hi,
when i was learning to drive a car, i had a hard time driving in a straight
line. my instructor told me the hands will follow the eyes, and showed me
if I followed the lines in the road with my eyes, my hands would
automatically steer the car correctly. It worked! it also works now when
I'm driving my power chair on the street and on sidewalks.

I have been receiving a bodywork called Feldenkrais, it helped my walking,
talking and my hands and feet. You might want to look into it for case, as
once you cut tendons you can't undo it. A piece of advice, don't have more
than one lesson a week as the brain needs time to adjust to the changes.  a
therapist who wants you to have 2-3 lessons a week is only after your
money.

I'm a 49 year old woman with athetoid cp, I walked unaided until I was
about 35 when a series of car accidents impaired my balance and gave me a
great deal of pain.  I surrendered to a chair when I was 40...

Mag

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Catch you later!


> [Original Message]
> From: Linda Walker <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Date: 6/15/2005 2:43:55 AM
> Subject: new to list introduction
>
> Hello,
>
>         I do not have cp but am a family caregiver and joined hoping to
learn and
> to get advice from people who've already experienced what my 6, nearly 7,
> year old fantastic grandson, Case is going through. He has moderate
spastic
> diplegia, speaks well (lots of speech, occupational, physical and vison
> therapy so far) and is mainstreamed in school with a one on one because
> there are some things he has not yet mastered.  He walks, falls alot, and
> loves to run.
>         Once when watching him run, he fell right in front of me and I
noticed
> that the reason he fell was because he looked down at his feet. That day
> was a huge breakthrough because when I taught him to look out a little
> farther he ran all over the park without falling. It was amazing and he
was
> so pleased with himself.  Before this day, I thought he lacked balance,
but
> the therapists said it was not a balance issue and that caused me to look
> for other reasons causing him to crash. I still think his balance may be
> affected by cp despite what the therapists said. This same eye tracking
> issue seems to affect his tricycle riding. He doesn't look far enough out
> to keep from bumping into things but we are working on his being able to
> ride home from school without help. He's pretty close on this.
>         His father moved the family to Hawaii because the school in
Hawaii was
> willing to let him run, whereas the schools in Los Angeles wanted him in a
> walker. The school here is terrific as it is all grass so he does not fall
> on asphalt and can be more active which he loves. We are trying to see
that
> he is as independent as possible and also keep him aerobicized to develop
> his heart and strength. He is a highly motivated child with a terrific
> spirit who would probably fit in well with this group when he is older.
>         He has had several rounds of botox and it seems to work pretty
well on
> him. In Los Angeles they did not sedate him and it hurt him so his mother
> did not take him back. In Hawaii the doctor sedates him, this is so much
> better. I was surprised we were not offered that option before and didn't
> know about it but there is no reason he or anyone should suffer. I read
> about how scared some people were to get botox and how it left them
> traumatized. I don't see how doctors can consider doing this without light
> sedation.
>         The doctors are suggesting the heel cord lengthening operation. I
am
> wondering if anyone here has had it. We have heard the older he is when he
> has the operation the better the result. Does anyone have any first hand
> experience they want to share with me? Is there anythng that is not as
> dramatic that works well? He is stretched daily and learning to do his own
> exercises. The whole family exercises regularly so this helps motivate
him.
>         Anyhow I probably won't stay on the list because I feel like I
don't
> belong. I hope it's ok to ask these questions.
>
> All the best to everyone,
>
> Linda