Junegee gets his ABR hours in in two very different ways: manual and machine. All things considered, he gets A LOT of machine hours, becuase we basically strap the machine on him whenever he has prolonged periods of not moving around much, which are during meals and while he sleeps. Historically, we’ve been getting well over 10 hrs of machine-based ABR in per day. However, contrast that with the manual (traditional and ball rolling), and the difference is remarkable. We’re getting in less than an hour of manual in a day. There’s a great many reasons for this, but I think the biggest reason is that of time. With all the other things that need to get done in the course of the day: playtime, reading to Junegee, meals, going outside, shopping, naps, etc., it’s hard to make the time while still maintaining the overall quality of life that we’d like for him to have outside of the constraints of his condition. Also, when we do make time, the only way for us to get Junegee to remain still enough is to play a DVD, which has its own downsides. But alas.
The point that I’m trying to make here, and one I’m sure that all ABR families face is: It’s hard. It’s hard enough to be in this situation by itself, and it’s hard to make time to do what is best for your child, especially considering how many things there are that are good for your child, the therapy being one of them. This is why I’m titling this post - “The Curse of the Machine” - since the machine-based therapy is a completely passive endeavor, both for us and for Junegee, it’s easy to get sucked into the trap of “well, we’re doing a lot of ABR, so it’s OK,” when in reality, the manual is going to more or at least equally as helpful as the machine. But, we’re trying to make time, and we’re getting better week by week, but it will always be a struggle. Such is life, I suppose.
