Judah's Stander

Judah has officially added something to his "Hate List". Right behind water, sand, and grass: the stander. I can't help but chuckle though. His little sad faces are priceless. Grandmas be forewarned: he's gonna break your heart! He settled down a little bit eventually, but overall, it's gonna be awhile before he's used to it and getting 30-45 min. at a time in there. After his initial intro. to the stander, his PT spent another 40 min. modifying it to better fit his tiny self. I'm pretty sure Judah is the littlest person to use it! With the adjustments she made, it's a much better fit...the bummer was that we had to put him back in there just to make sure;) We also discovered that we need to delay using it for a bit. The stander takes most of his weight, but does force some weight onto his feet. Well, those chunky, round little feet and ankles buckled under that little bit of weight. So, his PT requested a 'script from his pediatrician for AFO's (Ankle Foot Orthotics). Someone will come to the house to take his measurements (they'll be so tiny!) and they will custom make braces for his feet/ankles. With that support he should be able to handle the stander; and we'll also be able to use them when we're playing on the floor, trying to get him to put weight on his feet. *sigh* Little stinker. Something else, another intervention for him. While I'm extremely thankful for everything that is available to him, it is a little hard to accept that he needs more help. I think because it's another reality check that I do indeed have a "Special Needs Child". And yet I do look forward to getting the braces and being able to start using the stander daily. I don't know how long we'll be using it, but it will be necessary until he's putting weight on his feet & standing with help. Could be awhile...but then, Judah does tend to surprise me:)

Little Marshmallow Sweetie post-stander!