Intensive Therapy and my Podcast Episode

Intensive therapy is a huge benefit for kids like Jonah. He needs more than a weekly 1 hour session to make progress. Given that his 2 conditions are neurological/neuromotor he needs very specialized functional neurology therapy. This incorporates a combination of 

It’s whole-child approach that incorporates all of this into each session with 2-3 people working hands on with him at the same time. During an intensive he has a morning session, a break and then an afternoon session, 5 days a week for 2 weeks. 

When your brain or nerves are affected like Jonah’s it can be hard to move smoothly or keep your balance. Things like walking or standing can be difficult. Many neurological conditions can mess up how your brain sends messages to your body which effects everything from how we move, learn, and speaking. These therapies target those areas of the brain and development that are delayed or not working properly and they essentially turn them on. 

Jonah has had 1 intensive since we got his full diagnosis and that was over a year ago. We saw the first real improvement in his development then. As they force the body and brain to move to more complex body movements, the brain begins a thing called neural pruning also known as synaptic pruning, it is the process by which the brain eliminates unused or weak connections between neurons, helping to strengthen the more frequently used pathways. This process is crucial for brain development and efficiency, particularly during early childhood and adolescence. These old synapses die off because he is creating newer, more advanced one. This process is an important part of development. It helps your brain grow and work better by:

 Neural pruning continues for up to 6-9 months after an intensive. When we were in Iowa at his 2 week intensive I remember everyone in my family saying how he was a different kid after just a few sessions and when we came home after 2 weeks it was like introducing a whole new kid to the family. 

I was asked to share my experience on a podcast called “Unraveling the Brain with Dr. Josh Madsen” I will share the link to that youtube video of the podcast. 

https://youtu.be/VY2rIj7i_Ko?is=D1mSCiZ7ANzMb49v

This is why we are fundraising to send him again. He needs it to grow and develop. What makes me so upset is insurances do not cover these therapies.

After his 2 weeks in Iowa he began to finally develop. He was 18 months old at the time. He began sitting up unassisted for longer periods of time (he laid flat on his back mostly), he began to stand and hold on to furniture and even shuffled up and down the couch, he reached for me to pick him up for the first time, he started keeping better eye contact, he started crawling, he started noticing I was in the room, he started having his first signs of emotions, he started smiling and wanting hugs and kisses, he started babbling, he starting drinking protein shakes, he stopped excessively drinking water to soothe himself and he noticed he had a little sister for the first time. Jonah was not aware of his environment or surroundings. He was totally in his own world oblivious to everything and avoiding everything. He really started to open up and it was a glimmer of hope for his life!

His team of therapists all feel he needs more intensive therapies. They have so much to work with now since he has made so much progress and we feel he could really make even more leaps and bounds again!

At this point we have raised enough to cover half of an intensive. It’s a 2 week minimum. We are so thankful and beyond grateful to everyone who has helped us and ultimately helping Jonah get these therapies he needs!
I have shared a few photos from his intensive and when he looked at Jenny for the first time. 

-The Mabes