apraxia…again

Imagine for a moment that you KNOW what you want to do, but you simply cannot coordinate your muscles to do it.   It feels like they aren’t communicating with your brain.  You can clearly SEE how something is supposed to be done, but when it’s your turn, your fingers don’t grasp things the right way and your wrists seem to bend the wrong direction and your elbows get in the way…all because the your ability to coordinate complex motor activities is compromised.  Somehow.  No one can explain exactly how, but you know that it is.  Maybe putting socks on your hands and braces on your wrists would start to approximate the difficulty coordinating things.  Now try and learn to tie your shoes. 

But wait!  Remember that in addition to the apraxia, you have a hearing loss.  And an auditory processing issue, which means that somewhere between your ears and your brain, the words you CAN hear get lost in translation.  NOW try to learn to tie your shoes.

He tries hard.  He really does.  But the deck is SO stacked against him.  And I don’t have the foggiest idea how to help.  We’ve tried all sorts of options, but nothing seems to work well.  Because he has vestibular (inner ear, affecting balance) issues, the OT and the PT thinks he needs vestibular therapy.  Because he has apraxia, the vestibular therapist recommends OT/PT.  Because of his hearing loss and his auditory processing issues, being able to hear and comprehend directions would go a long ways toward learning new motor skills.  We’re just not there.  Some days I feel like we’re not ever going to get there.  I’m getting better at thinking outside the box, but this box is bigger than any I’ve encountered before.  I’m stumped.  And frustrated.  (And too old for this!!)

When you add another cold grey soggy day to the mix, it starts to feel a bit overwhelming.  I had some fun plans for tomorrow, a nice change of pace, that we’ll likely skip because of this infernal rain.  It can get old fast.  I’m ready for a break.  I’m ready for SPRING.  It’s supposed to be here.  But since it doesn’t appear to be anywhere in sight, I guess I”ll have to find something else for my restlessness.  A project with a short term end product (unlike homeschooling!) might be just the ticket.  Time to start a new quilt?  Maybe…