Fabiana Bucchini
mother of 18 month old Gabriel, born with extreme prematurity
Appointment after appointment…. And after 10 months of an intensive routine of standard therapy appointments, not much progress was made with Gabriel’s development. I always asked the medical team and therapists a lot of questions since my son was born very premature at 26 weeks gestation.
Gabriel came home on oxygen and for a while we thought his development was delayed because of it. Then one day a doctor told me that “nothing could be done or diagnosed” until my little guy turned 2 years old. I thought, “Well, he’s only 1 year old, and I don’t want to wait!”
I began a search for what was available that I didn’t yet know about. I came across the Anat Baniel Method (ABM). One of our therapists recommended that I take Gabriel to see Judy Cheng.
That was the beginning of a life changing experience for me as a mother. Judy made me realize that my Gabriel wasn’t broken, and that he didn’t need to be fixed. WOW!!! Even writing this now brings tears to my eyes. Judy taught me how Gabriel perceives the world and his own body, how he plays, how he communicates. I’ve learned to help him in different ways while respecting his own pace.
After the first session with Judy, Gabriel was able to move his left arm which he had little use of before. It’s been 2 months since we started ABM sessions with Judy and Gabriel has made huge improvements. He is able to roll over now and lift his head. I stopped forcing him to do things he wasn’t ready for yet, because of the pressure of ‘milestones’. I started to embrace and celebrate all that he can do now!
I know that the ABM is a perfect fit for my son and my family, and I see how happy my baby is during his sessions with Judy and at home. I make sure now that every doctor I go to learns about ABM and its benefits. It’s up to us Moms to teach the medical establishment to start looking outside the box.
I’m grateful to have Judy in our lives. If Gabriel could talk, he would say the same and the way he smiles at Judy says it all.