Natalie comes to the center with a diagnosis of Microcephaly. Her diagnosis has been linked to developmental delays, problems with movement and balance, and feeding problems. Natalie and her family were introduced to MCRC’s Motor Mouth in February of 2019. Motor Mouth is a year-round, four-week parent education program led by a Physical Therapist (motor) and a Speech Language Pathologist (mouth). The hands-on parent class is used to teach motor skill development as well as feeding and speech/language skills from birth to 24 months. Natalie made wonderful progress in Motor Mouth and transitioned to one-on-one therapy sessions.
With little ones like Natalie, it’s better to start therapy as early as possible in order to address developmental delays as quickly as possible. At first, Natalie could not sit or roll independently but with three months of physical therapy with Kristal, she experienced a big increase in her overall strength to do those movements.
Natalie also had difficulty transitioning to table foods and she wasn’t able to drink from a straw. She began feeding therapy with Jennifer to address these challenges. Jennifer introduced Natalie to age appropriate foods and taught her how to drink through a straw.
Another goal Natalie had was feeding herself. Natalie struggled with hand-to-mouth motions for self-feeding. Occupational Therapist Michelle worked with her on grasping and reaching. Now Natalie shows more independence and can feed herself.
By the end of this past year, Natalie was sitting independently, playing with toys, drinking from a straw and feeding herself solid, age appropriate foods – and proud of her growing independence!
Natalie continues to see Kristal and Michelle. She consistently meets her goals due in part to her dedicated parents who work with her at home. This girl is on the go and we are eagerly anticipating for her to crawl very soon!