Hi

im not a parent of a child with cp, but i babysit and look after a 2 and a half year old girl with mild CP. She doesn't have good limb movement and she doesn't speak either. I take her to the park and we go on the swings, but I often don't know what else to do with her and what games we can play to keep her occupied and hear her chuckle away?
any ideas of what i can do with her? thanks

Hi,

The only suggestion I have is to get a big ball--the kind that you can get at Wal-Mart--those huge big ones. And have her try and bounce it. This will help with getting her to "want" to use her limbs and work them out. It also helps with hand/eye coordination.

We still use a big ball in our therapy, both at home and in the professional setting.

Swinging is very good, because it moves the fluid that is in the inner ear, our Physical Therapist said that a lot of kids don't get this crucial movement. So that is very good that you are doing it.

Also do you have a small swimming pool? You will have to be extremely careful and watchful, but this will also aid in getting her to crawl around and play in it.

Also, if she isn't getting professional physical therapy she really needs to. You can then work with the Physical Therapist and get even more ideas on how to help her specifically.

I hope this helps and good luck.