Meggie's Water Therapy

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.

Did you enjoy the fountain Meggie?  Do you like the water?  I think you do!!!

Does the water make you happy?!?

You like how the water sounds to don't you!?!  ............... We'll do this again!

We'll be done for today, and now we just spend some time with Meggie's best friend.

Today, we are thanking God for Water!

Fun With Summer Unit Studies

Starting this Spring already we were reading a book to Meggie about Spring changes, which lead us into the changes that come with Summer. Now you maybe thinking why are they working in the Summer, when everyone else here is taking a break?  Meggie is in program all year around, she is always learning, and  we also like to take advantage of her healthy seasons, since she does miss out during sick season and for Doctors appointments.  So moving from Spring to Summer, we had been talking about plants and trees and grass, and how everything comes alive - what a great time to follow up on how we need to care for the plants.  The first thing I thought of was how Meggie could help care for the flowers we went to purchase together one beautiful afternoon, as well as a little purple watering can just the right size for a young girl, and for less than $2.00 for the watering can we were in business.  This also serves as a great opportunity for her to work on using both hands together, with some hand over hand help from mom, (she also loved the sound of the water coming out of the spout on the can.) we managed to get the watering done, and some therapy in for Meggie.

One of the neat parts of having Meggie involved in caring for the flowers was she really got excited when I would tell her we were going to do the watering, who would have known this would create so much excitement for her.  So, we watered, and we watered,.... and watched the flower get nice and full, and colorful,... they are beautiful!  The next day I let Meggie know we would not have to water the flowers, because God sent rain to water the flowers, this day God was taking a turn to water, Meggie just smiled and responded with a yah, when I told her.   The experience has been fun and rewarding for Meggie, and being able to teach her about what the plants need to grow, water, sunshine, etc has been fun for me also.  Combining learning, fun, therapy and chores can be accomplished with a little assistance for our children with special needs, they like to feel useful and needed too.  The question I have now is what will be the next unit study she loves as much as this one?




The amazing thing  was how attentive Meggie was, she really was looking at those flowers, they can be very captivating , and she really seems to take ownership of this little chore.  I am so glad when we find things that grab her interest, and hold her attention for longer and longer periods of time.  This shows me she is growing and maturing also, she needs things to provide that opportunity for her just like the plants need the sunshine and water.  Maybe next year she will graduate from a watering can to a hose with a sprayer handle, so she can learn another way to water and having to press the handle to get the water to spray will also provide another form of learning and therapy in using her hands.  Though Meggie needs a great deal of assistance, with these tasks, we never stop striving for the goal.  In the beginning getting use to the feel of the handle on her watering can and having to tip it was a foreign experience to Meggie she really started to enjoy it and had some fun with it, there was a lot of big smiles and laughter once she got the hang of things.










Even the dog had to watch all the fun!






One last check over the flowers making sure to give them enough water, Meggie takes a good look at our flowers again paying much attention to her new task.  The new unit study if a great success and fun was had by all.  Something involving water may have to be the next project especially to take advantage of these nice summer days, and the therapeutic aspect of working with water, I am loving it myself.

This project can go on for awhile yet, as long as the flowers last, and I have to say that I was really proud of

how Meggie did and we can continue to work on grasping that water can handle and tipping the can.  The sound of the water coming out seems to intrigue her enough to keep this going for a while.  The fact that she seems to do better with this two handed activity than with holding her own spoon or a cup has given me new hope for working on these goals that should be done with two hands and central.  From a visual stand point some of these things can be difficult to accomplish, never give up, they will progress in their own time.  If I have learned anything it is not to compare Meggie to any other child's timeline, she has her own schedule, and her agenda maybe very different that everyone Else's.  Finding the things that interest Meggie seem to be a key part of getting her to move forward, and not to be ignored or taken lightly.  

Good job Meggie!!!

       

The days work is done, and more watering will be needed later.  Thank goodness the weeds are gone now, everything is starting to look great!    

Summer may only last for a short time outdoors, but the Heavenly warmth we feel in our hearts from the Son's reflection will linger on and on.

  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  ~    Soaking in the joy of Summer!