Don't forget to visit Noah's Blog!
While up at NAPA Center Robin met many Mom's that were in situations very similar to our own.
She met a mom (who is now a good friend), who has an 11 year old son who had many of the same kinds of challenges that
Noah had when he was 3-4 years old (Noah's age). This 11 year old boy has overcome tremendous obstacles, in large part
to some of the therapies he went through (and continues to do). His Mom has been a tremendous resource for us and
specifically recommending Noah see:
Dr. Viola Frymann, D.O., F.A.A.O., F.C.A., - an osteopathic physician practicing comprehensive osteopathy of the
whole body including the cranial field. Her practice and training is internationally recognized.
www.osteopathiccenter.org
and
Dr. Maralee Platt, Guild certified Feldenkrais practitioner, ABM practitioner, and Masgutova trained. Dr. Platt combines
the most effective techniques from Feldenkrais, the Anat Baniel Method for Children, and Masgutova Therapy to facilitate an
improvement in body mechanics as a means of promoting cognitive development in children.
www.anatbanielmethod.com
www.feldendraisinstitute.org
www.masgutovamethod.com
Noah has been seeing these doctors a lot in the last 4 months, about 8 times each in every month.
These alternative therapy approaches are quite different then the traditional physical therapy Noah has been receiving.
The doctors assert that Noah needs to better organize his body (he doesn't recognize he has a spine, knees, elbows, etc.)
before going back into P/T Bootcamp (NAPA Center). They recommend putting off NAPA Center for another year or two.
We’ll see about that, as Napa was a great place for Noah where we saw some definitive improvements, but our research
and the testimonies of some of the parents Robin met at NAPA have led us to believe that this is worth a try.
Unfortunately these therapies are considered too experimental for our insurance company to cover, but we do feel that we
have to give them a try at least for a while to see if they can be of assistance. So stay tuned for some fun events in the
near future! Hopefully I can do a little better in the poker games this time...
As many of you may know, Noah, our second child, is globally developmentally delayed with unknown etiology.
When Noah was born in Sept. '06, he was classified as "failure to thrive." He was unable to nurse or take a bottle and by five months
it was evident that he was not developing typically. Since 5 months of age, Noah has been receiving occupational and physical therapy
on average of 3x a week totaling 2½ hours a week. Unable to roll, crawl, or walk, Noah has very limited mobility.
With support, he can sit and hold his head up intermittently.
In July 2009, we enrolled Noah at NAPA Center for a three week session of intensive therapy, with the hopes of improving
his body control before he started school. We feel that this therapy greatly helped with his strength and neck control,
and so far Noah has been doing very well in pre-school. However, talking to other parents at NAPA Center has led us to
believe that we need to investigate some other forms of therapy before Noah goes back there.
Even with all of his limitations Noah is growing up to be the sweetest little boy. Without language,
Noah communicates with facial expressions and has the most wonderful disposition.
Coming soon: Brunch and Raffle to support Noah's ongoing therapy.
We're also looking for people who would like to hold a poker game, with a portion of the pot going to Noah's fund.
Originally, we were only going to include family in our little journey. However, we really wanted to include our friends. Not to ask for help directly, but as a way to let them know what is going on in our lives. We know that to some it appeared that we just dropped off the face of the earth. We wanted to make sure everyone knows that our disappearance was driven by need and not by choice.
That said, we've thought of some ways that anyone can help and have some fun too. To start with, there are poker games being scheduled for those in San Diego with a penchant for cards. Basically a winner take all game where half the stakes go to Noah. The games that were played for Noah's first visit were a lot of fun and we hope to do some more on our way to his second visit. If anyone else would like to sponsor a game in Noah's honor, please let me know and we'll make it happen.
Finally, we are working with our good friend Todd Warshaw of Todd Warshaw Creative who is going to help us out in a number of ways. Todd is an incredible photographer, and will be donating some of his work to Noah's cause. We're still figuring out exactly how to do this, but I would expect an auction or raffle is in the near future. Todd has also graciously offered to provide "coupons" for his site that will not only let you purchase his incredible artwork at a discount, but a portion of every sale will also be donated to help cover Noah's therapy.
I've also heard rumors that Noah's big brother, Benjamin, will be setting up his very own Lemonade Stand in the near future! Benji is the best big brother in the world, and really wants to help send Noah to the NAPA Center.
NAPA CENTER (www.napacenter.org) utilizes an Intensive Model of therapy (IMOT) specifically for children with disabilities like Noah. IMOT is an intensive approach to physical therapy consisting of 60 or 90 hours of vigorous therapy in just 3 weeks using the NeuroSuit, Multifunctional Therapy Units, Tomatis Based Auditory Programming, and a variety of other equipment. Many children gain more progress towards their goals in 3 weeks of intensive therapy than they do in a whole 12 months of ongoing traditional therapy!