A little piece of heaven

I’ve been trying to figure out what to write but it’s difficult as the sessions with Cheryl are different from the sessions at the ABM center in San Rafael. Cheryl’s sessions are more “free-flowing” … she works on many things at once… she “goes” with what Nathan is doing at the moment and builds on it to each him movement and differentiation.

She worked for quite a while on “differentiation” and on his chest. She did an exercise where she had him first tap his right shoulder with his left hand, then rub his belly, then tap the floor with his left elbow. Then after a while of doing this she helped him roll to the side and he pushed up to side sitting. Once in side sitting she tried getting him to look from side to side to destabilize and restabilize him. She talked about “fixing” – she didn’t want him to stay upright by stiffening his body, she wanted softness and fluidity so she kept him moving.

She also had his feet under his bum to get him to do the bridge, which he was able to do easily. Additionally, She had one foot on the ground with one leg bent, and the other foot resting on top of the knee (like a hip opener in yoga). She would move him like that and then had him reach with the opposite hand to the foot, and grabbing each toe separately.

Also, since Nathan tends to hyperextend a lot, she had him on his back and would lift his head up in flexion so he could learn different movements with his neck – flexion instead of extension.

Just like everyone else, she said that Nathan is very bright and cognizant and a very fast learner. She feels Nathan has a lot of potential and just needs guidance in learning how to move.

Cheryl allowed me to film the session, so we can then give the DVD’s to Victoria as a way of establishing a follow up plan.

The other thing I loved is she talked to us a lot about what she was doing, and why. She explained to us that without the family’s involvement and follow-up, the progress is much slower and less effective. So her plan is, once she makes the movements easy for Nathan, she will help us establish a follow up plan for us to do at home so we can help in the “integration” process.

Overall we are really pleased with Cheryl and her approach and are excited about what the next few days will bring!

Today I will bring my camera as well as the video camera so i can take a couple of clips of Cheryl working with Nathan, and post them on the site.

After 7.5 hours, 5 movies (astro boy, meet the robinsons, tinker belle, lilo & stitch’ and finding nemo), 3 pit stops, 1 soy chai latte, 1 low carb carls junior burger, 30 gallons of gas, 1 Belle tantrum, and a car full of cuteness, we made it to palo alto. There was tons of traffic and it was a stressfull ride. We’re staying in a little motel in palo alto which seems pretty decent.

Tomorrow morning at 11 am Nathan has his first session with Cheryl. This time ill post after eaxh session so i can keep better notes!

I confess that I am supremely excited to share the fact that we are finding a SUSTAINABLE path to bring Nathan consistent ABM therapy.

On Sunday we head out of town again to see Cheryl Eichner, an Anat Baniel method practitioner, feldenkrais practitioner, physical therapist, and much more. She was very very very highly recommended by another mother so I gave her a call to talk to her about our situation.

I asked if she’d be willing to set up a treatment plan where she works in conjunction with Nathan’s local ABM practitioner. She agreed with my view on the need for sustainability and the fact that whatever we do needs to be realistic for our family.

So she will work with Nathan twice a day this coming week. Once she gets a feel for him, she will speak with Victoria and give her a plan and a methodology so Victoria can apply the method on an ongoing basis with Nathan. Then every couple of weeks we will have remote meetings where Victoria checks in with Cheryl, and Cheryl advises and guides her for the next couple of weeks.

The reason we are setting it up this way is because Cherly has 20+ years of experience in this field, whereas Victoria is relatively new. This way Nathan will receive the benefit of a lovely, gifted local practitioner who is guided by a highly experienced one.

Every 2 or 3 months we’ll see Cheryl again, so she can work with and accelerate Nathan’s learning and have a better feeling of how to guide Victoria.

Stay tuned and I will share about our experiences with Cheryl starting on Monday!