There's a special satisfaction in working with a child who has special needs in his own home. Kelly Hawker describes her busy week
Monday
Toby is two and a half years of age and I have been employed by his paresnts Kate and Ian to work with him as a special needs therapist since January 2002. He has Worster-Drought Syndrome, a form of cerebral palsy, which mainly affects his speech and motor development. Toby communicates through vocalisations, facial expressions, Makaton signs and photos.
Everyone says how 'smiley' Toby is. He is a very handsome, noisy little boy who wants his independence. I also help look after his sister Holly, who is four and goes to nursery on a part-time basis, so it is a very busy job.
I start work at 7.30am. I wake Toby up, give him his milk and then he chooses what he wants to have for breakfast. Like all two-years-olds he is learning to feed himself. After breakfast he sits on the potty and then gets dressed. He does this as independently as possible - for example by pulling his top over his head and pulling up his socks!
By 8.45am we are off on our travels to the Conductive Education Centre near Rochester, Kent. The session runs from 9.45am to 12 noon. I work under the direction of a very skilled conductor with other children and parents. At the centre Toby is learning how to crawl, transfer from position to position, stand from a sitting position and walk with a ladder-back chair. These skills are practised throughout the rest of the week at home.
After Toby's lunch we are back in the car and on our way home. He's exhausted after all his intensely hard work and drops off to sleep as soon as we get home. This is my opportunity to chase up equipment and make appointments.
In the afternoon Toby chooses an activity from his book, which contains photos of his toys. He is encouraged to be as independent as possible at all times and will walk, crawl or roll (with as little help as possible from me) to get to what he wants. He can get frustrated when it takes time to master a task, but the key thing is that he achieves his end goal.
After tea Toby's parents return from work and I go home exhausted!
Tuesday
We make an early start to the Conductive Education Centre again. After an intensive two hours it's straight to Toby's hydrotherapy session for some swimming. Toby has saved enough energy to go into the colourful soft play area that has a ball pool, slides and tunnels. This is great fun for him and he is able to learn how to fall safely, and find his own way of getting from 'A' to 'B'.
Wednesday
When Toby is up and dressed, Debbie arrives. She is Toby's home portage worker and gives us lots of things to be working on as well as lovely toys. When she leaves we do the tasks that we have been set. Toby is working on colour sorting, manipulating objects with two hands, tasks that encourage speech and others that increase fine motor skills. After lunch, it's horse riding. This is great for increasing Toby's balancing skills and he is getting more confident and can now ride unsupported with close supervision. On his way back he has started to let go with one hand and give me a wave! Show off!
It is very rewarding and exciting for me when Toby masters new skills.
Thursday
Drop Toby off at the early learners' group where he has a one-to-one volunteer worker who works on tasks that have been set by the portage worker. He might play in the home corner or with sand and water and then goes off to the multi-sensory room which has a water bed, rope lights and bubble tubes. In the afternoon we go to his physiotherapy group where he works on his mobility skills with other children.
Friday
Aqua tots today. Toby loves it, he is able to do as much as all the other children within his class and is working towards getting his swimming badge. We have lunch with Toby's friend, Thomas, at the swimming club and then after a nap at home we visit a group of close friends of Toby's mum who all have children of the same age. This is Toby's great opportunity to just be a two-year-old!
