Botak Tree

He wore his NeuroSuit today as he's getting recovering well. But since he is still not fully well yet, we didnt want to him to exert himself. So we didnt focus on endurance. Instead, we got him to do stairs walking and simple movements (gross motor) just to ease him into suit therapy again. This is also the first time he's doing fine motor while in the suit.

Brought the mega bloks downstairs. He had difficulty unzipping the bag - will need more practice while in the suit. (fine motor)

He picked a piece and promptly threw it on the floor (kinda nice sound when it hits the ground)...and repeated it until all 80 pieces were strewn around. Yes, it was messy. But in the process, he had to bend to reach into the bag; he used his left hand when I prompted him; and bend at various inclines as he went lower & lower to get the remaining pieces. (gross motor, fine motor, hand eye co-ordination)

Once he got that "throwing" out of his system, it was time I directed the play, but with limited freedom still accorded to him. Asked him what he wanted to build. No answer. Floated some ideas...bus, car, train, house, tree.

"Tree" he liked that idea."Green and red...green and red tree" he laughed! Is it my imagination or is his volume a bit louder when he was in his suit today?

Here's where I sneaked in the stairs activity. Pieces were at the bottom of the stairs. We were going to build on the staircase landing, which is about 5 steps up. Each time we needed more pieces, he'd have to go down for more. I think its better start by going up & down just a few steps, but many times, rather than the entire flight & be so tired.

To challenge him more, I varied it by sometimes getting him to walk up without holding on to the banister, by placing a piece of blok in each hand. Of course, I had to help him a little by supporting his back. I was pleasantly surprised that he didnt put much of his body weight onto me, unlike when he's not in his suit & walking up.

Initially I let him walk up '2 feet on one step'. Later, I helped moved his legs to '1 foot on one step'. Then he was trying it himself. I'm happy cos it's so much harder when in the suit due to the resistance from the bungee cords.

He is more confident going down the stairs when he's in the suit - he walked faster.

When we were building together, I got him to place the pieces by himself & push down. He still doesnt really push it down well. He still sometimes uses his pointer finger to secure the piece down, instead of using the palm for bigger pieces.

He didnt want leaves on the tree. He explained "burned" (fire burnt the tree, so it explains why there are no leaves).

"But if the tree was burnt, it'd be black, not green & red" I was testing him.

He paused a second. "botak...botak tree" he reasoned. 'Botak tree' to him means a tree without leaves, referring to the tree we saw at the park which was tall & thin without a single leave. Hey, he's using his brain! Ahh, that made my day!