Just Bad Working Conditions

I usually love the physical therapy at the park. It gives the girls a chance to run around outside and play, and this is the one therapy that I'm not having to directly participate in. I am able to sit down and observe from a distance for the most part.

Jan had a cancellation this morning and called me to see if I wanted to do our session earlier. Of course, I said yes. We pulled up to an empty parking lot and pretty much had the entire park to ourselves. The problem you ask? The grass and play equipment were still wet from the morning dew and sprinklers. If that wasn't bad enough, the gnats were out in full force, which was absolutely horrible. They were flying in our eyes and ears and I kept having to pick them off of Raquel's face. GROSS. Another problem was her slip on shoes - she kept slipping out of them, which became very distracting.

The session went really well. It started with Jan greeting us at our car. One of the challenges I have right now is needing to carry Raquel to and from places until I can put her in a shopping cart or stroller. Jan is all about easing her into new situations. She suggested that I, first, tell her what I was about to do, then second, grab both her hands and walk her, slowly loosening my grip, then letting go with one hand. It took awhile to get to where we needed to go, but it did work. She said that as long as I don't mind the weird looks from strangers (she obviously does not know me yet - she should see me at Petco!), that I can do this anywhere. The more comfortable Raquel gets with me doing this, the more she'll start to improve.

After the parking lot, we moved on to dry portions of the play equipment. Jan asked me to step aside - said I was giving Raquel guidance without her asking for it - so I did what I was told and sat. Jan was very pleased with how much improvement she saw in her climbing. She no longer has to nudge her foot to encourage her step up, she does it on her own. She also is walking down steps with just one hand held assist instead of two. Today, I noticed she was stepping down with her left foot first. I asked Jan if this was typical of someone who is left handed (again, me going back to the left handed thing). Jan said no, that a person most likely steps up with their strongest leg, and down with their weakest. So we started watching her climb, and she was stepping up with her right foot consistently.

I was very happy to see her walking across the wobbly bridge. She actually seemed to like it once she knew what was going to happen when she set foot on it. And she was laughing a lot and having fun playing with her sister.

Next week we are going to try out another park to see if we can avoid the bugs. If it's too hot, we'll go back to the mall. I've also been told to bring real sneakers.