Stairs

Anna has improved so much on the stairs. She still tends to crawl up our stairs at times, but she is more than capable of walking up like a 'big girl'! She still needs to hold on of course, but she manages quite well. Coming down as also improved dramatically. She used to hang on with two hands or even back down the stairs, but now she holds the wall with her left hand and walks down. She is very proud of herself, and we're very proud of her!

I think one therapy tool that has helped improve her strength is her blue gym mat. I keep it folded so it's an approximate height of a stairs and she walks up and down on it without holding onto anything. Great exercise for strength and balance. We make a game of it by putting on music and incorporating a second 'obstacle' so there's a bit more to it. It's great for speech too because she always narrates her 'up' and 'down' as she goes along.

The other day I took out her mat, and she kept pointing to something in her closet. I didn't know what she was asking for until I realized that we used this pole (for lack of a better description) as an object to walk around before going back up on to the mat. I couldn't believe she remembered!