Fun day at the beach

Taisei loves water!  Every summer, we try to take Taisei to the beach and the pool.  We think its important to give Taisei a break from all the grueling therapies and let him enjoy some of the wonderful and fun things in life.  As you can see from the pictures, he is no doubt having a great time!  (His sister, Hana, is finally able to dip her feet in the water although she's still a little scared.)  Sometimes we think these fun experiences have tremendous therapeutic effect.  Summer is here and we are ready to enjoy it with Taisei.    

Taisei's swim lesson

Here is Taisei at the pool.  Of all the physical activities, Taisei seems to love spending time in the pool the most.  As soon as he is in the pool, he gets very excited and starts kicking his legs like crazy!  Since Taisei still has challenges walking, he realizes that he has more mobility in water which makes him feel good.

What you see in the picture is not just a swimming lesson.  A very creative therapist named Ilana combined Feldenkrais Method with pool therapy.  Feldenkrais Method "reeducates" the brain through movements.  Because Feldenkrais Method focuses on the relationship between your brain and body, it works to bring out the potential ability that everyone is inherently born with.  As the therapist teaches Taisei regarding various movements, signals are sent to the brain to reeducate how to move.  Normally, Feldenkrais Method is not done in the pool, but Ilana who also happens to be a aqua-therapist saw a huge potential in combining both therapies.  Since Taisei loves being in the pool, he seems be enjoying this therapy very much.  We highly recommend it to anyone with mobility issues.