Owen had his communications assessment meeting yesterday, at Bloorview Kids Rehab, and it was fascinating. It will likely take several posts to distill it all – but I’ll start with the most compelling stuff.
I have been assuming all this time that independence should be the final communication goal for Owen. To be able [...]
Filed under: communication - general, equipment on January 30th, 2008 | No Comments »
A couple of incidents over the past couple of days that make me realize just how imperfect the idea of a ‘communication system’ is…
Incident 1
Owen is fed by g-tube and especially these days gets very little to eat by mouth. He silently aspirates even on his own saliva and adding any food into the [...]
Filed under: communication - general on January 27th, 2008 | No Comments »
Here’s the website for the wheelchair described in the previous post, in case fetching the youtube video is too slow for your connection:
http://www.kidsupco.com
Filed under: equipment, seating, wheelchair on January 24th, 2008 | No Comments »
It seems Owen’s increased tone was in fact due to the clonazepam withdrawal. He’s back on his previous dose (after consultation with his physician) and almost instantly, he returned to his old self. What a relief! I feel much more confident about the quality of his communication assessment next week – [...]
Filed under: equipment, medical, seating, wheelchair on January 24th, 2008 | 1 Comment »
In recent days, Owen’s spasticity has been through the roof. He’s so tight and reflexive, his joints look like they are dislocated (especially shoulders and wrists). As I type this, I can hear his wheelchair creaking from the strain of his thrusts. He’s been up for days, with sporadic 2-3 hr naps. [...]
Filed under: baclofen pump issues, medical on January 22nd, 2008 | 1 Comment »
I have already entered a post (see below) but thought since I’m now officially announcing this blog to the world, I would offer an orientation – for those of you new to blogging.
This section you are reading will be updated frequently. I will post an entry, and it will appear at the top of [...]
Filed under: new to blogging? on January 19th, 2008 | 1 Comment »
Decision is made: time to develop a proper home-based curriculum, and withdraw Owen from school once the programming and support are in place. I’m aiming for March, but this process could take until the end of the current school year.
A good first step was made – I had a long meeting with Laurel (at Bloorview) [...]
Filed under: communication - general on January 17th, 2008 | 4 Comments »