It has been an incredible fortnight here at The Spence House. A truly life changing event for everyone when Mikayla began using electronic proximity switches from Adaptive Switch Laboratories, Inc. with her feet. For those of my dear AAC and AT peeps who dont know Mikayla and question her positioning please understand that this extraordinary child knows her body better than anyone else. She is a survivor and we respect her as such. (Hip surveillance is consistently perfect). Like many children with complex vision issues, Mikayla began to explore her world feet first from the age of three. Mikaylas feet are as sensitive as your hands and her toes as amazing as your fingers. Mikayla sits cross legged to provide her body with a stable base and to still her body from its constant choreoathetoid movements. Like all kids, Mikayla does what she does because it works. Consultation about Mikayla with world experts in OT, Positioning, Sensory Processing, and Switch Access gave me the confidence to try this with Mikayla and I am forever grateful for their wisdom and support. Finally, at age 9, her feet are giving Mikayla a voice, control, power, and autonomy. The switches open up the worlds of high tech AAC devices (Mikayla uses a complex auditory+visual scanning PODD) and power wheelchairs. Mikayla is guiding us around the house, the neighbourhood, the mall, and the jewellery department. She is telling us to stop to meet dogs, people, and to take photos of interesting things. This is your year, Miss Mikayla. Yours too, Marina. Aint nothing holding those feet back now! (Video starts two mins after I attached the switches. Mikayla rocked it immediately)
Posted on: Fri, 31 Jan 2014 08:40:03 +0000
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