No rest for a little guy

March 27, 2011

Spring break is supposed to be filled with beaches, warm weather, loud music and anything far away from anything labeled with education. Not for Nathan. For him, it’s been 5 days of hour-long trips in the car, two-hour sessions working and then more driving home. They crazy thing is, Nathan seems to really love it.

We’ve finished our first week of conductive education at Brighter Beginnings this past week. From the time we pulled in the parking lot on Monday, Nathan has been eager to “get his learn on.” Apparently he read the rules expecting him to walk int-o and out-of the room, as he’s walked at least half of the sidewalk to the front door (except the day it rained when I carried him in to stay dry.) Then he continued to step all the way into the classroom.

It’s an interesting experience, as to decrease distractions they keep the doors closed and keep the blinds pulled most of the time. What does come through are all Nathan's sounds and vocalizations, many like he’s trying to sing. We had been warned that some kids cry and they will work through it but there have been no tears I’ve heard of at all.

From what I can tell, the type of work they do I best compare to golf lessons. It doesn’t focus as much on strength building or endurance, but working on the mechanics of tasks. They fully think through each step, building a mental checklist and working through things one step at a time. Not only is each step broken down but the conductors also vocalize, giving the audible feedback as well as the visual cues. "I raise my right hand. I look at it. I lower my hand. I lie still."

One of the things we saw this week was while Nathan working on a task, but getting stuck halfway through. One of the conductors gave a hand signal and it seemed to trigger a thought in Nathan’s mind as he continued to do the next step and complete the task.

This week, we have new hurdles to throw into the mix. Monday morning we have OT, which means an early wake-up, and then Tuesday school starts back. It is a short week as there’s a teacher professional day on Friday, but by then he should be fully worked out.

Nathan has had some difficulty sleeping the past few days. We don’t know what to attribute it to, as even if it is related to the extra trips, work and attention, he’s had two days off. Hopefully we’ll get back on track and the success can continue. When Nathan lacks sleep (or doesn’t get enough quality sleep) it makes him vulnerable to seizures. That’s the last thing we want to compete with this week.

Breaks for Nathan are often few and far between. When one activity ends, it seems another one begins. Baseball and horseback riding will soon start up again. Nathan doesn’t seem to mind and if he keeps up his hard work, we’ll keep supporting him. This week doesn’t look to be the end of conductive education as we’re looking to get into the summer session as well. Some people see a child with developmental delays, we see a little boy trying to make the most of every opportunity he has.

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