Our Precious Ariq

The Day Our Ariq Rushed to the Hospital

The charming first son

 

It’s been much too long since the last time I wrote for this blog. Many things happened during my absence and all evolved around our beloved first son. He’s been having frequent convulsion (many refer this as an epileptic seizure: occasionally referred to as a fit, is defined as a transient symptom of “abnormal excessive or synchronous neuronal activity in the brain”) due to his cerebral palsy. This seizure occurred monthly and with a similar pattern. There’s more, he was hospitalized twice because of this.

I’m feeling grateful for Ariq’s disability

Caring for children with special needs

Having a child with special needs, for some people, can be disastrous. We commonly use the term of special needs to describe the limitations as well as the inabilities possessed by such children. Children who suffer from special needs, both as a result from birth defects and injuries may experience such things from mild disabilities, developmental delays until mental retardation or even psychiatric problems. In other words, the disabilities can be medical, developmental, learning disabilities or even all three of them depending on the seriousness of the case.

Dysarthria, A Speech Disorder

Communication, understanding and patience, the three keys to success

Today, I went to Ariq’s school to get his school report. I was glad that he really improves well; however, there is a little note from his therapies that we had better give him more drills in two-way communication. I don’t mean to say that he cannot communicate his ideas or thoughts. In fact he does, although it is only those of habitual ones. He is able to say such things like “Kakak mau makan” (I want to eat), “Kakak mau minum susu” (I want to have some milk), “Kakak mau keluar” (I want to go out), “Pergi kemana” (Where are we going?), “Kakak mau mandi” (I want to take a bath) and many others. Ariq also understands simple commands like “Ganti baju” (Change your clothes), “Buka celana” (Pull down your trousers), “Tutup pintu” (Close the door), “Ambil bukunya” (Get the book) and so on.

Another Fun Day With Therapy

Ariq, our first son, as we all know, suffers from cerebral palsy due to the lack of oxygen during the delivery process. This hampers his movements, coordination, balance and motoric skills. Since he enrolled in Kitty Center, a school for special needs, back in 2005, Ariq has purchased several therapeutic instruments that support his daily therapies such as AFO shoes, splints, bandages and peto chairs. The result has been quite good, alhamdulillah for he is able to follow all the drills without any major difficulties. Although he experienced some hard time but eventually he managed to conquer his obstacles. We are grateful that he does his therapies happily now, no more weeping nor complaining whatsoever. He does all the drills whole-heartedly.

Ariq with Dad

Animal-Assisted Therapies

Animal-Assisted Therapies For Children With Special Needs:

Dolphins, the friendly mammals

According to wikipedia, animal-assisted therapy is a kind of therapy that involves an animal with special characteristics and it serves as a fundamental part of a person’s treatment. Animal-assisted therapies are designed to improve the physical, emotion, social and/or cognitive functioning of the patient. These therapies also provide educational and motivational effectiveness for the participants.

Many kinds of animals are used in therapies including dogs, cats, elephants, horses and dolphins as well as other small animals. Among them, the most popular methods are those assisted by Dolphins and horses. These forms of therapies, in the context of children with special needs, offer improvements in such areas as physical (Fine motor skills and balance) and also mental (improving self-confidence, verbal skills and attention skills); nevertheless, both may present some physical threats to both people and animals, which may be difficult to overcome. This post; however, will only concentrate on the dolphin therapy.