"Red is 5 years old. He loves chocolate milk, animals, construction vehicles, watching movies and playing outside. He was born with a club foot that he has had 3 surgeries on to help repair it, Spastic Hemiplegic Cerebral Palsy that affects the left side of his body and a rare brain abnormality called Pachygyria with Polymicrogyria that causes cognitive, motor and speech delays.
Red receives Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy and Speech Therapy. Red has made a lot of gains because of therapy. He is becoming more well-rounded in all areas of development because of the help from his wonderful therapists. He has gained more strength, balance and better control of his body with PT and Ms. Alyssa was very helpful with Red's foot stretches which are needed to help keep his club foot from tightening up. He is also very fast now. We weren't sure if Red would be able to walk when he was younger and now we have a hard time keeping up with him. He is doing way more with his left hand which used to be in a closed fist position most of the time before therapy, thanks to Ms. Alicia. He is even using that hand to help with many different daily tasks and play activities at home and at school. He is also becoming more independent with self care routines like washing hands, dressing, helping with chores around the house and more. Red has a severe expressive speech delay but with the help of Ms. Chrissy, he is making improvements all the time. She has helped him work on verbal communication as well as learning how to use and navigate his communication device which takes a lot of time, practice and effort to use. He has learned so much from her and is learning new things all the time. I am very grateful to have such wonderful therapists in Red's life because without them, he would not be as successful as he is today. They do a great job helping Red to become more independent and confident in his abilities.
Red has had many challenges so far and he will continue to have challenges throughout his life, but with therapy, we know he will have positive motivation and encouragement behind him to keep him on the right track. Red is a very positive and driven young man. He is so happy, sweet, and loves life. I am thankful for Red everyday and he has helped us realize what things are important in life. He inspires us everyday to do our best. I feel very lucky and honored to be his mother."
-Amanda, Red's Mom