23 Apr 2014, 9:28 pm
InThisTogether wrote:
HisMom wrote:
His palms touch each other, but when he rubs his hands, it is almost always the right hand rubbing the left. He keeps the left hand stationary and runs the right hand against it.
I don't know if this will be helpful to you or not, but it caused a strong memory of my daughter trying to learn to wash herself with a washcloth. She had a really hard time crossing the midline. Her OT did exercises with her to help strengthen this ability, and now (at
she is able to do it "correctly" though she still has to be supervised in the shower. You could ask his OT to evaluate his ability to cross the midline and see if they can recommend activities you can do with him to help if that is the issue.Edit: I just saw you don't get OT anymore. I should clarify that the reason I thought of crossing the midline issues was because of your description of his motions when he does try to wash. It reminded me of my daughter. There are a variety of websites that have activities to improve the ability to cross the midline since you don't have an OT anymore.
Thank you. His main problem is a lack of bilateral coordination, as he has shown some ability to cross the midline, but scant evidence of being able to use both sides of his body at the same time.
Biking has helped a lot in that regard. We also make him bat with a cricket bat, which involves a lot of bilateral coordination, but that is another activity in which he struggles. Thing is, I have never ever seen him actually use his left hand to wash the right hand, which makes me wonder - he tends to act like it is a phantom arm, and a lot of people have commented on it.
I think he WOULD wash if he could, but he can't as opposed to won't !
23 Apr 2014, 9:37 pm
When you described how he moved only one hand and not the other, it reminded me of my dauther. She could cross the midline with her right hand, but not her left, so I never really realized she had a problem with it until she tried to learn to wash with a washcloth. What would happen is she would wash everything with her right hand. Then when I would prompt her to wash her right arm, she would just sit there and stare at the washcloth, completely perplexed. She would sometimes even move her hand in a washing motion with the washcloth not touching anything while staring at her arm, as if she could somehow will the wash cloth to touch her arm. It took her quite a long time before she was able to recognize the need to transfer the washcloth to her left hand (which was difficult for her) in order to wash her right arm with out assistance or prompting. It was the strangest thing to watch, for sure.
Biking at 4...I'm impressed! My son is 12 and still cannot ride a bike 
23 Apr 2014, 9:57 pm
InThisTogether wrote:
When you described how he moved only one hand and not the other, it reminded me of my dauther. She could cross the midline with her right hand, but not her left, so I never really realized she had a problem with it until she tried to learn to wash with a washcloth. What would happen is she would wash everything with her right hand. Then when I would prompt her to wash her right arm, she would just sit there and stare at the washcloth, completely perplexed. She would sometimes even move her hand in a washing motion with the washcloth not touching anything while staring at her arm, as if she could somehow will the wash cloth to touch her arm. It took her quite a long time before she was able to recognize the need to transfer the washcloth to her left hand (which was difficult for her) in order to wash her right arm with out assistance or prompting. It was the strangest thing to watch, for sure.
Biking at 4...I'm impressed! My son is 12 and still cannot ride a bike
Biking at 4...I'm impressed! My son is 12 and still cannot ride a bike
He still uses training wheels, he cannot bike independently yet. But I am going to look into the program that Holland posted about - Leave the Training Wheels - to see if he will get it.
I have been trying to trick him into using the left arm. I strap him up on his Rifton chair, put desired food items that are out of reach of his right hand but within reach of his left and he does use his left arm to pick up the food, transfers it over to the right and eats them ! That did makes me go hmm, wondering if it is a motivation issue, after all, but then after several months of prompting and offering rewards for independent attempts, he still hasn't ever rubbed both hands together one single time. I am just confused ! !
23 Apr 2014, 10:01 pm
24 Apr 2014, 3:24 am
HisMom wrote:
InThisTogether wrote:
HisMom wrote:
His palms touch each other, but when he rubs his hands, it is almost always the right hand rubbing the left. He keeps the left hand stationary and runs the right hand against it.
I don't know if this will be helpful to you or not, but it caused a strong memory of my daughter trying to learn to wash herself with a washcloth. She had a really hard time crossing the midline. Her OT did exercises with her to help strengthen this ability, and now (at
she is able to do it "correctly" though she still has to be supervised in the shower. You could ask his OT to evaluate his ability to cross the midline and see if they can recommend activities you can do with him to help if that is the issue.Edit: I just saw you don't get OT anymore. I should clarify that the reason I thought of crossing the midline issues was because of your description of his motions when he does try to wash. It reminded me of my daughter. There are a variety of websites that have activities to improve the ability to cross the midline since you don't have an OT anymore.
Thank you. His main problem is a lack of bilateral coordination, as he has shown some ability to cross the midline, but scant evidence of being able to use both sides of his body at the same time.
Biking has helped a lot in that regard. We also make him bat with a cricket bat, which involves a lot of bilateral coordination, but that is another activity in which he struggles. Thing is, I have never ever seen him actually use his left hand to wash the right hand, which makes me wonder - he tends to act like it is a phantom arm, and a lot of people have commented on it.
I think he WOULD wash if he could, but he can't as opposed to won't !
We had mid-line problems, too. There is this game called speed stacking. You can find You Tube videos on it that help with mid-line crossing. We didn't do the expensive "special" cups, or even the full version. We used three of those soft Baby Einstein type soft sensory blocks and just had him do the very basic motions. I don't know what the OT had him do in school, or how willing he was to work on it there, but he would do the block thing with me. It seemed to help. You don't have to worry about speed if that is not a motivator. I just wanted him to be able to do it to practice mid-line crossing. If he won't imitate it, you could also guide his hands through it to get muscle memory. Sometimes it is baby steps.
24 Apr 2014, 8:15 am
HisMom wrote:
InThisTogether wrote:
Biking at 4...I'm impressed! My son is 12 and still cannot ride a bike
He still uses training wheels, he cannot bike independently yet. But I am going to look into the program that Holland posted about - Leave the Training Wheels - to see if he will get it.
4 would be really early for dropping the training wheels, even for an NT kid with no motor issues. Most of our neighborhood kids seemed to give up training wheels around age 6. The special program formerly called Lose The Training Wheels (the name has changed to iCan Bike -- it's targeted for those with severe disability/delays) has a minimum age of 8.
Why have you lost OT? Was he getting it through the school or health insurance? It's probably worth fighting to get this service back.
Last edited by zette on 24 Apr 2014, 9:51 am, edited 1 time in total.
24 Apr 2014, 8:55 am
24 Apr 2014, 12:23 pm
zette wrote:
HisMom wrote:
InThisTogether wrote:
Biking at 4...I'm impressed! My son is 12 and still cannot ride a bike
He still uses training wheels, he cannot bike independently yet. But I am going to look into the program that Holland posted about - Leave the Training Wheels - to see if he will get it.
4 would be really early for dropping the training wheels, even for an NT kid with no motor issues. Most of our neighborhood kids seemed to give up training wheels around age 6. The special program formerly called Lose The Training Wheels (the name has changed to iCan Bike -- it's targeted for those with severe disability/delays) has a minimum age of 8.
Why have you lost OT? Was he getting it through the school or health insurance? It's probably worth fighting to get this service back.
He was getting OT through the district, and then I pulled him out and am homeschooling now.
Insurance is dodgy.
But thanks for the heads up on the iCan Bike program, appreciate it.
24 Apr 2014, 12:27 pm
24 Apr 2014, 6:18 pm
