United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

All sounds Great to me, she has always been a "wild one" lol, runs jumps swings on everything, I thought Angelina would be fine to until i let others put in their doubts. i will be writeing a letter and seeing if i can go to help.
THANKS a bunch everyone :0)

At the beginning of the school year we discuss what trips Maia will be involved in and we work on how Maia will navigate them - if she can or can't.

For bowling, there are lightweight 6 pound balls and there are ball "slides" available for anyone with a disability who cannot carry a ball. I suggest that you go bowling with her yourself and figure it all out so that she can go and be successful.

For ice skating, I think that if she hasn't gone ice skating yet, this would be an "iffy" trip. Take her ice skating yourself and see how she manages. Maia can't ice skate -- her balance is just not ok for it. I'm sure that if she had a really great ice skating teacher work with her and they'd take it step by step, in time she would be able to do to it - but if her school went ice skating we'd be saying no to it.

This year Maia went on this "group building" experience trip --- and the school PT went with her to make sure she had support and safety. It worked out great. The PT stayed in the background and only helped when necessary and most of it was about Maia's placement in whatever game or activity they did. It was great. Maia will be going on a 3 day trip at the end of the year and we're still trying to think about this. I think that Lou will be going and chaperoning a boys group just so that Maia has a parent on the grounds to help, just in case. Maia has not gone anywhere alone yet and most probably everything will be ok - but being that it's in the woods and far away, I would rather be in the neighborhood. I can't go camping because I have disabling knee issues.

Not every child (with bpi or not) can just go and be successful at each of these trips, events, activities. For example, if Maia went skating and didn't have help or a way to do it, (she wouldn't even be able to put her skates on herself one handed) all her buddies would go off skating and she'd be left behind sitting there not knowing what to do or how to do it. That would be horrible. I wouldn't want this feeling on any child. So either I would get her ready on my own or she would have an alternate thing to do.

Evaluate each trip separately. It's not just black and white. You know your child best. And you also know how your child would feel if she wasn't able to be successful and didn't have adequate support to get through it.

Not meant to offend anyone - this is just our reality with Maia.

-francine

Please let your child go on the trips and go along if at all possible this way the teachers will feel more at ease, Frankie now in 11th grade has done it all from skating, and bowling to now driving and being a fireman he is also sponsored by a paintball co and plays prof paintball he has no use of his left arm and very little feeling so to protect it he wears a splint to give the wrist suport it is very floppy I always worried if he fell it would break and it did but not playing he broke his forearm in his sleep by rolling on it. So please let them try things and do everything the other kids are doing they are capable and able just in a different ways there is nothing you can do that frankie can't but I bet you can't do the things he can with one hand I know I can't. I know its hard I was there yrs ago and this is what I have learned from Frankie
Mare