Heartfelt suggestions for all parents - from a mom whose child got discharged from therapy at Activ Kaarya. She has combined therapy suggestions, internet research, and learning from ancient wisdom into this list. I thank her and appreciate her efforts in making this list for all parents.
April 13, 2021
To parents I would like to share some things to be done at
home—
1. Make screen time zero. Read books. Switch on the radio or
listen to songs audio only. Keep talking and making eye contact with your
child.
2. Go outside everyday in sunlight. Vitamin D is needed for
recovery. Walk barefoot on sand, stones, grass, water etc. Connect with nature.
See the flowers, bees, butterflies, birds, and animals. See other kids playing.
Go to parks and play on slides and swings.
3. Give sensory bath everyday. Curd, besan, rava, rice
powder, maida whatever you find at home make a paste and use it during bath
time. Massage the child everyday with cold pressed coconut oil everyday before
bath.
4. Eat different textures everyday. Grainy, leafy, streaky,
nutty, sour, sweet, spicy. No distraction while eating. Let the child smell the
food and eat using hand.
5. Involve child in all your work. Vessel washing, clothes
drying, cutting, cooking, dusting, mopping, sweeping, cleaning. The more they
observe, the more familiar the brain gets and one day they will do the work
automatically.
6. Give movements to the child everyday. Put a swing in your
house. Let the child swing. Include jumping, crawling, squatting. Try to
exercise in front of the child. Take for walks frequently.
7. Make the child carry something heavy each time. Water
bottle, grocery 1-2 kgs while coming back from shop or carry water to plants or
getting vegetable from fridge.
8. Eat healthy and stop junk. Stop eating refined sugar and
refined oil. Move on to millets and cold pressed oils in cooking. Include
protein in any meal everyday. Give nuts and raisins everyday.
9. Connect, connect, connect. Try to take child to someone’s
home, play with their child or neighbors. If child does not talk, you talk and
talk. One day the child will also talk. Patience, patience, patience.
10. Don’t under estimate therapy. Therapy is based on
sensory integration. Read through the pyramid of learning. Learn from therapies
and try to do house chores to provide sensory input. Remember that twice a week
of therapy is never enough. It is only a mother / parent who can help the child
recover in all ways.
11. Each time think of sensory input. Tactile, vestibular,
proprioception, midline crossing, core strength.
12. Remember healing of brain is slower in the beginning,
the more sensory input is involved in daily life, healing gets faster and
senses will get integrated.
13. As in the human gene, we were born to live in a society.
We need to get integrated into society. Work on integration of senses, mother
nature, and with society.
14. Never talk of child problems in front of the child. That
will be re-iterated and reconfirmed in the brain that child has issues. Talk of
improvements in front of the child, that will help improve the child more.
Appreciate the child for small progresses.
15. Think positive. Try to imagine the child reaching
milestones. That will make our brain think on ways to achieve the same.
16. Count your blessings and believe in God.
All the Best! Thanks for reading!
Anonymous Mom.
Bangalore, India.
