Acquire: Week 1

Maddy's first week of Acquire is in the books now and it was really successful...zero meltdowns! Monday was a pretty short therapy day, but the rest of the week was six hours a day, with barely a few minutes break here and there.

From Maddy's initial evaluation, Reggi determined to focus her energy on strengthening Maddy's wrist and thumb. She's "ulnerly deviated" meaning that her right hand cocks out away from her body, making it hard for her hand to function properly. Most of the exercises Maddy does involves her pushing things with her palm flat and her thumb in a good position. Drawers are one way to do this.


Pushing a bucket of beans around is another way. (I'm always impressed by Reggi's ability to use every part of our apartment to give Maddy lots of changes of scenery. They spend a lot of time in the hallway in Grandma's room.)


Or toys on a vertical surface, which requires Maddy to maintain more control over her hand.


Making a pile of Play Doh pasta noodles is another fun way to build strength.


On Wednesday they tackled one of Maddy's own goals of learning to tie her own shoes. All week, Maddy's focus has amazed me.


And she even did some drawing with her right hand. I was so impressed with this rainbow that she drew!


Reggi's found a million different ways to motivate Maddy...like pushing the water sprayer.


And somehow loading the dishwasher is motivation as well. Hope this carries over when we get home!


By mid-week, Maddy's wrist was strong enough to carry a bucket with a little water in it.


Maddy was particularly proud of herself on Thursday when she could pull a bin of beans on a scooter, pulling peg by beg. She is so determined!


By Friday, Maddy's eating with her right hand had gotten so much better. She was able to eat a lot of her oatmeal without any assistance from Reggi.


Friday was cast change day, so Maddy got to take a shower. And after we washed the stink off, Reggi left the cast off for a couple hours to work on some some two handed activities. Reggi usually gives each hand a different job to keep Maddy on her toes. Left hand holds the bucket, right hand picks up the balls.


Or, right hand holds the bucket, left hand throws the balls at the window. (I suspect this way was slightly more fun!)


Before the cast came back on, they also worked on Maddy dressing herself and putting her own shoes on.


The cast came back on before the end of the day, and Maddy was amazingly cooperative putting it back on. As a reward for all that hard work, they did an activity that Maddy even loved as a three-year-old the first time she came to Acquire....throwing bouncy balls into the shower!


It's been a great week. I'm so proud of how well Maddy did. She worked so hard and always with a great attitude. I'm so grateful to be back here for another round with a therapist that has the amazing ability to get Maddy to push herself so hard, while having a lot of fun at the same time.


Here's hoping week two is just as successful!