Project Hovercraft

Project Hovercraft is complete! It's a DIY project to help C counter gravity pull, allowing his arms to 'hover' and move freely.

Yesterday we did a pilot test without the arm slings. He was quite receptive to the idea. And today, the moment I took out his tablet, C immediately requested for the 'loops'.

This is how the structure looks:

Costs:

Clothes drying rack   $28
Set of resistance bands   $24.90
(Bands are of different resistance. If you require 2 of the same load, get 2 sets cos I don't see them selling single bands. It didn't matter to me so 1 set is fine. I use the rest them for my stretching exercises)
Carabiners   $14
(I use 4 large and 2 small ones. Mix and match different sizes to obtain the length you require)
Harness   $11.80
(In video, I used an adult wrist guard. A pair of wrist guards or child arm slings can be expensive so it's up to individual which to use so long it works. As a cheaper alternative I bought a pair of full body harness for miniature dogs haha. The widths are adjustable, I figured they might work. Will update with pics if they really do)
Total damage: approx $78.70 +/-

Haze Haze Go Away

Worst haze so far. Not the most severe but the longest running. We've been confined for 3 weeks now. I'm used to not setting foot outside of house entirely but this was pure misery, being cooped up at home with windows and door shut made me really depressed.

C started choking and coughing around the same time haze striked. We were unsure if he was affected by the haze (causing an increase in secretions) or part and parcel of regression. I had observed a decrease in strength (upper limbs and trunk). C complaint about his hands not reaching the top part of his tablet and not being able to turn to his sides. Perhaps we would have a better idea once haze clears up.

C was supposed to start class on a Monday 2 weeks ago. His teacher came down with a fever and the classes were adjourned. Hopefully we would have our 1st lesson next week. Looking forward.

Anyway despite the little illness, C stayed cheerful all these while. Always his cheeky self when going through the chest percussion and suction routine. I didn't know if there were other children who could laugh, talk continuously, and joked around (pretend to retch) during suctioning. C is such a child.

Today we did our standing practice in the living room. Something amusing happened. C Sang and danced to the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse song. Check out the video (need to turn up the volume):

Conversation with the therapist:

Me with the time at home, began to explore new ideas. I've started another DIY project to help C overcome some of the constraints faced, in the hope to minimise his frustrations. Can anyone guess what I'm going to make?

If we were to get gadgets, it would cost a bomb and most likely not available here. While improvising does keep costs down, it might not achieve the same result as the actual gadget would but I'm hoping it could still help C in some ways.

Last 1.5 years we were considered novice SN family. Our lives evolved the diagnosis, machines and coping with changes to routines. I supposed we have graduated and moving on to the next phase. Why do I say that? Cos I'm facing problems the 'old birds' faced - machines breaking down and giving problems, needing to acquire/upgrade existing ones, to make the days more constructive to meet the child's growing needs so on and so forth. Phew! New challenges await!