A couple of months ago Brian's OT, M, asked if I would be willing to let her try a new therapy with Brian called the Masgutova Method. I've trusted her instincts, as she's been working with my family for a long time and said, "sure, why not?" I'm usually willing to try anything new!
So every week I joke that Brian is going to his "weekly massage" as we head off to his therapy sessions. I would watch through the two-way mirror and laugh as I watched him climb on to the massage table and just lay there and be putty in M's hands. Two weeks ago I joined in as M showed me the technique so I could carry it over at home.
Now Brian and I have this lovely bedtime routine, after his bath, we go to his bed and he lies down and I give him the full-body massage- right now we are concentrating on tactile but soon will be adding in more neuro-techniques. Brian loves it and over the two weeks I have watched him become more aware of his body- sometimes trying the techniques on himself right after I do them. He's becoming more "loose" and allowing me to control his body rather than being rigid and thinking he needs to control every bit of his body. And he's been sleeping better! In fact the first night we did it at home he fell asleep while I was doing it!
Tonight after Brian's massage Corbin asked if he could have a turn. So I practiced on him- he was much more rigid than his brother but definitely funnier- counting out loud the steps and giggling when I reached certain points on his body. After he returned the favor and gave me a spastic version of the massage.
I'm hoping we'll see more progress with Brian with this new technique but I've realized even if we don't that it's a great new family tradition as we all enjoy it and it gives us another excuse to be close to eachother and to laugh together.
