My Emma

As my regular readers will know, I want to share as much of the information I've learned as possible so you can benefit from my research. So in this post about feeding a baby with a brain injury, I want to start by highlighting why I think it is so important to address inflammation within … Continue reading Feeding brain injured infants. Getting off to a good start and a letter to my younger self.

Teaching Emma to feed has been one of the biggest challenges that we faced and before I detail my approach, I want to acknowledge that every parent with a child with CP faces his or her own eating challenges. Every child has a different level of disability or functionality, so each parent will need to … Continue reading Teaching Emma how to feed. Tips and techniques I used.

I divided the challenges of feeding and nutrition in CP into two branches; the mechanics involved in eating and the dysregulation of the body. In the beginning, I felt daunted by the whole idea of optimizing Emma's nutrition. The obstacles we faced were overwhelming. I felt like one of the hobbits facing a dark warrior … Continue reading The main nutritional issues in CP: Feeding and Nutrient uptake challenges

The drastic start to feeding a child with CP Feeding is a nightmare that never seems to end when your child has CP. There are so many obstacles. Where do I begin? A few hours after the birth of Emma, I woke up in ICU. I was shocked to find an oxygen tube connected to … Continue reading Nutrition and CP: My long term approach to feeding my child

My son was four years old when Emma was born. My son was four when he met his little sister. In the early years - and even now - it was hard to maintain a balanced life that gave him a sense of normality. My husband and I try our darndest to give him a … Continue reading How to live a balanced life when a child has CP

I shared my therapy map with you in an earlier post and I said that not only did the map give me more perspective about CP treatments, it also helped me managed the cost of treatments, which can become ruinous. By understanding the groups of therapies, I was able to choose the least amount of … Continue reading The Cost of CP care. Its cheaper if you are strategic.

In earlier posts I've said that the structure of the body is affected by Cerebral Palsy. I think it may be helpful if I explain what I mean by this. But to do so, I need to get technical and give a little context. Bear with me, I'm going to give you a lot of … Continue reading Connective Tissue: The Science post!

The first question I'm always asked about ABR is: "Where does ABR fit into the therapy constellation for Cerebral Palsy?" I have come up with a basic therapy map that helps create context for the uninitiated. I remember the hours I spent scouring the internet for "answers" just after Emma was diagnosed. It was awful! … Continue reading Which CP Therapy to choose? My simple guide to therapy options

I knew I wanted to write about the progress we've seen in Emma since we started with ABR, but looking through my photographs today, I'm once again amazed at what a huge difference there is. In the pictures on this page, you'll first see an unhappy 20-month-old baby. This was back in November 2011. Then, … Continue reading The Proof: Emma’s Progress with Connective tissue targeting therapy

Two weeks after making contact with the ABR team, I found myself in the car driving the five hours to Vienna for our first assessment. Emma was now almost two years old. We had made no progress despite intensive neurorehabiltative work. We were doing physiotherapy about twice a week, and on the other three days … Continue reading Connective tissue based therapy: What I wished I had known from the start