Meet Hayden

Occupational Therapy

-Monique Fisher, MOT, OTR/L

Hayden is a 9.5 year old that has been receiving OT services since he was 18 months old. He uses a communication device to talk and has a playful personality. His current goals include increasing independence in self-help skills such as such as brushing teeth and bringing purees to mouth for self-feeding. He also works on chores to support family life; currently we are working on sorting and folding / hanging laundry. We also work on play and leisure, incorporating reciprocal turn taking, asking for breaks, and expanding his break choices to include tactile calming (kinetic sand) and vestibular activities that are self-initiated to increase independence in state regulation. Hayden enjoys swings and the sit and spin, but he also does “rock n roll” with cues and support: Sitting in ring sit, tipping, and rolling over hip on one side, over to the back, rolling over other leg/hip and sitting up 180 degrees from where he started. Rock n roll requires no equipment and can be performed anywhere there is enough room!

Physical Therapy:

-Maisie Buckner, PT, DPT

Hayden has been working hard in PT with me since early 2019. When Hayden started his PT journey, he was unable to descend stairs, jump, or catch a ball. Long gone are those days! This boy is now working on all kinds of upper-level coordination challenges; like jumping jacks, tennis ball dribbles and bird dogs!

I always tell Hayden we have way too much fun for our sessions to qualify as “work.” He cracks me up with his mischievous looks, and he can be a bit dramatic when he’s not exactly loving an activity in our session. No matter how he is feeling though, he will push through and give so much effort in PT. Hayden is a poster child for hard work, grit, and determination. He also has an amazing support system in his mom and dad who exemplify what consistency and follow through can do in reaching goals and milestones. Hayden and his family continue to amaze me daily! I am so thankful that I get to work alongside Hayden, and that I can be a small part of his journey to being the best he can be!

Speech Therapy:

-Mikayla Welch, SLP-CCC

Hayden is the most hard-working and busiest kid I know. He spends most of his week at school and therapies. He is so motivated to complete whatever task you give him. He uses an AAC device to communicate with his peers and adults. Currently, we have been working to get him to the next level by teaching spelling with the ‘search’ button on his device for him to find any word he ever wants to find and increasing the variety of sentences he states by working on pronouns and prepositions. He has already made so much progress in the year and a half we have spent together. He is going to do amazing things in his future!