The speed rope was a completely new challenge. We had been working with a standard jump rope for a few months. Concentrating on building the coordination of my body. Starting with the double-jumping as a timing mechanism. While, the two jumps helped keep my balance, as the rope traveled. Then, we moved from gaining the … More The Speed Rope
This was the next progression in working with a ball to improve dexterity. I have been attempting to write these blogs in sequential order. They aren’t perfectly in lock step with our workout sessions. But, they follow the progress pretty well. The last work we did was with the tennis ball, while walking. Tossing the … More Small Ball Catch: Stage 1 and 2
There were reasons to begin our walking catch with the ball we did. The sponge ball gave us a soft landing if mistakes occurred. It was the easiest of the balls to catch. Due to its slightly larger than medium size. The sponge ball also possessed a soft exterior. The soft exterior made it less … More Walking Tennis Ball Catch
The first type of ball Bernard used to play catch. He was looking for something with some size. Making it easier to receive. A smaller ball would require added dexterity in my hands. Dexterity, being the skill we have been working on for a while. Attempting to increase the skill of my fingers. The sponge … More Walking Sponge Ball Catch
In my attempt to try new things for cerebral palsy improvement. I came across utensils with larger handles. They seemed like an interesting idea to experiment. Thinking about the challenge of holding smaller grips. Most eating utensils in my life have thin grips. Not much to help me stabilize. Whether, gathering the food from the … More Large Grip Utensils
Working with any kind of key is challenging. The difficulty has occurred throughout my life. The first key of challenge was the house key. A nasty little thing, causing problems to this day. Trying to hold it in my hand correctly. Then, extend it outward to meet the lock just right. Any shake of the … More The Wrist Band Key
Beginning to accomplish jumping rope has been exciting. Introduced by Bernard to work on a variety of concepts. Everything geared toward cerebral palsy improvement. Jumping rope combined many physical aspects needing work, into one movement. The exciting part of discovering jumping rope was the activity becoming possible. It meant we could use the exercise moving … More Single Rope Jumping
Handwriting felt like an important part of life during my youth. We were taught handwriting in school. Working on the ability to make our writing legible. While at the same time, attempting to write quickly. These skills were challenging to master with my disability. Cerebral palsy causing my fine motor movements to be difficult. Though, … More Pen Grip
I grew up loving the game of basketball. Shooting hoops in my driveway. Dreaming of playing on the high school team. Like my father and uncles had done during their school days. Believing if I practiced enough, there would be a spot. Cerebral palsy might limit me to the final man on the bench. But, … More Cross-Over Bounce
Everybody could use a good tool. No matter what kind of physical task you’re attempting to accomplish. Sometimes all that is required might be your hands. For most people who are typically developed, a solid set of hands works well. But, when the hands are impacted by a disability, they might need assistance. For me, … More The Button Hook
A Journey With Cerebral Palsy 