----- Original Message -----
From: Viola Faria <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, September 12, 1999 1:42 PM
Subject: Re: I.E.P. stuff


> In a message dated 9/12/99 9:47:19 AM Central Daylight Time,
> [log in to unmask] writes:
>
> << What about crutches, they are not as wide as a walker and other people
use
>  them too once in a while? >>
>
> Her doctor wants her walking on crutches ever since she had the Selective
> Dorsal Rhizotomy this Past October.  Very limited wheelchair use and
walking
> most of the time.
>
> Thanks
>
Viola,
   Falling, with minimal injury, is a teachable skill, an essential one for
anyone who hopes to use crutches effectively. If your daughter's physical
therapists haven't added this to her therapy regime yet, request that they
do so asap.  Fair warning, the process can be intimidating to go through and
to watch, it usually involves standing the client on a carpeted or padded
surface and deliberately knocking her over again and again! The goal is to
teach the client how to get rid of her cruthes, break her fall and get to
her feet again  independently.  Repeated often enough these actions become
so ingrained that they are virtually instinctive.  This was part of my PT as
a child, and although I still fall sometimes, I rarely get seriously hurt.
Hope this helps!

                                    Susan