Wendy Eckwielen - Special needs mom: August 2011

Summer is sooo glorious! The warm weather, the warm water, and the sunshine that just seems to dance and sparkle on the water's rippling waves, that in and of itself is therapy for everyone, wouldn't you agree? Last weekend we took a drive and ended up along the lakefront (Lake Michigan) when Meggie was just starting to fuss a bit and really get noisy, so we parked and opened up the doors and windows of the van, and just sat and listened to the waves and the seagulls while we soaked up alittle sunshine. Needless to say, Meggie quieted down almost immediately. She started relaxing as she listened with us, we explained to her what she was hearing, since she does not have the vision to see all the beauty around her. And I have to wonder if what she hears is similar to what we hear, or is it very different, and when the sound enters her ears and the message travels to the brain, does it give her the same information we get, or is it different due to missing the part of the brain that transfers information from one side of the brain to the other. This part of the brain is called the Corpus Callosum, and Meggie's is totally absent. Whatever she was hearing relaxed her for quite some time, and the rest of the family also! How I wish at times Meggie could run through the sand, and be able to know what it feels like to have the sand between her toes, the warmth of the sun on her hair, and the gentle lake breeze on her face. Tho Meggie's experiences are not quite like ours, we continually learn day by day as a family how to share as many experiences with descriptive picture words so she can enjoy this world around her. At times I think of those who worked so intently with Helen Keller to teach her everything they possibly could to make her life as enriching as could be came before me to be an example. And what they did and the passion they had is an inspiration to me!

Now to provide some meaningful experiences for Meggie, humm,.......Water, W-A-T-E-R, when Annie Sullivan would take Helen out to the water pump, and run water over her hands, she would say it and then sign W-A-T-E-R in the palm of her hand. Let's start with water, let's get Meggie's hands in the water!!!
How great it would be to be able to walk out our back yard and have the lake front in your back yard, but, is not the case for all of us so we try to think of other ways to add water into our lives as therapy or relaxation. A shower or a bath is great, some people go to a pool to swim or exercise if their able, and Meggie, well, we decided to play in the fountain one day, excuse me, not totally submersed, just our hands. The fountain was purchased years ago, and we never set it up or found a spot for it, so we got it out of storage, cleaned it up, (thanks to my older daughter ~ you get honorable mention), installed the pump, filled with water and.........

WaLa....water therapy!!!

What do you think Meggie? Do you want to play in the water? alittle coaxing was needed at first. but she was very curious. After a little while she was reaching on her own for the warm water. she seemed to like the sound of the water trickling down and being able to get some amount of visual input at the same time, seemed to put the whole water experience together for her. This is not even close to what we were thinking when we purchased this fountain years ago, what a great purchase for the whole family! Even the dog enjoyed taking a lap or two out of the fountain now and then!

Little by little, new unfamiliar things take some time.

Reaching on your own Meggie, good job! She became more sure of herself the longer she explored the water. I loved it when she was initiating the reaching on her own, it made me feel like we had accomplished a new goal.

And soon the warm water and the trickling sounds make you feel like your in a spa, now we are enjoying this thoroughly, we spent some time in the water that day.