Nathan and I have been slowly coming up with our own version of aquatic therapy. He LOVES being in the water! We’ve been getting in pretty much every day since we returned from England. I think it’s his favorite activity of the day.
I quickly realized that I could get him to work on his head and trunk control, as well as standing and kicking while in the water. So I do a version of MEDEK in the water. He has so much fun in the pool he doesn’t even complain!
I am posting a few videos so you can see what we are doing.
The most important part is that he LOVES looking for treasure. I hide toys in the filter, and he has to reach in to pull out the toys. The moment we get in, he starts looking towards the pool and wanting to swim over. As soon as I say “Let’s look for treasure” he gets so excited and starts kicking! Then once we get to the “treasure” I make him do exercises. Then we swim to the other side of the pool where he does another round of exercises and then he gets to swim to the waterfall. He loves putting his hands on the rock and having the water flow over his hands. I’m also using that for head control – if he leans forwards, he bumps his head, so he is learning not to let his head fall forwards.
In general, this is the most fun Nathan’s had in therapy EVER!
Nathan! You are doing an amazing job! Love the video with you kicking! Marcela, you’ve inspired me to get Renzo into the pool!