to hold up again soon.

iPad as a multi-purpose device for special needs kids

I have been playing with my iPad for about a week now and I must admit I am amazed by how much it can do and how well it can deliver its contents. As I said earlier, I am never an "early adopter" for either medicine, technology, or electronic gadgets. So for me to take the leap forward and purchase an iPad after it's been in existence for only 2 months is quite "not me".

One major reason is that I can see its potential as a communication device for Jason. I know there are apps already available that will turn it into a very affordable AAC device (the app is called "Proloquo2Go").  However, knowing Jason may not be ready for it yet, I thought I was going to wait for a little longer.  But after viewing several apps for early learning over the internet, I just can't contain my excitement.  Lately, I also stumpled upon this website, and found an amazing list of apps which are great for kids with special needs.

Here are some of the apps we've downloaded for Jason and he (we) seem to love them at first sight.
Dr. Seuss's ABC book - this was a classic for early literacy skills and I have introduced to Jason many of Dr. Seuss's books.  However, Jason never seems to be engaged by any of his books despite the clean contrast pages and fun-to-read rhymes.  But he loves the audio version of it and is giving a little smile all the way while reading the book. Besides, it's free!

My First Words - One can easily tell it follows the same principles of Glen Doman Method. What's worth mentioning is that their choice of images are superb - salient, unambiguous images on a white background. They also allow different modes and speed of presentation.  The only thing I would want to see is if it allows users to pause after say 5 images within each category, instead of flashing all images in a single run. A trial version is available for free, while the full version costs only $0.99

Alphabet Tracing - Great app for learning to trace alphabet.  For me, it's another way to expose Jason to alphabets, which is supposed to be a goal in his IEP.  It is free too.

When it comes to alphabet learning, I have something to say.  When Jason was 3, I used to bring a small doodle board with us everywhere and we would write a letter or number and ask him to name it.  He was so smart back then and was naming most of the alphabets even in random order.  Ironically, it was since he went to school that he started losing some of those skills.  We thought, oh maybe it's too easy for him so he didn't want to answer anymore? Then since he was 4-5, I started to teach him whole words following the Doman method.  It makes sense to me that alphabets have no meaning to them, but words that are found in their environment are.  So my focus since then has been teaching words, rather than alphabets, and slowly increasing his inventory of vocabs.  While not showing full-blown reading ability, he has shown us many many times that he can recognize words when given a choice, such as crackers, TV, Wiggles, Barney, mommy, etc....It was until this year, that the SLP from the CTN suggested that we started introducing alphabets again to prepare him to read. I have no objection about that, but I did mention to them that I will still use my whole-word method at home...while taking opportunities to reinforce his alpha-learning.

So with our new iPad, this alpha-learning experience is made easier and more motivating for Jason. For example, yesterday, I first did the Dr. Seuss ABC book with him, then listened to the Alphabet songs I previously downloaded, then traced the letters with him....all on the iPad.  One would argue, why spend so much money on a device while you can do everything on paper, a real book etc etc...The reason is that it helps overcome some of Jason's physical limitations that have been obstacles to his learning.  Since he is an audio learner, having the read-along enhances his ability to follow the story.  His poor fine motor skills are also not required because the digital book can be set to turn the page automatically, or manually (by just touching anywhere of the screen). What's more is that he does not need to tackle the formidable task of holding a pencil.  He can just use his finger to scribble or trace the lines.  I can hold his hand just under the fingers and he would stick out his index finger to do the job.  Most important of all, is that he is a manipulative little guy.  If he sees anything in front of him, he'd like to pick on it, play with it, mouth it, throw it.  Now that I only have one iPad in his hands, I have less physical objects to handle, and less distractions to deal with.  Oh, it's pretty drool-resistant too.  I just used a dry cloth and wiped it off.  Of course, it's still safer to protect it with a screen protector.  I have ordered one with the case/stand, and will be delivered hopefully soon.
I can't wait for more apps to become available for iPad and of course, the choice-making app designed by Andy (my nephew).

Don't you just looove technology when it does something like this?