~ Ask a physiotherapist ~
Joan Chinsen has been working as a physiotherapist for over 20 years, and presently is working with children who are blind, visually impaired, or deafblind at the Provincial residential school.
Question: We live in the country, and it seems lately that all I am doing is driving. I feel like something needs to be cut out, and was wondering if you could suggest some physiotherapy exercises that we could do at home. My daughter is 5 years old, and she is not yet walking without support. As like most CHARGE'rs, balance is a real issue. She has retinal coloboma and hearing loss in both ears at the moderate range. I would really like her to be able to explore like most children her age, but having to be constantly watching out for her falling into things around the house is a problem.
I suggest you try and purchase a playhouse similar to this one that we use at the school. Perhaps a Lions Club or other source of funding can be sought. The type of exploration this equipment will encourage will be of great benefit for your daughter, and it is a safe way to find out about space awareness, body awareness, and relationships to the environment. It will also encourage the development of upper body strenth and balance. We have seen great advances in children beginning to use visual fields as well, when using this play equipment to explore and climb.