Our own little Maria Sharapova/Dara Torres in the making...

 

C and her friends, working on their backhand stance

That's my girl!

Last week, C started tennis and mini-team swim lessons at our neighborhood club.  We had originally planned on it just being tennis, but then C surprised us by (very uncharacteristically) declaring that she wanted to take swimming lessons, put her face under the water, and blow bubbles.  Um, TWIST MY ARM, PLEASE!  We have been working through a pretty irrational fear of the water for some time now, so this definitely caught us off-guard, but we went with it and so far, both lessons have been great!

I have a neighborhood girl coming to our house around 9 am, three mornings a week, so that M can hang out here and get some one-on-one attention of her own while I take C up the street.  We have tennis first, and then walk over from the courts to the pool for swim practice.  I am so glad she is giving tennis a try.  Not only is it a great life-long sport, but it is such great practice for her coordination, motor planning, and crossing her midline.  Her attention span can be short at times during practice, but we are working on this too by talking about how important it is to stick with something and follow through.  

As for swimming, my husband and I couldn't be more thrilled.  Learning this skill is so important from a safety perspective, but C has really shied away from it up until now.  My husband is a swimmer - he not only swam at Georgetown during his college years, but he also used to coach summer and elite swimming - so he could absolutely teach C, but she and he can butt heads occasionally.  Like lots of kids with SPD, having water poured over her head or not feeling like she has control of her surroundings when in the water has historically been a real issue for her.  Having someone outside the family working with her has proven to be the key here:  in her first week, she has floated on her back (with support), blown bubbles, and (sort of) put her head under water.  Learning to use her kickboard, practicing pool safety, and keeping her focus through the entire half-hour lesson is just icing on the cake.  We'll take it!!!  

I decided to clue her swim coaches in on some of what we are working on from a therapeutic perspective - just a general "Just in case you feel like it's taking a bit for C to put the pieces together, here's why..." kind of email that proved to be a great decision.  The head coach has personally been working with her group every day, and has taken a special interest in helping C experience success.  All her coaches are terrific and very enthusiastic.  We could not have asked for more.  

We are off to a great (albeit busy!) Summer - no wonder it's my favorite season of the year!

What we're working on: Bilateral Coordination & Motor Planning

Bilateral coordination is being able to use both sides of your body at the same time in order to perform a task.  It's an important skill that is connected to many different activities that C is regularly expected to do, including cutting, writing, and drawing.  Being able to cross the midline of the body (the ability to reach across the imaginary middle line of your body to the other side, using your arms or legs) is also part of bilateral coordination - and is something that is challenging for C.  We are trying to give her lots of opportunities to practice using both sides of her body, as well as encourage her to practice crossing her midline.

C loves her Octopaddles and scooter!

Using both arms simultaneously to push herself...

Perfect for bilateral coordination and motor planning...

Motor planning is understanding the steps necessary to complete a task, organizing yourself and your body, and then following through.  People use this skill constantly throughout their daily lives, whether they are playing sports, doing school work, or even tying their shoes.  For most people, these steps happen in their brain so quickly that you don't even realize they are processing them.  They are just able to do whatever it is they want to do.  As for C, she often knows exactly what she wants her body to do, but struggles putting the steps together to make it happen in a timely manner.  The result is that she appears somewhat clumsy and uncoordinated.  We are working on this, too.

Puzzles are great practice for both bilateral coordination AND motor planning, too!

(So is playing with princesses - that's what M is up to... :)  )

Using one hand to stabilize herself while fitting the puzzle piece with the other...

Finished product with Daddy!

Bilateral coordination and motor planning are two areas that C definitely finds challenging, but fortunately, there are tons of ways to help her practice and have fun doing it at the same time.  And as for M, whatever we are doing with C can absolutely help her develop these skills, too.  To the girls, it's just play, but these days we try to think about what other benefits can come from their play time.