Meet 9-year-old Weston. He is a happy, loving and friendly boy whose smile and contagious laugh can brighten anyone’s day. Weston loves playing on his iPad, with his brother Jase, all of his friends and enjoys pretty much any sport offered to him.
By seeing Weston, you’d never know he has had to overcome so many challenges, but he hasn’t always had it so easy. Weston was born with Spina Bifida which was diagnosed the day he was born. He was brought directly to Sick Kids where he underwent successful corrective surgery at only 3 days old. Weston has been a client of Grandview Children’s Centre since he was an infant and attended Grandview’s educational partner, Campbell Children’s School (CCS), for both Junior Kindergarten and Senior Kindergarten before heading to mainstream schooling.
“We don’t know where Weston would be without the dedication of all the staff at Grandview and CCS, who have worked so hard with him,” said his mom, Krystal. “They are truly an amazing group of people whose love and compassion make the days for our children so much fun!”
Weston has delays in his speech and physical movement, as well as with his fine and gross motor skills, but after regular help from Grandview for Speech-Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy, and Physiotherapy- Weston is thriving!
Now in third grade, Weston is seeing much success.
“Weston has always been an amazing reader. He is currently reading at grade level but still has delays in his verbal communication. He has received in-school assistance from a Speech-Language Pathologist and an Occupational Therapist. During recess, he sometimes rides a bike or trike around the school which gives him a dose of Physiotherapy.”
Weston has made plenty of new friends since beginning school and has overall been having an excellent learning experience.
“He is not at all shy, but we still feared he may be rejected from his peers because of his differences. His teachers always assure us that is not the case and that his friends tend to offer him help occasionally, explained his mother.”
Weston’s favourite sport is hockey and he takes any chance he can to play ball hockey with friends at school and his brother at home – if his brother doesn’t want to play, he’ll set up Buzz Lightyear as goalie and fire off some shots. He has been practicing his ice skating every weekend he can in order to improve his balance and strength.
“It is tough to watch him struggle, his body moves somewhat robotically and he does not have quick reflexes so falls happen often and he gets very frustrated, we just have to keep reminding him to get back up and keep going.”
Weston also loves making comic books, which he mimics from his favourite books Captain Underpants and Dogman. When he is finished with his creation, he reads you his story while barely being able to contain his laughter – he thinks he is hilarious.
Every time we have to go to Grandview, Weston lights right up. He absolutely loves Grandview and the amazing staff that know him and chat him up from the moment he walks through the door.
With every new therapist we see, we always learn something different; a new way to help him achieve his goals.
Through Grandview, we learned about the Durham Regional Police Children’s Games. Weston participated for the first time this past October. He was able to see so many familiar Grandview faces, staff and old classmates, and had so much fun participating in all of the events that he ended up winning his team’s spirit award!
Being stuck inside and stretches. Two things that are never considered “fun”. But, stretching is an important routine for all of us to get into, parents as well as kids. Stretching is important to maintain range of motion in tight joints, but it can also reduce the risk of injury, improve your posture, engage core muscles, and promote deep breathing and relaxation, which is something we all need right now.
Our “Stuck Inside” Stretches
Holding a stretch allows the muscles to relax and return to their original, intended length, keeping our joints safe and ready for action. And now that we’re stuck inside for most of the day, our physical activity routines have changed significantly, and we are doing a lot more sitting than our bodies are used to. This can lead to back pain and other minor injuries, all of which could be reduced with stretching. When you incorporate deep breathing into the practice, you can use stretching as a time to reconnect with your body and manage your stress.
With everyone staying inside right now, why not make a game out of stretches? Who can stay in one position the longest (hint: it will probably be the youngest family member)? Who can come up with the funniest pose? This is a fun activity that the whole family can do together. These photos show one Grandview Kid trying to use her body to spell the word “LOVE”, but you can create any word with your body. Can you make all the letters in your name? Can you work together to spell a word?
Remember these tips:
- Do all stretches in a sitting or lying down position so that you don’t have to worry about keeping your balance.
- Hold each position for at least 30 seconds – that is a lot longer than you think! Try singing a favourite song while you hold the stretch, or close your eyes and do some deep breathing. There are some great websites for guided breathing, pick one that works best for your family.
- Take photos and tag us with #GrandviewKids
- HAVE FUN!
Looking ahead to the next few weeks at home with your children may feel overwhelming; how will you keep your kids busy when they are usually occupied by routines at school or daycare? Grandview Kids Occupational Therapy team has some useful information to help you find the right routine for your family.
Routines are easy to forget when at home. On weekends, this is good as it provides kids with a break from school and hard work. However being at home everyday while practicing social distancing can present a special challenge, where kids that thrive on routine have now had this interrupted.
Routine can be beneficial for both parents and kids. For parents, routine provides structure, and allows them to schedule time needed to get things done around the house or for work. For kids, being able to predict what is going to happen throughout the day minimizes anxiety. It also helps them get back into the school routine for once classes resume.
Keep in mind that structured learning times do not need to be long or extensive, in fact, breaking them up into small chunks makes them more manageable for both you and your little one. By scheduling the day out ahead of time, you can present the routine that kids thrive on and also include the down time that both you and your kids need.
This is an unprecedented time. It’s okay to be flexible and give yourself breathing space to take care of yourself, so you can take care of your children.
** These are examples of ways you can structure your day. You can change and alter it to fit your family as needed. If your child benefits from visuals, you can add a column to the chart where he or she can add a check mark or a sticker to indicate when they have completed that activity.
Grandview Kids Schedule A – Colour-coded
Grandview Kids Schedule B – Colour-coded with times
Meal times- any meal time presents a great opportunity to include your child in meal prep activities. Young kids can add pre-measured ingredients and older kids can work on math skills during meal prep.
Learning time- this can be academic learning time or home economic learning time. Think of academic skills based on age and ability. Home economic learning can include sewing, baking and chores.
Take creative time (when direct supervision isn’t needed), gross motor play and free time for time to yourself for self care. Self care is important for you as a caregiver. The time you used to have (even if it was just driving to pick kids up) is no longer there right now.
Some days will go better than others when implementing routine at home. Remember that it’s okay if your day doesn’t go exactly as planned! Be flexible and adapt the plan throughout the day as needed.
Learning Time Ideas:
- Numbers
- Letters
- Math
- Reading
- Matching colours, numbers, shapes
- Writing sentences or stories
Fine Motor Activity Ideas:
- Cutting shapes/lines (with adult supervision as needed)
- Tracing shapes, letters, numbers
- Copying the alphabet or age-appropriate sentences
- Using tongs or tweezers to pick up household items
- Threading beads on a string or making pasta necklaces (macaroni and string)
- Painting
Sensory Activity Ideas:
- Water painting – paint the fence or another piece of wood with water
- Play-doh
- Rice play – put rice into a container with some other small toys for your child to find and retrieve out of the rice
- Sand play
- Finger painting
- Making and playing with slime
Gross Motor Activity Ideas:
- Cosmic Kids Yoga: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5uIZ2KOZZeQDQo_Gsi_qbQ
- Go Noodle: Get Moving: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2YBT7HYqCbbvzu3kKZ3wnw
- Super Stretch Yoga App (Free!)
- Wheelbarrow walking
- Obstacle Courses https://grandviewkids.ca/staying-active-while-social-distancing/
It’s been nearly two weeks since schools closed and the uncertainty of the unknown continues to create a great sense of discomfort in our lives. Grandview Kids Social Worker Stephanie Kirwin has some thoughts to share in hopes of helping to manage the stress you are feeling.
You may be finding some days more challenging than others to manage the stress you are feeling, to stay positive and optimistic. This is okay. It is okay to feel sad and angry, to feel stressed and worried. Let yourself be present with those feelings. Letting yourself feel and be with your thoughts, away from social media and distractions can be very therapeutic and healthy. It helps you to move through them.
Things to think about (from the Canadian Psychological Association):
- “People are strong and resilient, and generally have the skills they need to cope with the stressors they will face in a lifetime.
- Not everyone reacts to the same event in the same way and not everyone shows their distress in the same way.
- The ways in which children and communities cope and react to a stressor are influenced by how they see parents, caregivers and community leaders cope and react.”
Strategies that might help:
- Stay informed and regularly disconnect from news stories; try to only check for updates 1-2 times a day
- Try to keep some sort of routine and structure in your day, such as getting yourself and kids dressed, sitting for meals as a family
- Build some scheduled activities in your day, outdoor time, yoga or dance videos with the kids
- Go outside and pay attention to all your senses: feeling the sun on your face, watching the tops of trees move in the wind, smelling the coming of spring
- Try to let go of things you can’t control and focus on the things you can control such as practicing safe hand hygiene and physical distancing with your family, reminding yourself that you are doing something
- Reach out for help. On days when worried thoughts become difficult to manage, reach out to those you trust or a mental health professional. This is not a sign of weakness but a sign of strength.
Information adapted from the following websites, view for further reading:
https://cpa.ca/new-covid-19-factsheet/
https://hbr.org/2020/03/that-discomfort-youre-feeling-is-grief
Dear Grandview Community,
We continue to find ways in which to connect with you and work remotely during these uncertain times.
Thank you for doing your part to maintain physical distancing.
For those of you who are self-isolating at home, thank you for your vigilance. Many Grandview families have the added stress of caring for medically complex children and we know how much they need all of us to do our part to keep ALL kids healthy and safe.
Daily across social media sites, multiple tools, and resources are being posted offering online learning and supports for kids and families.
We know that for many Grandview families many of these resources are not accessible or appropriate.
We also know that many parents are stressed trying to fit in “school work “ and therapy in addition to working as essential services, working from home, managing care routines and responding to new behaviours that may be arising with all of this disruption.
It is okay to not be on top of all of this. It is okay to feel overwhelmed and scared. It is okay to not be okay right now.
It is one of the reasons we will be reaching out to you in many ways to check in.
Grandview is working to share resources meant for kids with communication, physical and developmental needs.
We also want to share resources for parents and caregivers to support your self-care as a healthy YOU is critical for your child right now.
Here is a great parent/caregiver website we really like.
https://ontariocaregiver.ca/find-support/peer-support/?fbclid=IwAR2rBaSQHla36MkqEMg2SWOnkSwrceBcbpktmIQvTG80TZuvw22XuhHn9Po
You can also try the Care Mongers COVID-19 Response Phone Line at 1-888-573-0982 if you need help or are isolated during the pandemic.
In addition, the Grandview Online Parent Support (OPS) Facebook page is a tremendous parent resource for Grandview families. If you are not already a member here is how to sign up: Please visit https://www.facebook.com/groups/Grandview.OPS/ and click join. Then check your Facebook Messenger for some identifying questions or email andrea.belanger@grandviewkids.ca with your child’s name or client ID and your Facebook profile name so your information can be verified.
We will continue to reach out to you and do everything we can to help.
You are in my thoughts and the thoughts of the entire team at Grandview
With care,
Lorraine
