Sue Tiffin
mother of 2 year old Harper with Angelman Syndrome
We worry that Harper is missing chances to socialize because of her hypotonia. She is able to reach, grab, mouth objects, stomp legs, roll but she was not able to sit independently, crawl or walk. We don’t want Harper to spend her formative years on her back. She must always be held, which is lovely for our family of ‘cuddlers’, but not always best for her to be able to explore.
We learned about the Anat Baniel Method through other parents of kids with Angelman Syndrome. We decided to go see Judy because we see so many medical professionals and therapists, and have learned that those who have experience with kids with Angelman Syndrome are better at understanding and treating our kids.
After the ‘Introductory’ sessions, we noticed Harper moves more. When she moves, she is more comfortable, more confident, and more exploratory. She seems to have better control of her body and be more curious about what it can do. She is stronger.
Judy told us the changes could be subtle, but they’re not. Her naturopath, during her second visit with him, noted that Harper moves differently now. She holds her head higher and when she turns over it is more definite, more meaningful. She has better focus on books. And I don’t know if it’s related, but she’s sleeping better.
I was surprised that Judy was able to connect so quickly with Harper. Naturally we see her personality and communicate with her, but it is rare that we see therapists who are so open to doing so. In fact, in the first 5 minutes, we thought Judy might have touched Harper more than in her year and a half of bi-monthly therapy.
I think what helped my husband and I the most was realizing through Judy’s work that what we had been doing was actually impeding Harper’s movement without us thinking of it.
We work so hard with her to re-enact the instructions of her conventional therapists, but we hadn’t thought logically about how we picked her up, set her down, and supported her. That has helped us – and as a result, Harper – immensely. She’s not the only one who learned during her therapy sessions!