Week 2: Entry 2

The SCDC runs group exercise programs for different age groups and level of gross motor delay. The PT group today was for year 1s so mostly the children are 6yrs old. Only one child turned up today who was a little girl in the middle of our custody battle between her parents. Her family has some serious issues and is closely looked after by a social worker at the centre.

It was very interesting to view a completely different parent to those who usually attended with their children. As soon as they arrived the mum began telling the physio all the good things she was doing for her child and even brought in a brochure of the 'top' ballet classes her daughter had been attending and listing the benefits. She was almost in denial that her daughter had any developmental delay even though it was obvious just in her movement patterns and with speech. Her mother also blamed the supposed delay as something made up by her father. The mother continued this for almost the whole session (1hr) as I played/did exercises with her daughter.

This child is very skinny for her age and lacks a lot of core body strength, has poor motor planning, poor balance and is very hesitant to try activities she doens't think she will succeed in. I ran through a variety of exercises very briefly today as the physio was speaking with mum and also because it was the first group session so a brief initial assessment is required to get an idea of strengths and weaknesses.

I made up a circuit comprising of different activities which frequently varied if the child came up with a new idea. Exercises included marching, jumping, hopping, single leg balance. throwing and catching, star jumps, duck walking and wheelbarrows finished off with a turn on the flying fox as a reward.

I felt that I worked very well with the child and quickly built rapport by allowing her to feel comfortable and safe and doing mainly things she enjoyed but altering them as needed to fit in with my informal assessment. Building a good relationship with this child was of great importance considering her less than optimal home and living situation as well as the fact that her mum said that she gets picked on at school. I think that next time the session would have been more beneficial if we were able to do the weaker activities repeatedly and also test a more advanced level of motor planning. I also forgot do include the assessment of her sit ups, prone extension and hip extension from four point kneeling as well as her abilty to do a jump-clap sequence.

It will be very interesting next week when the dad brings her to see any differences in parenting style and how the child interacts with her father compared to her mother. I found today that towards the end of the session when her mother became more involved she tended to become more distracted and uncooperative. The reasons for this I am not sure of. Stay posted for next weeks installment.