Day 11

Highlight: Introduction to the Walker

The morning went very well. They decided to try to introduce the walker today! I had a mix of apprehension/ hope/ excitement going on in my head. I tried to mask it for my perceptive daughter and I think I succeeded overall. She said emphatically, "I walk!" When she said this my heart did a little jump and my tears began to surface. I thought, 'oh, how we hope, honey'. We started out slow. It was a three step process.

Step 1: Standing between two ladder back chairs, standing with her hands on the rungs on either side of her. We did this successfully with the help and distraction of our girlfriend in the class who is of similar age.

Step 2: Walking between the parallel bars. Her conductor was behind her helping her move her legs and support her while her hands were holding on either side. She did a great job moving her hands on the bars as each step was taken.

rest, rest, rest

Step 3: The Walker. So, it looks a little scary but with a few adjustments we tried two different walkers out. She did very well. She did fine holding on to it and then became pretty scared. So, we hugged for a bit and tried again.

The conclusion was that the smallest walker is still a little big for her. The other thing is that they would like a backwards walker for her since she has a tendency to stand/walk with her bum out a bit and they would like to try to prevent this habit from becoming a permanent stance.

Overall, quite a day. We went home and all three of us took a substantial nap.