Dolphin Therapy--9/13 through 9/25/10
Posted 9-23-10 (See additional pictures, hopefully some videos soon.)
Week 2, Day 6—Jake played with a toy that had green, yellow and orange balls. He did well picking those colors in order to play with the toy. He also did well picking the colors to paint. We are pretty convinced now that he knows most of his primary colors and if motivated will pick the right ones. He was thrown off a bit by blue and purple (not sure if purple is commonly used in school?). He used the Proloque program on the iPad and did ok with that but it had cartoon/stick figures, not actual photos. He painted Bailey’s hands, so they were both in on the action for painting projects. He didn’t do well picking the choices the wood puzzle containing airplane, boat, etc. I guess that hasn’t been the focus in his world yet. I said, “I bet he’d know the ambulance.” (Well, I jinxed us with that one. More on that one shortly.) He was very hyper and mischievous. But Jake is getting very good at taking off and putting on caps to paint bottles…he used this skill back at the house with the toothpaste and sunscreen. It’s a good life skill but can be messy. With the dolphins he did very well at making choices and isolating his pointer finger.
Back at the house, Jake seemed really tired and then started having a seizure. His seizure was lasting longer than usually and getting more violent, so we were worried about his breathing and called the ambulance. Actually, Bailey was on her pretend phone calling 911 before us. The paramedics were very nice and checked his oxygen etc. His seizure stopped right before they arrived. It was sort of scary due to the way he was jerking his head back and it sounded like he couldn’t breathe well, but all was ok. He was sick afterwards, which is normal, and then finally he fell asleep and basically slept through the night. So, hopefully that is it for the trip.
Day 7—Post seizure he did ok. He did so-so on his colors and didn’t want to move his arms much, especially across his mid-line. Jake needed more hand-over-hand assistance. The new monkey toy was the only thing to make his smile this morning. He tried the Dynavox with a program called PointScribe. It makes the person really isolate his pointer finger to activate a fun song. He did well with it in the beginning but not so good at the end of class. In the water he did pretty well in the morning, but we brought Jake back at 4 for a make-up session from last week. He did AWESOME in the afternoon. He really perked up and was following directions and pointing out his choices like a champ. I think it was a great session, no distractions since he was the only therapy session going on at the time. It was great! One funny story—in the afternoon before the 2 session, we were at the house and Bailey came out of her bedroom and said, “Jake is out of control, he is grabbing my pee pee pads!” (We have them on the bed, just in case.) So, we know things are getting back to normal.
Day 8—Jake was lazy in class today. We were all painting his coconut fish…everyone but Mama was covered in red by the end. It was very funny! Outside he did very well interacting with everyone and great with the pointing.
Day 9—Jake is very into the iPad and making choices on it. In the morning, he chooses who will come into the room next and then waves “Hi” to them. He chose Mama, Papa, and Bailey and then when the rest of the crew was to come in he kept looking to the iPad to make a choice, but their pictures were not uploaded into it. He is definitely interested in using the device. I think we will have to do a few fundraisers to get him one! He did well with pointing in class and started painting an IDC bag for Mama. We will have quite a few things to show from our trip! Both Jake and Bailey swam with the dolphins today and did a great job. Bailey can swim along with them or to the docks on her own (she has a vest on, but is doing very well swimming). Jake is also swimming back and forth. He doesn’t use his arms but is doing very well kicking his legs! They had a wonderful swim. Fiji hurt his nose so we could only do some tricks with one dolphin, but Bella really stepped up and pushed both of them with her nose.
Posted 9-19-10
We made it to Key Largo pretty easily. We were to the airport very early, which
was a good thing because TSA really gave Jake the once over. He was checked out by security for about 15 minutes. I know he looks suspicious, but really? Dustin drove the van and picked us up in Ft. Lauderdale. The four of us flew Spirit Airlines and it was fine, and very reasonable. We thought that flying would reduce the stress for Jake, but he had probably his worst seizure ever on Saturday. It was pretty bad, but we avoided the ER and he is coming around.
Week 1
Day 1--Jake did pretty well getting into the routine. He was very excited and became comfortable with old friends quickly, including dolphins Fiji and Bella and his therapist, Eli. He worked with paints, picking colors and taking caps on and off. His gaze definitely tells you which item he is picking but need to prompt him to get him to physically pick it. He did well at following direction and trying to do things himself. We had a paint explosion and that was hysterical for everyone. He did well with the dolphins but his grip wasn't as strong, so he didn't go as fast as we have seen him do before. Hopefully just post-seizure recovery.
Day 2--Jake was a bit sluggish today. He was very over-tired/over-stimulated after the first day, so we gave him extra sleep meds and it showed. He was able pick the four letters of his name for his painting project...100% correct for each letter, out of a field of two letters. Out in the water we made him communicate in order to get into the water. Jake gave the dolphins many sloppy kisses and wanted to give his therapist the same, but we really think he just wanted to snuggle and take a nap. Bailey did very well as the Assistant Dolphin Trainer and Assistant Therapist holding the cards for Jake to pick and interacting with the dolphins. She enjoyed the dolphin kiss!
Happy 7th Birthday Jake!
Day 3--Today Jake's class focused on communicating"Hi" and "Bye" and following directions. He picked 3 of 4 colors correctly on his Springboard communication device to choose what color to paint with next. The water session was sort of rained out. Mama went on the dock to help, only to get soaking wet. Jake was pretty distracted by the rain pelting him, even Bella the dolphin tried to duck under the water most of the time. We'll make up some of this time next week. Later we had a birthday party at the weekly IDC BBQ. His buddy, Logan, made the cake in his class and everyone had a great time eating it...Jake was really into the cake.
Day 4--Jake used the iPad today to communicate with us. He picked Mama or Papa by choosing our pictures using a program called My Talk. This program is still under development so with Jake's input, IDC can give the maker some feedback about making the pictures bigger or the allowing activation by touching anywhere in the "button" area, instead of just the pictures. He also picked the correct colors for 3 balls (100%) when playing with a new toy and chose the correct animals 5 times in a wooden puzzle (100% correct). It is great to see that he knows his colors and his animals when motivated to do it! With the dolphins, Bailey swam too! She loved it and was not scared at all. She took a fast ride herself and was able to doggy paddle back and forth to the dock. Also, when trying to get Jake to pick a "kiss," Bailey said, "Jake, pick the one on the left." She just learned her directions and assumes Jake knows them too. Maybe he does? We have just never asked him!
Day 5--The natural swim is an opportunity for a parent and child to interact with the dolphins in their environment. They were very frisky and were waiving to everyone before we started and jumping into the air.
Weekend
Dustin and Michelle met some great people, Captain Billy and Kerry, who offered to take us on a boat ride on Saturday. It turned into an all-day event: lunch, swimming at the sandbar, fast rides, pit stop at CJ's, and back home. The Hilend family was down for a visit so they went along and we all had a great time! Sunday was rest and football watching! Getting ready for the next week. Jake seemed more like himself yesterday and today, so we are hoping for big things next week!
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Island Dolphin Care
We have done pretty well at raising the money for this therapy, but we aren't quite there. If you'd like to donate directly to this therapy at Island Dolphin Care,
http://www.islanddolphincare.org/, see attached flyer. Thank you!
2009 Dolphin Therapy
Island Dolphin Care
Key Largo, Florida
Classroom session # 1
Date: Monday, July 20, 2009
- Painting bag w. staff
- Nice big smiles
- Full physical prompting to greet staff
- Nice sitting and working with staff
- Used picture schedule with gradual guidance
- Assistance stabilizing hand to allow for independent brush strokes with painting on stamps
- Loved making “hand sandwiches” and cheering when making imprint
- Enjoyed playing with the octopus bucket toy
- Practiced “putting in” needed some coaxing- did a great job with staff support
Dolphin: Bella and Fiji
Water session # 1
Date: Monday,July 20, 2009
- Nice affect and great looking- scanning for dolphins in the water and looking at therapist
- Gentle hands with the dolphins for belly and back rubs
- Introduced to 4 by 4 Mayor-Johnson picture symbol cards - paired cards with object for associations.
- Worked on making a choices from a field of 2, looking and choosing from either side rather then just the right side
- 2 dolphin dorsal ride and 1 dolphin lay back- independently held on and grasped the dolphin for 5-8 ft with proximal support
- Loved playing “find the duck” under the blue mat on the dock.
- Transitions in and out of the water were wonderful. Nice job keeping shoes on and walking up and down the ramp while holding on to one finger of parent or staff.
Classroom session # 2
Date: Tuesday, July 21, 2009
- Sat and waited at the table.
- Worked on using picture schedule. Taking off picture on the green side and moving it to the red side while moving card from left hand to right.
- Used springboard very appropriately. Choose to do more work or more play.
- Used pointed finger on left hand to paint on letters while holding stamp with right hand. Then imprint using right hand.
- Loved using pointer finger to paint on stamps.
- Did handprints, loved having hands painted
- Worked on “Putting in” using puzzle and octopus toy. Very receptive to puzzle that made animal noise when put in. Did well with pieces off to side and given one at a time.
- Put in ball in octopus toy independently on first try. After that needs some partial physical assistance and verbal encouragement.
Dolphin: Bella and Fiji
Water session # 2
Date: Tuesday,July 21, 2009
- Great transitions in and out of the water.
- Made choices on both the right and left side. Alternating reach when the picture was highly motivating. Loved going “Fast!”
- Nice looking, therapist alternated pictures after initial choice and Jake looked to pick same picture again on opposite side.
- Great looking, very attentive to the dolphin’s location in the water.
Classroom session # 3
Date: Wednesday, July 22, 2009
- Great job today!
- Needed partial physical prompting to stabilize arms as Jake transferred the picture symbol card from left hand to the right hand and moreover moved the card from the green side to the red side.
- Did a great job independently reaching to grab the stamp and then painting the letter using his pointer finger. Used minimal support with pointer finger.
- Nice looking at springboard to indicate more work please.
- Loved messy tactile experience of making play dough.
- Sat well and had nice hands while waiting to use stamps on his play dough plaque.
- Choose from both right and left when offered a choice of stamps from a field of 2.
Dolphin: Bella and Fiji
Water session # 3
Date: Wednesday,July 22, 2009
- Tried a variety of methods to see what would work best with giving a field of 2 pictures. Tried to eliminate environmental and visual distracters to help obtain focus.
- Held on the whole length of the lagoon for a double dorsal ride and a layback.
- Almost held on the entire time with a 1 dolphin pectoral ride.
- Did a nice job making a choice from both the right and the left side. On one occasion went to grab the card on the left, stopped and looked and reached across to take the card on the right.
- Did a nice job with partial physical support giving the cards back to staff on the dock after making a choice.
- Worked on give.
- Jake had a blast in the water; there were loud giggles and lots of smiles!
Classroom session # 4
Date: Thursday, July 23, 2009
- Great waiting for therapist!
- Great job independently changing hands when moving pictures on picture schedule. Needed some gradual guidance.
- Independently picked the color of sand he wanted to use from a field of 2.
- Therapist used hand-over-hand assistance to help Jake unscrew the sand container.
- Therapist used hand-over-hand assistance to help Jake pour the sand into a smaller container and then pour it over the correct area of his work of art.
- Therapist and staff used close proximal support to help Jake control both hands. One staff member would help Jake hold down his project and the therapist helped Jake squeeze the glue and spread it around using his pointer finger.
- Jake did well with initial partial physical prompting to put the ball in the octopus, but by the 3 try he was doing it fairly independently.
- He worked well putting in puzzle pieces when they were given to him one at a time. Therapist worked on holding puzzle with one hand and grasping and putting in with the other hand.
- Jake continued to work on using his springboard to choose work or play.
- Great session
Dolphin: Bella and Fiji
Water session # 4
Date: Thursday,July 23, 2009
- Water fun today taking turns with Bailey!
- Jake had slight difficulty with making choices today from the dock. There were many environmental distractions with the dolphins along his left and bailey and dad on the dock.
- When the therapist let go and just trailed him, Jake was able to hold on independently the entire length of the lagoon for a double dolphin pectoral ride and a double dorsal ride!
- Jake did awesome waiting on the dock when it was Bailey’s turn in the water!
2008 Island Dolphin Care
Jake and family went to Florida in
October 2008.
He enjoyed therapy with the dolphins and did very well.
In 2008, Jake did well following instructions and performing tasks in the classroom. He did really well thinking about and considering which choices to make and did well most days with concentrating on the tasks at hand. In the water, he was very strong and able to hold onto the dolphins to take fast reward rides and play time when he followed instructions and completed tasks at the dock.
His golf tournaments partially funded Jake’s annual therapy session at Island Dolphin Care,
http://www.islanddolphincare.org/. In 2007, while at IDC, communication was our focus and on Day 2, Jake actually starting saying “Pa Pa” for Dad, which made the trip worth every dime.
