Pre Writing Activity (fine motor): maze on whiteboard

This is a simple activity to practice pre-writing skills, hand eye co-ordination etc.

I occassionally play this with him, but now with the urgency to prepare him for school, I guess I'll be doing it more often.

The idea is for the child to gain better hand control over the pen/pencil. He has to draw a line within the "road".

This is relevant because he will eventually have to write letters and numbers within two lines in his exercise books.

As he gains better control, I'll narrow down the vertical space between the top & bottom line.

Also, as he gains better control, I can maintain the same width of the "road" as seen in the photo, but make more turns on the road, or more bumps, or windy roads.

I gave him a different coloured marker pen to indicate where the ambulance is heading. This is so that it's easier for him to see where the ambulance and already been to.

When he has stronger hand and pincer grip muscles, I'll change it to paper activity where he uses pen/pencil/colour pencil. For the moment, I use marker as it doesn require much strength to create a line.

This activity is also good as a simple maze, to learn to scan and find routes from one end to another.

Variations for this activity:
I drew it on a whiteboard but you can do it on a chalk board, or just paper.

The good thing about this is that you can customise it to your child's interest, to keep it fun for him. For example, with my son, in the picture above, I drew some of the places he likes or knows: Tesco, the playground, Twin Towers, the park with lots of trees, papa's office

You can create this activity outdoors, so long as you have a writing instrument and something to write on. For example, if you're out at a restaurant waiting to be served; or at the beach with a twig on the sand; or at the playground if there's a sandpit and twig.

You can keep it fresh too, as it's easily changed... you just need some creativity. Since my son loves cars and vehicles, I can change it the next time for it to be destinations related to cars - a car showroom, a workshop, the metal scrapyard etc.

Another idea: fire engine racing to these destinations: a collapsed building, a house on fire, a cat stuck up a tree, the fire station.

A non-vehicle related idea is to use a holiday theme: to the beach, to the highlands, to the amusement park, to the hot springs, to the city.

Other skills being developed:
By creating themes like above, you're in a way developing his cognition too.

Themes help him group things or places together. As he develops more, instead of you deciding on the places to be drawn, you can ask him to suggest places that fit within the theme chosen.

As a step further, you decide on the theme but dont tell him, draw a few places, then get him to guess what's the theme. Another variation: he decides it all - the theme and the places.

It doesnt matter if you dont draw well. It'll show the child that it's ok not to be great at everything. Also, he may be more accepting of his "imperfect" drawings too.

This activity can be used to encourage speech too for those with a speech disorder.

For the non verbal child trying to practice simple sounds, you can get him to make the sound (e.g. mmmmmm - the sound of the engine) as he draws in the line.

If he is verbal, there's more you can do to encourage speech - having him name the places drawn, the colour (use more colourful markers), etc and up to a higher end of speech, of haivng him tell a story on his own.

Huggies Play Train

On Friday, I redeemed this Play Train for free from Huggies. Thankfully I read the form carefully & clarified with customer service, and kept the entire polybags and not just assumed they needed the cut out of the little "points stamp" on the bag.

It's very light,easy to set up, just the right size for him. The design is good in that it has a lot of ventilation points at the entry, exit, with windows at the front, left and right and with the roof partly covered with netting and partly uncovered at the centre. In our weather this is an important factor. It didnt feel hot at all inside the train.

He loves it. Very bright and attractive.

So far he's played with it in the following ways:
- Crawls in and out of the proper entry and exit places

- Tried to enter through the window, then got stuck, and went around the hall with it hanging on his shoulders like it was his halloween costume! Very funny sight!

- plays peekaboo,

- drops bean bags into it through the top (helper got him to do that in order to stretch his muscles)

- tried to throw bean bags out of it while he's seated on the ground inside the train. That's good exercise too as he has to aim the bean bags at the window and also to stretch upwards. Good for hand strengthening as he has to grip the bean bags. He couldn't throw it high enough and/or not aimed properly. He was very frustrated and ended up dropping it out of the driver's front window. He has to still work on his reflexes and motor planning.

- noticed that on 3 of the sides of the train, there were repeated patterns (the birds) but it was different on the 4th side of the train.

The redemption period is until end of the year so you still have time to buy the diapers & redeeem the gift. I redeemed it at their office & they still had lots of stock.

I tried searching the Huggies website for a downloadable form to share with other readers, but couldn't find it. If you're interested, perhaps you could call the Customer Care Line. The lady who answered was very polite. Its toll free: 1-800-82-1188

Music class - 24 Oct 09

There were several firsts at last Saturday's music class:

(1) The class was the most fun for him ever. Very excited! He likes music class but he's never been that happy at music class.

(2) He's also never been that active in class. He was "jumping" up and down, moving around so much. He worked up a sweat towards the end of class! In fact I've never seen all 3 boys being so active at the same time.

(3) He was copying the physical movements of the 2 older boys. For example, when J was running around with his fingers shaped like an imaginary gun, my son followed suit (but his "gun" was just the pointer finger without the thumb sticking up). When A was on the floor spinning around, he imitated (except there wasn't enough space for him to spin). When either one ran to the kitchen, he followed. I think he'll love kindergarten! He obviously has a lot more confidence in his movements now.

(4) He was echoing some of the things the boys or the boy's mothers said. For e.g. when A's mum called out A's name, he copied.

(5) He sang part of the "do, do, so, so, la, la, so" for the first time in class. But he didnt sing it when he was supposed to sing it with the mike. He instead sang it after, when the teacher was busy trying to playback the recording.

(6) J came out to say goodbye to my son (out of his own initiative I think, cos his mum was talking to the teacher inside the house) as we were about to cross the road. At that point, J seemed genuinely happy.  I was very happy that J seemed to have "accepted" my son. Most of the time, it's the mums or teacher who'd ask the child to give my son a goodbye hug or a high-five. Perhaps it's an early indication that my son has a friend.

There was one activity where the boys were supposed to play follow the leader in moving around the 2 chairs. Each boy took turns being the leader. It was hilarious watching them when J & A were the leaders. My son was already hyped up and it was difficult for him to follow the leader's path for more than 15 sec.

I think it was a bit too much for his body and brain to process: the music was on, each of the boys had 2 hand bells, they were supposed to shake both their arms to the rhythm, they were supposed to look at the leader (to know which path the leader takes), all on top of making marching movements with their legs. But it was very funny to watch!

Of course, my son never liked having other follow behind him. He must be the one following other people. He simply doesnt feel safe having others behind him. I think it's because he's worried that others might knock him off balance from behind.

So when it came to my son's turn to be leader, I already had a mental picture of the outcome...and it was indeed hilarious. I laughed so hard that there were tears in my eyes!

There were of course more serious learning points from the class. But it was clearly the most fun for my son. I wished I had videotaped the entire session!

Homemade book (Pink Series): Who

I made this book after the first set of 20 books because I wanted to introduce more sight words, in this case, it's the word "Who". I also used it to introduce simple decodeable names.

The style in this book is slightly different. I intentionally wanted to put 2 short sentences in a single page, to introduce that you read the top line first, then move to the next line below.

The book is highly repetitive, but towards the end of the book, I intentionally break the pattern to bring an element of surprise to maintain interest.

I break the pattern here. My finger is covering my son's name. After he reads his name, I give him a hug and kiss. That's the "surprise".

Homemade book (Pink Series): Dogs in

With this book I tried to make it a bit easier for him.

In my son's case, he wasnt interested in matching picture to word card nor matching object to word card so I wanted to make it a bit easier.

Instead of jumping in by writing full sentences in his books, I chose to use phrases.

Also, I introduced some key words on its own page before showing the phrase. E.g. I'd do "a dog", then "a box", only then move to "a dog in a box".

I used this method at the very begining of creating his books. Later on, I changed the style to make some key words repetitive throughout the book. For example of the latter style, see the book "Fun", in which I'd written "Dan has fun", "Sam has fun", "The dog has fun" etc.

Homemade book (Pink Series): Get out, cat!

I found that by printing my son's name on the cover which catches his attention each time he picks up his homemade books, he has now learnt to "spell" his name. His name is 10 letters long (and that's not even counting his surname!) so I'm relieved that he's learnt it.
I also "sing" when reading out the alphabets in his name. It's a simple tune which I repeat each time he reads any of his homemade book. I'm currently teaching him the spelling of his surname (just 4 characters long).

That's my finger covering his name. My mistake was to print it as "(name)'s Book". In retrospect, it might be better to state "This book belongs to (name)".

I talk about the pictures, not just have him read out loud. That way, I can make it funny and maintain his interest (cos not much of a story line just based on the printed word!)

Homemade book (Pink series): Dog in

This book emphasises the high frequency decodeable word "in" and the sight word "a". The books in this series of postings, are in no particular order. It happened to be the 6 books that he chose to read a few nights ago.

I had printed his name on the cover of most of his books. This helped him to remember the spelling of his name, which is quite long. It's 10 letters long, excluding his surname. I helped by spelling it out with a catchy tune & repeating it even when he's not reading his books.

Homemade book (Pink Series): Fun

Mostly decodeable Montessori pink series words used in my Pink series books. "The" is the only sight word here. After reading the other books which have "The end" printed on the last page, but not on this book, he wanted me to help him write it, hence the pencil writing on the last page.

Homemade book (Pink Series): I am

This is his book with high repetition of the words "I am".

I had introduced some high frequency decodeable words (e.g. "am") to him in this manner. "I" is a simple sight word introduced here.

I keep the sentences simple, and limit the book to just 4-6 pages.

When he reads, I cover the picture with my hand so that he doesn't try to guess the word. He has to use phonics to decode it. Only when he finishes the page do I reveal the picture. In a way it's an incentive to decode it to check if he's got it right. I also talk a bit about the word & picture with the aim of putting the written word in context.

Pictures chosen are intentionally attractive or funny and appropriate to the sentence to aid understanding of words.

Font size is still large but in the Blue Series I'll shrink it slightly.

I had also introduced the phrase "The end" in several of the books.

Read 6 homemade books in a row!

He must have been bitten by the reading bug last night.

Without prompting, he chose to read one book after another, after another, after another.... until he finished 6 different books in a row. I'm certainly not complaining. I'm pleasantly surprised...especially so when he didnt ask for his favourite book "Trucks Roll!".

So, I decided to photograph the pages of those books so as to share them on this blog. After doing that, he wanted more books!

I do wonder what I did differently yesterday that might have brought on this reading binge.

We didnt go to the park yesterday morning cos I was supposed to have a therapy session. He did still get his exercise in the Neurosuit. We did it at home instead.

After his nap, we went to KizSports cos he wanted to. "KizSports....fun, fun, fun" he said before his nap time.

This time, I decided to go to the Bangsar Village branch of KizSports instead cos one of the activities suggested by the OT was crawling (weight bearing on hands) to strengthen those muscles. This branch has a lot more tunnels compared to the one in 1 Utama. We were human hamsters for over an hour! Fun for me too, but legs are sore!

Posture & Sensory Processing Disorder

I came across an interesting article while searching for info on sensory processing disorder.

I suppose that's another benefit of his Neurosuit, which helps align his body and so helps his body learn what is supposed to be the right posture. With the right posture, the author reckons that there'll be less overload of stimuli to the central nervous system.

Wow! Interesting stuff. There's so much to learn about our body!

I've extracted the first 2 paragraphs below. The full article is on:
http://www.eileenparker.com/?p=36


By Dr. Paul Drew, author of Red Carpet Posture


Where posture could make a difference with SPD is that it’s one less overload of stimuli going to the central nervous system and the brain. If a person is standing, moving, or sitting with incorrect posture and not in the correct alignment, he or she may experience an overload of stimuli.


People without SPD get used to being in an incorrect alignment or posture, and can filter out those signals of overstretching and tightness. Even though there are muscles that are adaptively tighter, normally that signal of tightness is ignored by the brain. With SPD, the signal won’t get processed out, and could be interpreted as pain.

Appointment with new occupational therapist

I brought my son to see a new occupational therapist on Tuesday 20 Oct 09.

As part of the assessment, I had to fill in a form on his background (pregnancy, birth, milestones, medical history etc) and she had him perform various tasks. We then had a long discussion.

She was very patient and understanding with my son, which is great. She also listened well to what my concerns were, of what he can/can't do etc, without being condescending. She was genuinely helpful - gave a lot of ideas and guidance.

In summary, these are the broad areas that I should work on with my son:
- hand/finger strengthening
- hand/finger manipulation
- gross motor

These were the observations she noted:

- his pencil grip ok
- he has the attention span
- he does not have behavioural problems
- he will have a developmental gap when compared to his peers. But we're not looking to perfectly close gap. The aim is to minimise the gap.
- he knows the alphabets

I said that I feel really stupid about it but I had to ask her to show me the following:
- the way he should learn to put on his T-shirt (lay out in front of him, with the back of the shirt facing him, then both hands hold & pull over his head, etc). It's supposed to be easier to put on the T-shirt than to take off.
- how to take off his T-shirt (use right hand to tug the left sleeve down to create a wider opening so that with the left elbow bent, the left arm can disappear back into the sleeve. Then use right hand to lift up T-shirt from the bottom of the shirt, up over his head towards the right side. Then left hand just tugs it off the right arm.
- it's important to set him up for success, so use loose shirts initially and give plenty of practice
These tasks were part of the assessment:
1. Lacing beads
He needed help for the 1st bead then gave up on the 2nd bead. It's been quite sometime since he did lacing beads at home & even then, it's not often.

2. Lacing card
He's never done this, so he needed help from the begining. He didn't finish the 2nd hole. I'll make my own, by punching some holes in one or 2 of his large picture of cars.

3. Draw line
We used the whiteboard as he didnt want draw a line to join the 2 dots on the paper. He could draw uneven lines with the whiteboard marker: a horizontal upward sloping line, a vertical line, an uneven oval that was supposed to be a circle, a cross which she gave step by step instruction, drew within 2 parallel horizontal lines.

4. Wooden stacking toy
He could eventually place the wooden cross shaped pieces into a shaped tower, but pieces didnt stack flat as he didn't really adjust the shape of the piece to the shaped opening of the tower. Later she said that he's also meant to feel (sense of touch) for the shape, not just look (sense of sight) at the opening.

5. Clothes pegs
He needed help positioning it between pincer fingers and help to pinch it open. With the smaller pegs, he could pinch it open.

6. Catch ball, kick ball
He of course couldn't catch. And instead of throwing, he dropped/placed it in the therapist's hands. He kicked well though.

7. Alphabet flash card
He correctly mentioned the names of the alphabets shown, except that his pronounciation of the letter 'e' was unlcear.

8. Wooden manipulative toy with 9 pegs, requiring clever placing of 3 different shaped pieces to form a square on each level.
He's never seen that toy before. Surprisingly he correctly placed the first level which had a 3 hole rectangle, a 2 hole rectangle and a 4 hole square. I wondered if it was a fluke cos he's not good with manipulative objects. He struggled with the second level which was a 4 hole L shape, and a 3 hole L shape and a 2 hole rectangle.

I'll write a separate posting on the activities suggested for hand/finger strengthening and manipulation.

Maths vocabulary of "1st, 2nd, 3rd"

Many weeks ago I started introducing the maths vocabulary of first, second, third. I did this in various settings on various days (I dont do it daily). I didnt purposely create an activity to teach him that vocabulary.
Examples of when I mentioned that vocabulary:
- whilst waiting for the horse carriage at Titiwangsa Park
- while observing cars on the road
- while climbing up ladders at the playground
- while walking up the stairs at home
- while observing raindrops falling down the sliding door (see older post: http://humbledmum-myjourney.blogspot.com/2009/09/lessons-from-raindrops.html)

A week ago, he said it himself, without me prompting. Then a few days ago he said it again, without prompting, this time whilst about to climb up a ladder.

Last weekend while playing Mega bloks, he used that vocabulary again on his own when he lined up the "vehicles" I built for him.

So I think the point is that you may not need to create specific activities as you can build it into daily activities, but you do need to repeat many times (as with learning any new skill).

Mega Bloks vehicles, from left to right (use your imagination!):

long truck, car, long van

Lake Gardens - smaller children's playground

Decided to head to Lake Gardens yesterday morning without his neurosuit cos he already had about an hour in the suit at home.

These are some of the stuff (exercises) we did apart from things like walking up and down stairs, going on see-saw and swing. I could have tried to pack in more activities while we were there but I didnt have the energy this morning.

The helicopter equipment:

- the steering wheel is just the right size for him & is good for stretching shoulder & arm muscles to the top/bottom and to the side, crossing the midline

- he's getting a bit better at climbing up to the seat himself though he's very slow at doing so & still needed my help at the very last stage (motor planning).

- good for vestibular too if I shake the structure hard enough (it's mounted on springs)

- it's mounted at the perfect location for him cos he can see cars coming & going out of the car park. So with the good location, he spends the most time on this equipment. At this vantage point, we had in the past counted cars (maths); identified colours of cars (colours); talked about road safety; introduced maths vocabulary of 1st, 2nd, 3rd etc

Ladders:

- this park has more shorter ladders (just a few rungs). The larger children's park at the other side of Lake Garden's tend to have taller ladders (more rungs) which is for the moment, too risky for him, if I'm without my helper.

- it's good for the shoulder and trunk muscles, leg muscles
- good as it involves cross pattern movement, motor planning, balance
- It's extremely difficult for him to climb up the ladder if he's in the Neurosuit
- He was able to climb up this 3 rung ladder all by himself (no suit) but slowly. The gaps between the rungs are a bit high for him but he just about managed.
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Bridge of up and down steps:

- this is the first time he could get across all by himself, while holding on to the sidebars.
- steps are always good for gross motor but this is different from the stairs at home cos this gives a pattern of up, down, up, down, up, down repeatedly
Pushing objects through small holes:
- he has a habit of discarding fallen leaves or twigs whether it's on steps or in my driveway at home
- Here he's pushing the small leaves through holes on the platform of a play equipment
- it's good for his hand eye co-ordination, fine motor

I took advantage of his habit of discarding leaves by getting him to throw them over that blue wall partition instead of just throwing it off to the side which has no walls. To get him to do more, I picked up more dried leaves and placed them on the platform for him to pick up & throw over. It requires him to bend down, stretch upwards repeatedly. I also got him to use his left hand alone (non dominant hand), and also to use both hands together to throw. It's hard for him to throw using both hands - he didnt like it.

I think my son is a lot fitter than I am!

Expressing himself using spoken words

He had his music class today. Just 2 students including my son.

What struck me was that he was talking beyond the usual "thank you", "good morning", "bye, see you next week" and what he said, he said without needing me to prompt him.

Why was I so very happy:
- he vocalised his desires to the teacher (not just using body language)
- it came out so naturally (no prompting)
- it was sufficiently loud (not whispering)
- intelligible (in the past if it was loud enough for me to hear, no one else would understand).

Expressing himself

What he said to his teacher:
- that one (in repsonse to the teacher asking which sticker he wanted)
- I like that one (when he ran up to teacher the second time he brought out the sticker sheet. This was said very quickly, without the teacher asking which one he wanted. No prompting. It's also a "long" phrase to a non-immediate family member which was intelligible)
- big (in response to teacher asking if that's a big or small sticker)
- I'm dizzy (after spinning round & round with the other boy during circle time. No one else heard this though)

I'm happy to see the progress in his communication. It's vital that he is able to vocalise his needs and wants, to avoid unnecessary frustrations and to avoid lowering his self esteem. This is especially so when he's about to start kindergarten.

It's only been in the last 3 weeks or so that he's begun to frequently express his needs & wants & feelings.

Examples of words he's used to expressing his feelings:
- I'm cold
- I'm hungry
- I'm full now
- I'm happy
- I'm angry now

I'm relieved that I've been on the right track in developing him to this stage. There have been various things that I do.

I think the main thing that worked was that I helped him identify his emotions, needs and wants. It's got to be done repeatedly, over and over again.

By this I mean catching him there and then in that situation and giving him a "label" for the emotion or modelling for him the words to use.

For e.g. when he's mad, I'd say "I know you are mad, but..." or "Why are you mad?". In the latter case, I would not necessarily expect an answer because he's not achieved that level yet. I do ask it anyway because it reinforcing that emotion (mad) with the word "mad". I also ask it anyway because I want him to think what made him mad (emotional intelligence).

Another example is for the feeling/word "cold". In the past he used body language to indicate cold (arms crossed over his chest & using his hands to rub his arms). I'd then say "Oh dear, is it cold? Are you feeling cold? Oh no, you're cold! Let's get a jumper on you because you're cold. How are you feeling now? Are you still cold? Here, let me rub your chest to warm you up. Better now? Not cold anymore?". "Cold" was mentioned 6 times in that one incident. Repetition is important.

Often (but not always) as a mom, I'd already know what he wants and it's far easier to just respond to his emotions, needs and wants instead of taking that extra few minutes to "label" it for him or "model" it for him. But repetition is important when learning something new. Often it meant exercising my patience. Often it meant taking the longer route instead of a short cut, in spending that extra time. It meant not giving up.

Intelligibility
Being able to identify your feelings, wants and needs using words is one thing. Being able to vocalise them with clarity is another thing when he has dysarthria.

It's still hard to fully understand him. Most of the time I am eventually able to understand him because I can guess what he said (if it wasn't clear) based on the context it was said in or simply because I'm familiar with him.

For e.g. "tat ohh" means "Trucks roll", referring to the title of his current favourite story book. He cant pronounce the "k" or "c" sound. He cant do "r" either. He can't purse his lips to make the "o" sound as in "roll". He has difficulty with "l" as it requires his tongue to touch the top of his mouth.

I still have a long way to go in helping him.

Here's a reference to Caroline Bowen's website where she's written a useful article on speech intelligibility:
Bowen, C. (2006). Speech Intelligibility from 12 to 48 months.
Retrieved from www.speech-language-therapy.com/intelligibility.htm on 17/10/09.

Article on craniosacral therapy

This article appeared in the New Straits Times, Tues 13 Oct 2009. It's about the Cranial Sacral Therapy (craniosacral therapy) that my son has twice weekly. It's helped him a lot and the therapist, Fezia is a remarkable mother, therapist and friend.

COVER STORY: Power of touch
2009/10/13

SUZANNA PILLAY learns about craniosacral therapy, an alternative healing treatment.

CAN the power of touch heal?
Craniosacral therapy (CST) is an alternative healing therapy which advocates the power of touch to treat complaints such as mental stress, neck and back pain, migraines, and chronic pain conditions. “CST can help people suffering from most conditions. It does equally well with muscular or joint issues, nervous system as well as the psycho-emotional and low energy states,” said Ged Sumner, a practising CST therapist with Body Intelligence Training, which offers a practitioner course at Biodynamic CST in Kuala Lumpur.

“It uses gentle touching to restore the flow of the craniosacral system in the body, which includes the bones, nerves, cerebrospinal fluids and connective tissues of the cranium and spinal area.”
In a typical CST session, the therapist places his/her hands on the patient “to tune” into the patient’s CST system to release restricted nerve passages and optimise the movement of cerebrospinal fluid which may have been “trapped” by trauma to the body, caused by falls, accidents or general nervous tension, said Sumner, who is also the author of the book Body Intelligence — Creating a New Environment. Sumner has taught biodynamic CST as a senior tutor and course director for the Craniosacral Therapy Educational Trust (CTET) practitioner training in London. He was also a senior tutor for Resonance Training courses in Australia and New Zealand. He set up the CST Fountain Clinic in London and the CTET Living Anatomy training,which offers a holistic view of the anatomy and physiology of the body.

Sumner said results are often immediate (apparent after five to 10 sessions) with patients feeling a significant change in their health. “Benefits include a better state of mind, more rested body, increase in energy and focus, better posture and movement, improvement in digestion and breathing.”

Another believer in CST is Fezia Tyebally. She went into CST seven years ago. “Then I was studying Sensory Integration techniques and my tutor kept referring to ‘cranial work’. “It really sounded alien to me so I did not pay too much attention. Then I was invited to watch her work with children during her one-to-one sessions.

“These were kids with severe autism and cerebral palsy. Before starting the Sensory Integration or movement therapy with a child, she had her hands on different parts of his body and was quiet. “At first I thought she was meditating but it was unusual that the kids calmed down quickly and were compliant after that session.

That’s when I learnt about CST. “I was intrigued so I decided to undergo a session myself. I always had backache and it was during a CST session that I felt my spine being twisted in different directions but at the end of it, while not completely free of the pain, I felt much better. “I had another session and this time did not feel anything. But the next day, I realised I did not have severe back pain. It was subtle.

That’s when I thought it is something I would like to learn. “I wanted to work with special children and was looking for a modality I could use with them. My direction was motor sensory stimulation and integration — big, movement-based therapies.”

Fezia still went on to learn these subjects but CST fascinated her. “I did the Upledger training and went up to Advanced Level 1 and did my paediatric training. “I had practical training with a therapist who was also trained in the biodynamic way and I found her work rich and deep. “And so I did a two-year diploma in biodynamic CST.”

Today about 80 per cent of the people that Fezia sees are children, mostly with special needs such as autism, cerebral palsy, learning difficulties and social problems. She travels to Beijing, Zhengzhou, Shenzen in China, Medan and Jakarta in Indonesia and Penang every month to see special needs children.

“When working with children with cerebral palsy, there is a need to work on the structure and the tissues. “After working with these children, most find physiotherapy and speech therapy easier.” Autistic children become calmer after CST sessions.

“Many start babbling or even vocalising more and then have the opportunity to absorb more of the outside world as they are not frustrated with the tightness in their body.” For special children, CST is a wonderful, gentle adjunctive therapy.

“The special needs population do require long-term treatment and it may take a few years. Usually changes are seen between six and 10 sessions, some sooner. “I enjoy working with these kids and find it rewarding.

Some parents said their children had actually gestured — by pointing to their heads and the family car — to be brought for another treatment. “When they see me I am usually greeted with a hug and children run straight into the therapy room and get onto the couch. The kids with cerebral palsy give me a huge smile and start ‘cooing’ when they resume therapy after an absence.”

Fezia’s own son Amir is a spastic quadrapleagic, and she uses CST on him daily. “He has reduced tone as the facial tissue has been stretched gently through this work. This has enabled him to do his physical programme with more ease and less pain. “He had lost his swallow reflex, and he was oral defensive and tight around the jaw and neck. He eats 100 per cent orally now.”

Another mother who saw a positive difference in her daughter’s eating habits after CST treatments is S.P. Siew. “When my daughter was a baby, she had difficulty drinking milk. It was so tiring for her that she only managed to finish two ounces at six months old! However, after one CST treatment, she finished four ounces in half the time!

“Using CST techniques, Fezia diagnosed that my daughter’s facial muscles, especially those around her mouth and her diaphragm were tight. “She taught me simple CST exercises I could do with my daughter at home and she continued to improve.” Apart from children, Fezia has also helped adults.

Yoga teacher Han Ni Choong claims CST cured her of her back and shoulder pain, caused by a misalignment of her spine, which had previously restricted her from trying and practising many yoga postures.
“I would visit Chinese medical doctors, chiropractors and physiotherapists often. During the CST sessions, the pain and tightness from my neck, shoulder and back would disappear. Thanks to the realignment of my spine, I no longer feel pain when attempting yoga postures.”

His "wipe clean book"

I'm trying to get him interested in using the pen again. He was drawing, scribbling, writing on a daily basis for a while then he stopped for quite a long time. Now that he'll soon start kindergarten, I'm keen on getting him to practice again (in a relaxed, fun manner).

These are photos of his "wipe clean" book, that he drew on this afternoon. I bought the book quite cheaply at the last MPH warehouse sale. There are no alphabets or numbers, but it does get him to practice in a non-academic manner.