4Real Forums: ICAN

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ALmom
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Joined: May 18 2005
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Posted: Aug 12 2007 at 2:28am \| IP Logged

I cannot remember now who asked me to tell what we experience with some of the other therapies that we were researching. Well, we have been a few times to Hope for the Future - a groups accredited through ICAN (International Christian Association of Neurodevelopmentalists). I cannot give definitive opinions as of yet as we have only just begun to implement some things here, but I thought I'd share what we have found so far.

I was impressed by both the people working with the children (they help evaluate and suggest activities and academic plan for the children they evaluate but the parents do all the work themselves at home) and the program and support. The materials they have are generally very much the Mennonite variety so non-Catholic but non-offensive. We could certainly substitute with our own materials and just imitate the method. A lot of the things for working with fine motor look like a Montessori practical life list (so looks like two different doctors looking at the same kinds of problems both came up with the same sort of solutions).
I'm still not sure what I think about how important dominance issues are, but am withholding judgement 'till we have a little more time. They are switching the 13 yo hand for writing.

We started some of the exercises - We are not signed up so our own dc have not been evaluated but my nephew was evaluated (and we have more hope now for help than ever)and we are all doing the exercises with him as family PE. One of the things we are doing is spinning slowly and I will say that I think this might help me not walk into walls. It is supposed to develop the spatial awareness ability - something I really have problems with. It is interesting to watch the difference in those of us who have problems and those who do not - I have much more trouble than several of my dc in doing this and other exercises and it isn't an age thing! There was another exercise that some of us had trouble doing - and it involves sequencing doing different things with different parts of the body. I wouldn't think I'd have trouble but I kept having trouble not doing the same things with my arms and legs at the same time. Now, I don't know if my difficulties are related to the fact that I do not cross the midline with my eyes (binocularity issues) but after practice, I am able to do this. But the interesting thing I noticed is that my dc who has not completely been helped by vision therapy had the same trouble I did with this exercise - as did my 4 yo who is presumedly still developing some of these skills and the child for whom these exercises were designed. The rest seemed to fly through them without thinking. Interesting to me and some confirmation that these folks may really know what theya are talking about.

Now, I am sure that group sports would do some of the same things - as does piano or anything else that involves coordination of various limbs at the same time - sometimes working together in the same way and sometimes in differing ways - but when you are so, so clumsy that you stand out like an absolute idiot (the kind of person no one would ever let a ball come near) and the only group sports are highly competitive so that you never get a chance to play - well it doesn't do much for you. My ds tried various sports only to be ignored in practice and played only the minimal time and then placed where the ball never came so that he never had much chance to do anything - well then group sports are totally useless - and it is no wonder he hates them to this day. It is no fun and no matter how hard he worked on his own, he just couldn't get "good enough" to get any kind of practice with coaches helping him or playing time. For us, group sports were a crushing failure that harmed this childs confidence and self -esteem more than I can express.

I am intrigued by their approach to the academics and must say it appears to be pulling on this child's strengths. A lot is based on what seems to me to be very Montessorish - demonstrate without a lot of words - and then let him imitate. The difference is that you continue to do this over and over rather than letting them loose. You also seem to be concerned more with showing and exposing and not pressuring them for tons of output to start with. Sessions are designed to be short - just a few minutes per activity (now I'm sure this length of time is based or individualized for the attention span and developmental level of the child).

I am hopeful and impressed so far. It will be a lot of my time - and not sure how I'm going to spread myself so thin, but I do believe this dovetails very nicely with a lot of things we wanted to do and I do think it may just be the thing that really helps everyone that is struggling.

Janet

Taffy
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Joined: April 05 2005
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Posted: Aug 12 2007 at 4:19pm \| IP Logged

Thanks for sharing, Janet. I found what you said very interesting and am looking forward to hearing how things progress. I've been considering using "ICAN" for quite some time now but am being very cautious. We've already spent quite a few $$$ on things that "might" help our PDD son.

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Susan
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