Physical Development

When Aiya was a few days old we were told by her doctors that she had spasticity in all four limbs which meant she would most probably never walk or have full mobility of her arms. I’m pleased say my determined little girl is exceeding the doctor’s expectations with her current physical ability.

Aiya loves exploring objects with her hands, particularly to find the best part to bite. Her hand-eye co-ordination is improving as her eyesight matures (she has delayed visual maturity). She reaches to grab objects she wants – always putting in a little more effort to grab what her big brother is playing with or has abandoned by her (his toys are far more interesting than hers apparently).

It’s taken a long time but Aiya is finally sitting unaided and can be left on her own without the need to be surrounded by a crash pad and she looks so cute sat upright playing with her toys.

Last week we had a standing frame delivered. In anticipation, we previously had shoes and leg gaiters fitted and ordered by the orthotics team.  The shoes help plant her feet on the floor and the leg gaiters help to keep her legs straight so they don’t buckle.  The standing frame will help her to develop muscle strength in her legs and as this improves, we can remove the leg gaiters and hopefully in time the standing frame.  We have got a long way to go but I’m optimistic that my little fighter will stand independently. We’ve been advised to use the standing frame for 10 minutes twice a day and then slowly build it up to half an hour as her strength develops. This is one step closer to Aiya walking, which is something I can’t wait to see. Keep defying the odds little munchkin!