Riddle of the Sphinx

Valentine's Day was a great opportunity for Caden to get some practice writing as he filled out cards for his classmates. He is pretty shaky with a pen, but using finger grips and weights on his wrists seemed to help. He was very excited to visit with his teacher and the school principals when we dropped the cards off; and being able to participate in a school function over the weekend reminded him why he has been working so hard.

Caden's fingers are getting a "work out" now.  Daily activities with the thera-putty, including cutting with a knife and fork, and now with scissors have been complemented by playing with clothes pins!  Caden's OT recommended playing with them as a way to improve his pinching - and it turns out it is kind of fun too :)

PT is going well, and Caden's homework is always enjoyed much more when we grab a couple of brothers to tough the exercises out with him too. We were all tickled last night when Caden led the boys in a round of push ups.  I think he may have outlasted a couple of them!

Walking with the walker is becoming second nature for Caden.  He is moving more quickly and only teeters or wobbles with it when the surface is rough or he tires.  The next step has been practicing around the kitchen with a quad cane.  Caden thinks this is pretty cool, and can really get moving with it; but will need a bit more practice before he takes the cane on the road.

So here you have Caden's rendition of the Sphinx's riddle:  what starts out on 4 wheels, then on 6 legs, then on 3 legs, and then....?  We'll have to hold out for the last part of the riddle, but we know Caden is hoping it starts with the number 2!

Hey Mr. Groundhog

Caden has not let all this snow and ice deter him from his therapy.  Not only has he made it to all of his outpatient appointments, but he has done some of his homework out in the elements!  Turns out snow tunnels are great for crawling, snow forts are awesome for climbing, and snow ball fights...well, those are just great fun.  Caden's most recent milestone on the PT side is getting to walk down stairs with support.  He had been "bumping" down the stairs, so this is a big step up :)

Pool therapy has continued to be his favorite, but he has also started OT "on land."  It has been great to see him working with his fine motor skills.  He is now using a tougher consistency of thera-putty than what he had been working with at rehab; and is removing/replacing small beads from the putty rather than pennies.  Cutting the putty with a knife and fork is another homework task for Caden.  A combination PT/OT task has been for him to use window crayons to write and draw on the kitchen windows.  It has made for some interesting window dressing, especially when his older brothers decided that was a pretty fun way to study for midterms!

Caden completed his speech evaluation last week, so we are looking forward to the start of speech therapy.  He is chatting more and will occasionally join in with songs playing on the radio just like he used to.  It brings a smile to all of our faces.