7/15 - Aiden's last few therapy sessions

Tweet

So I've been meaning to write about this and post it for a while. Aiden had his last therapy session with Mrs. Rusty a few days before we left. The week before, she needed to do some re-testing on him for obvious reasons but he doesn't find that fun at all really. This first set of pictures is from the 2nd to last therapy session where she had to do re-tests. It was so neat to see how far he has come. He was even able to do some things that she couldn't even get him to try before because he was ... not ready yet; not at a place with his gross motor skills to be able to do them. It also happened to be thundering and raining pretty hard so the picture of him all curled up is when it got pretty loud and he was tucking himself into a ball.
I tell ya, Mrs. Rusty has a talent for knowing how to push kids to their limit AND also making it fun. In the middle left picture, Rusty had him doing the itsy bitsy spider movement with his fingers. For him, it takes lots of concentration but she got him to do it.

Aiden wanted nothing to do with trying the activity in the picture on the bottom. She was having him alternate picking his toes up off the floor between feet. She then added doing that with tapping his hand on his thigh. It was  pretty tough and he really didn't want to do it  but he's actually kinda smiling in the picture. Aiden gives up SO FAST when he attempts
something just one time and can't do it. It's so sad but we will just keep encouraging him to keep trying and make a game of it. Thankfully I got to witness Rusty with her skills on how to motivate Aiden. :)

This next set of pictures is from Aiden's last therapy session. Rusty let him (although gently guided) come up with an obstacle course. I think one of the funniest parts of the whole thing is that she wanted to "steal" some crash pads (bean bags) from the other side of the gym from the other therapist and asked Aiden to help her. She was acting like she was sneaking over and thought Aiden was following her. The minute Aiden put the word 'stealing' together with her animated actions (tip-toeing, being quite), he wanted NOTHING to do with helping her. Rusty clarified that she wasn't really stealing and it was okay and then he was kinda on-board. He helped move some stuff and then he heard the other therapist coming over and hid in one of the mats/tunnels that they had moved. It was too funny. Don't ever ask this kid to commit a crime because he will turn you in (which I love; I'm a rule follower too). They made a cool obstacle course and had fun modifying it and making it harder.
The picture on the 3rd row, far right cracks me up. He was taking a break and trying to decide what to do next. He came up with the idea that he would make an obstacle course for Mrs. Rusty. The coolest part: Mrs. Rusty just went with it and was a trooper. I love that. He then got to end on the zip line which is one of his favorite things. He couldn't even hang on to the bar by himself when he first started therapy there and can not only hang on now, but can actually do it long enough to zip down the line. We are forever grateful to Mrs. Rusty and Excel Rehabilitation. It's been a very dynamic therapy and so very perfect for Aiden. So we now close the book on a long chapter of Aiden's occupational therapy. He's come so very far and has gotten so strong. All of his hard work will pay off hugely I think when he enters kindergarten in a few weeks and has the same (for the most part) skills as his peers.

I did take Aiden to his primary care doctor today (who is just fabulous). She had him when we were stationed here before and was so good that I requested her again. She wants Aiden to get his Neuropsychological testing again and we will go from there. I'm not sure what, if anything, to do for Aiden for school next year. His anxiety and sensory stuff can affect him enough that he doesn't always function 'normally' compared to his peers but I'm not sure it is enough to warrant anything. I also don't want him to get a label that will hold him back or cause problems or prevent him from learning at his potential. I was thinking I could just talk to his teacher and he would be fine but then the first sunday we were back for church, the teachers were saying how he didn't want to do the art and craft (cotton balls being glued to paper) and same thing for the evening service (gluing sand to paper) so maybe that is God telling me I do need to do something. Either way, we will get him tested again and see where he stands at currently and go from there. I am so excited for him that he has been blessed with such great occupational therapists and has come so far in the last 1.5 yrs. Praise the Lord.