Yesterday I cashed in my gift card from S for a 1/2 hour massage. Oh it was wonderful. I have not been able to lift my left arm a certain way for months and now I nearly can. The masseuse noticed the problem under my left shoulder blade immediately even though I had not told her I was having trouble lifting my arm. Amazing what massage can do.
So while I was laying there I thought of two things. First, and this almost made me laugh during the massage, but while she was rubbing my neck, I kept thinking of this.
Secondly, I got to thinking about how massage might be good for Little Bit when her tics are bad. How could it not be? It's relaxing and tics are always better when a person is relaxed.
I looked up some articles on it this morning and it seems I'm right. Perhaps when she's older we may have to look into that. Then it occurred to me that she already takes care of this herself. All her life she has LOVED for someone to sit by her and gently rub her arm or leg or tummy or face...whatever. "Tickle me soft" she says. Still, I think when she's older real massage techniques may be useful.
Looks like I may need to add "masseuse" to my job description. I wonder if there are classes you can take?
But first I'm going to need to learn how to spell masseuse without the help of Google.
Don't know if you remember but at the last birthday party we had, there was a lady named Donna here who is a professional masseuse. I could find out some info for you if you like or give you her direct cell number.
ReplyDeleteI vaguely remember with one of our premies getting an instruction in "baby massage". It was something about helping them to relax and to stimulate their brains at the same time. I haven't slept since then, so I don't really remember, but I bring it up now because it makes me think there is information out there for you to learn massage tecniques that would help her.
ReplyDeleteOh I wish I had a professional masseuse in the family!!!!
ReplyDeleteYes, I think I could learn from somewhere. Our friend's son is autistic and he gets massages....hmm.
The massage idea is great....!
ReplyDeleteBut I can't get past laughing at the video clip! :)
touch therapy is really big for the entire autism spectrum. It is great for sensory intergration also! Some people call it brushing I think, would often rub down kates arms and legs in the "after" part of a fit to allow her to gain more control. It is a wonderful tool and you might look in Leisure Learning for some classes. Also Lori Davies if a physical therapist and Donna Kline is a massage therapist, maybe they could show you some techniques that you could use at home.
ReplyDeleteI just found your blog because of your December article in Heart of the matter. I was surprised to see an article about TS as We have an 8yo son with it. Though it is not the reason we homeschool, it certainly is a benefit to avoiding all those problems...as you said. We deal with TS in the same way as you. It gets little attention and therefore doesn't run our lives. I was just excited to connect with someone who deals with the same things we do.
ReplyDeleteAnd my little guy loves to be rubbed and we discovered a while back that it helps his tics too! :-)