Even though we are doing several activities and using different toys to strength Tommy' s upper body, our ace under sleeve is the 'Wheelbarrow Walking.' This a complete exercise that requires the use of the all areas of the upper body (hands, arms, shoulder and torso). The Wheelbarrow Walking is an exercise that involves the Proprioceptive System, which is part of the vestibular system and its main function is to send special receptors in muscles and joints that travel quickly from the cerebellum to enhance tone and joint stability.
Beside the Wheelbarrow Walking, we try to create an environment where Tommy can lift some weight during structure or free play.
- During Bath time, Tommy fills and lifts his watering can by Little Tike. He lifts about 2 lbs. every evening. He loves to play with his watering can without knowing he is doing therapy.
- During play time, Tommy throws his 2 lbs. weighted balls. He doesn't like it so much because the balls don't get so far. So we do it just a few times just to provide some joint compression and traction.
We have seems enormous improvement on Tommy's fine motors skills since we started the "Wheelbarrow Walking" as our Occupational Therapist recommended last year. Tommy has always been fine motor driven, but it has been easier for him to meet developmental fine motor milestones, as soon as he got his upper body stronger because he has developed a better body stability by doing Wheelbarrow Walking. Tommy's cord needs to get stronger, but it is strong enough to do some pre-school activities, such as: cutting with help and putting stickers all by himself on his sticker album. The best of all, this type of exercise doesn't require too much time or effort.
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