Treating a baby stroke

 How do you heal a baby who suffers a stroke?  I asked the same question too.  Although I've been an occupational therapist for 15 years, I worked with patients 3 years old and older.  I really had no experience working with babies!  It's also my first experience having a child, so I pretty much had no experience with babies at all.

I'd often wondered what it would be like to be a parent to a special needs child.  I worked with a lot of parents and often empathized with their situation, but I knew I didn't understand what it was really like to be in their position.  How do they do it?

The answer was simple, they don't have a choice.  It's a steep learning curve and it's really overwhelming, but you just don't have a choice.  You have to use all your resources to help your child reach their potential.  You do what you can and you accept that it might not be everything you wish you could do.

Though I wish my baby never had a stroke, we are lucky that I'm a trained therapist and my learning curve is not as steep.  I was able to get extra training and successfully treat my child.

Truthfully, I'm amazed at how well he is doing!  I really didn't expect these amazing results!  Though he will continue to need therapy for some time, for now he is reaching all his milestones.  The future seems brighter for my little guy!

In this post, I will just give the overall treatment methods.  Unless you're a therapist, some of them won't make any sense.  However, future detailed posts will hopefully be understandable to everyone.

Treatment Methods

1.   Masgutova Method
2.   NDT (Neuro-developmental Treatment) or Bobath
3.   Sensory Integration Treatment
4.   Therapeutic Activities/Exercises
5.   Cognitive Rehabilitation
6.   Breastfeeding (I know this can be a hot topic, but there are reasons why I list it here)
7.   Co-sleeping  (Another hot topic, but bear with me.  The reasons are therapeutic)
8.   Using baby carrier 3 or more hours a day...for therapeutic reasons
9.   Therapeutic Massage
10.  Other...all the things that may not have an official name


What was I treating?

1.  Right-sided weakness of arm, trunk, and leg
2.  Left-sided weakness of left face/mouth muscles
3.  Right arm spasticity (increased muscle tone)
4.  General extension posture (head, arms, legs pulled towards back)
5.  Sensitivity to tactile input (touch)
6.  Sensitivity to vestibular input (movement) and hearing
7.  Fine motor problems

Wow!  That was hard to write.  I've been so busy "doing" that I didn't have time to reflect until now.

So this is just the beginning.  I will be describing each treatment method, how I applied it to my son, and why I used the specific methods.  I will also be sharing our adventures as they happen, for I wouldn't want you to think that we just do therapy!

Thus we must end with a cute picture!

Baba at 5 months

I know he's my son, but can I gush a little?  Isn't he adorable?