Otis will have his first Feldenkrais lesson this afternoon, and we couldn't be more excited!
After reading Anat Baniel's wonderful book, Kids Beyond Limits, we have been eager to get Otis started with an Anat Baniel Method practitioner. Unfortunately, the closest practitioner to us is in St. Charles, MO, and we would need to be there for about a week at a time every month or two, bringing Otis in twice per day for "lessons". We still plan to pursue ABM in the future, but with trying to figure out all of the logistics related to travel and time away from work and home, now is just not the best time--especially since we are working on getting our house ready to sell so that we can move into a place that is safer and more accessible for Otis. Our hope is that he will have his very own wheelchair before he turns 3. More on that in a bit!
Fortunately, we were able to locate a Feldenkrais Method practitioner in Kansas City. Anat Baniel studied under Dr. Feldenkrais, and her method is based off of his methods and teachings. The KC practitioner is certified to work with children, and has a ton of experience working with kiddos of all abilities. She also happens to be a registered Physical Therapist--bonus! So until we can make it to St. Charles to begin working with the ABM practitioner there, Feldenkrais it is!
If you're curious, these two sites provide great information about Dr. Feldenkrais and his method:
http://www.anatbanielmethod.com/about-abm/about-dr-feldenkrais
http://www.feldenkrais.com/method/the_feldenkrais_method_of_somatic_education/
Our goal with all of this stuff--including his ongoing OT/PT/Speech early intervention therapies--is to do whatever we can to empower Otis to become more independent and reach his full potential. We want to make sure to do this very gently, never trying to force him to do something that he is not yet able to do, but by providing him with the necessary tools and opportunities and gentle guidance to get there.
It's so exciting to us to see Otis figure out how to do something new on his own--like two weeks ago when I turned away for just a few seconds while he was sitting in his high chair, and when I turned back, he was holding and drinking from his sippee cup all by himself. He was so proud of himself that he couldn't help but smile while he sipped, especially after he noticed me noticing him. Since then, he's been drinking water like crazy because he's so excited about his new skill. Just imagine what else Otis may be capable of doing all by himself! Our hope is that these tools, these therapies, will help him tap into all of that potential, which we know is there, just waiting to be discovered.
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