Sunday, July 25, 2010

Rolling with purpose

One of Carver's IEP goals is to roll with purpose. Carver isn't able to crawl, walk, or sit independently. However, he can roll - all over the place. We've never really been able to tell if he is purposely rolling or not. Is it all just rolling to be rolling? A big part of the struggle is his lack of vision. Why would you roll towards something you can't see? Carver has minimal vision in one eye and no vision in the other eye. The vision that he has in one eye is light perception and shadows. So, there really isn't much usable vision. Another problem is his hearing. He's deaf. His cochlear implants help him hear, but right now he only has one cochlear implant (we removed the other due to infection). You only need one ear to hear, but you need 2 ears to localize sound. The third problem is his spastic CP. Carver has a really hard time using his right arm/hand. So, he relies on his left arm/hand to do things. Can you see the challenge? Anyway, I am convinced that Carver is capable of rolling with purpose. Why? He has a favorite Mozart music cube. The buttons are really easy to push, so he can play the music himself. Not only does it play music, but it also lights up. If I press the buttons on the music cube, bring it across Carver's face (so he can see it), and then place it on Carver's right side of his body (the side that is more difficult for him to use and has no vision), he will work and work to get to the other side of the music cube so that he can press the buttons himself and watch the lights. There are times that he will work for quite awhile and then lose interest because he isn't able to get where he needs to be, but he gives it a really good try before giving up.

1 comment:

Meredith Mansfield said...

Shanon - you're perseverence is inspiring. Carver and Kinnick are so lucky to have you as a mother. You just don't ever give up!!