Shelley C.
mother of 20 month old Sean with Right Hemiparesis
I am the mother of 20 month old Sean who has Right Hemiparesis and Cerebral Palsy due to a stroke shortly after birth. Sean has been challenged with weakness on his right side, development delays and seizures. I have been doing traditional physiotherapy with him since he was 6 months old and he HATED it. He cried and cried during the sessions. We did however make strides with his development but they were few and far between.
I went looking for another way to help my son. Another practitioner who works with Sean mentioned The Anat Baniel Method and referred me to Judy Cheng. Sean has been seeing Judy for 3 months now. I can hardly believe the difference it has made in him. When we first met Judy Sean seemed to be “locked” in his body. He had very little movement through his hips. His right arm and hand were clenched and very tight. Within the first 3 sessions Sean’s arm was more relaxed and hanging down. His little hand was open most of the time.
After each block of sessions, Sean became more aware of himself as a whole. I can’t tell you how wonderful it feels to see him rolling around on the floor, something he had never been able to do before now. Sean also took a nap on his tummy for the first time last week. Sean detested being on his tummy since he was little yet here he was now asleep on his tummy.
There have been more achievements in the last 3 months than in an entire year of traditional physiotherapy. Judy has such a wonderful way with Sean, he has taken to her so well. Sean goes through these sessions with no tears and always leaves with a smile on his face. Judy guides me during the sessions as to what I can follow up with at home and is always very knowledgeable whenever I have questions.
I am truly thankful that we have found Judy and we look forward to each visit with her.
Latest Update
Shelley’s latest update of now 2.5 year old Sean
Sean has made amazing strides in his development in the past 10 months since we started therapy with Judy Cheng at Move To Learn Therapy Inc..
The first major difference is Sean loves being on his tummy. It is his go to position to be comfortable. I never thought that would ever happen. His whole body awareness has majorly improved. He can crawl up stairs, stop and turn around to come back down. And, he is using both arms! He is also pulling to a stand on just about everything he can. This last week, Sean starts cruising along the couch and coffee table. Yesterday he pulled to a stand on our step stool in the kitchen and proceed to push and walk with it for a couple of steps.
It not just the gross motor skills that have improved. There have been more subtle changes too. He has started to play with cars and his interest holds with what he is playing. He will make decisions when offered choices and will point to what he wants.
I am a little less worried as a parent. With a special needs child your worry never really goes away. But I must say that since working with Judy, I don’t worry so much about Sean’s gross motor developments as I see Sean learning and making strides. There has been a difference in my other children as well. They see Sean improving and when Sean crawled up the stairs for the first time, I don’t know who was more excited, me or my daughter. When she got to school that day she couldn’t wait to tell her teachers about Sean accomplishment.
It surprised me how much Sean would enjoy the sessions. He gets excited when I pull into the parking lot and if we arrive early he starts bum scooting down the hall to meet Judy and will get a little upset if it’s not our time to go in yet.
Judy Cheng is an amazing therapist with a true gift of working with children with extra needs. The method may not work for every child but when it does the possibilities for growth are truly incredible.
