I am a Physical Therapist here at STARS Pediatrics and Jump Start. I have been working with a little boy with Down Syndrome for over a year who is just FULL of personality and spunk. He can at times be very stubbornly shy. But he does love Ovelle and Prairie! During Christmas this past year, […]
Stories
Sun Is Peeking Out!
As many of you know, many children with special needs have delays in multiple aspects of their lives. Too often, a limitation in one area limits progress in another. However, sometimes, with a little patience, good things come to those who wait. One of our children had been attending therapy at STARS for quite […]
Sitting Up!
I am a Physical Therapist at STARS Pediatrics and Jumpstart and used to work with a little girl with cerebral palsy who was also cortically blind. She didn’t tolerate lying on her tummy much but would when she was able to be near Prairie and Ovelle. Over the course of therapy, we worked on […]
Dog Pedaling
As a physical therapist, I have had several patients who have made significant progress toward their functional mobility and strength goals because of the Dustins’ Paw program at our pediatric clinic. One little girl I work with has great difficulty with attention, making it difficult for her to stick with activities long enough to […]
A Toilet Puller?
Today at work Prairie had a very unusual job request. One of his boys was stuck in the bathroom and did NOT want to get off the toilet. For whatever reason, this boy had been sitting on that toilet and screaming for 30 minutes. Finally, I called in Prairie. Da-doot-da-doo! It’s Praiire to the rescue! […]
Queen for a Day!
For a long time I have been aware of the work Diane does with kids with disabilities and had the opportunity to see it first hand last spring. I have a daughter with cognitive delays. She is nine, but functions at about a 3-4 year old level. It has been hard for her to […]
Dogs on the iPad
A patient I have is a young boy who has had years of therapy. He really has to work to move around, so he knows every strategy for avoiding maximal effort. There are many times when he is not about to chase a friend or toy or therapist down the hall, but when Prairie and […]
Brushing Teeth Made Easier
One boy wouldn’t let anyone brush his teeth. However, we set it up so that he could brush Ovelle’s teeth as a reward for brushing his own teeth. It worked. When he went to the dentist, it was the first time in five years he didn’t have to be sedated. – Diann Davis-Martin, Certified Occupational […]
Joy On His Face Is Priceless!
Motivation is a big issue in working with kids with special needs. I have a patient (5 years old and non-verbal) who I was trying to motivate to communicate appropriately using an assistive technology device. (The DynaVox V Max). I was having very little success until we introduced Prairie and Ovelle. We programmed a page […]