Many of you know (or have deduced from my Twitter account) that I'm a HUGE fan of my school, The Florida State University. Awhile back, while browsing Twitter, I stumbled across the account of a man named Ryan Sprague. Mr. Sprague is a former football player for the Seminoles of Florida State. He walked-on to the team in 1996 (meaning he did not have a scholarship to play), and earned a scholarship spot the following year. He earned a lot of playing time in 1997, 98, 99, and 2000. In fact, he was the starting tight end on the 1999 National Championship squad.
Needless to say, this was a Twitter account that I had to follow. Through Mr. Sprague's Twitter, I found the two blogs he writes. One of these immediately grabbed my attention. It's called "Nobody's Normal" and it centers around Mr. Sprague's son Caedmon. Caedmon is six years old and has been diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy.
This blog is fascinating for many reasons. For one, Mr. Sprague details his son's therapy with videos and descriptions of different procedures. As a music therapy intern, it's always educational and enlightening for me to watch a seasoned occupational or physical therapist work.
But perhaps most importantly is that you get to see this therapy process from a viewpoint many of us don't get to see: through the eyes of the parent. For someone like me who works in the schools, I rarely get to meet the parents of a student. Many come to school on a bus and leave on a bus. It can be easy sometimes to lose sight of the fact that these students don't live at school, they go home to families who know and love them more than anyone. That being said, I was thrilled that Mr. Sprague took the time to share his perspective with me and help me in this learning process.
So enough with my blabbering! Without further ado, I'm honored to introduce Mr. Ryan Sprague:
Tell us a little bit about your son:
Caedmon is 6 years old, he loves telling stories and making sure that everyone around him knows what's happening, he loves sports (believe it or not he loves the same teams his dad does), he loves to wrestle, he will eat any and every food, Caedmon has 3 little brothers.
What kind of therapies does he receive, and what kind of goals are these therapies addressing?
He receives Physical, Occupational, Speech, and Hippo-therapy. They are all working towards the macro-goal of independence and mobility. Each might have micro-goals but the big picture is independence. He has also done OT and PT while in his Therasuit.
Going through these therapies must be very tiring for Caedmon. What are his biggest motivators?
He does well. He has the benefit of youth to help with fatigue, but he loves to "show off" and that motivates him so when family shows up to watch him he really excels! He is an inherently hard worker and has a strong desire to do things on his own, he has had that for as long as I can remember.
Do you have any experiences with music therapy?
A little. He did a music together class with our family. He has also listened to the neurologically enhanced CD's during some of his therapy sessions.
Coming from the parent’s perspective, what advice would you give to a new therapist (physical, speech, music, any kind), going to their first day on the job?
Love your client. Try to understand them. Nothing is more frustrating than to watch a therapist assume they know what's going on but not take the time to understand the child. For example, Caedmon uses a form of sign language and, as I mentioned, loves telling stories. We have had a PT who would chastise him for trying to communicate to her because she refused to acknowledge that he was signing or trying to say something. She would assume he was complaining or being defiant... she's lucky she didn't get slapped by my wife :). Therapy is a means to an end. The end is dictated by the child's current condition and future dreams, not a textbook. There is an intimacy that is developed between the therapist and patient and I believe that the therapist needs to acknolwedge and respect that. In terms of the relationship, think like a dance partner. In terms of the skills, think like Mr Miagi (from the Karate Kid). He would push Daniel hard but not just for pushing sake. The goal was to develop Daniel as a whole person and the skill or discipline was the means to that end.
What have you learned by going through the therapy process with your son?
Gotta few hours? I have learned about CP, about the brain, about mutliple kinds of therapies, I have learned about insurance laws, medicaid,horses, blogging, etc...
What’s been one of the best experiences you’ve had going through the therapy process?
Each milestone that he reaches is wonderful, especially if he has been working hard for it. I love knowing that his therapist might be more excited about it than I am (see above). I have loved watching his story impact others in a positive way.
Finally, as a huge Florida State football fan, I couldn’t let you go without a couple football questions. What is your favorite football memory, and how cool is it to hold that crystal football?
The 1996 FSU win over UF when the fans stormed the field and tore down the goal posts was pretty awesome to be on the field for. My first, and only, TD against Miami in 1999 was cool too. Holding the crystal was fun, but not as awesome as I anticipated. I bet it was different for the seniors, but we were so quickly redirected towards next year that it took a little away from it. The reward was sharing it with teammates, friends, and family.
Again, my thanks to Mr. Sprague for his time and insight. I'll post my reactions to his answers over the weekend. I encourage you to visit both of his blogs (he is a very compelling writer). You can find them at:
www.nobodysnormal.wordpress.com
and
www.gowatchtheants.wordpress.com
Be sure to also look for Ryan Sprague's new book, "Grateful," which is on sale now. If it's not in a bookstore near you, you can purchase it through his website (www.ryansprague.com).
Comment away with your thoughts!
Hi Andrew -
ReplyDeleteThis is a great post! I work primarily in pediatric therapy centers or in-home, and one of the things I LOVE about it is the relationship I can build with the child's parents. It really provides a greater context for any responses the child displays in therapy.
In my short working experience (7 months), one of the biggest things I've learned is that parents are one of our greatest allies - they know more about their child and what makes him/her tick than I could ever learn from one hour/week. Always great to hear things from a parent's perspective. Thanks for doing the interview!