TOM’S TRIP TO ST. PETERSBURG!

Hello, dear readers!
This story will be about little Tom’s trip to Saint Petersburg neurology clinic “Doctrina”. We found out about the clinic more than a year ago in the society “Autism Support Centre in Rēzekne”, but we thought Tom was still very young and the trip was very expensive, so at the time we didn’t even use the opportunity to receive a doctor’s consultation.
However, at the end of 2017, when the opportunity arose again, we decided to try, and we were invited to the clinic where we went this year in the first half of June. The first days involved consultations with a speech and language pathologist, neurologist, and otolaryngologist, during which several tests were performed, including electroencephalography, hearing test, otoacoustic emissions test, and tympanometry.
During the first consultation it was found that Tom has narrow ear canals; we were told to purchase medications and perform ear canal cleaning for a couple of days. At the same time, a rehabilitation course was designed and several procedures were indicated. A micropolarization course to create the optimum environment in the language development areas; medical exercise (in our case at a special unit intended for children with cerebral palsy) where we worked on increasing the muscle tone and performed exercises to create the correct movement algorithm. Medical massage focused on the improvement of blood circulation in the cervical veins. Therapeutic speech massage was something new and fantastic for us; it helped achieve an improvement in the muscle tone of the speech apparatus. Besides all this, we also had bioacoustic correction (BAC), music therapy, and fine motor skill exercises. Several specialists expressed their disapproval, asking where we were earlier, but nothing is lost yet, periodic courses in the neurology clinic (during the time period from 2 to 12 months) and regular exercises in Latvia can promote and improve Tom’s development. We were advised to continue equine therapy and physiotherapy, which had been started in Latvia, but regularly instead of separate courses. Regular exercises with a speech therapist, including therapeutic speech massage, were also recommended. Unfortunately, until now, we didn’t have the opportunity to meet such a specialist in Latvia who would give such massage. It is also necessary to promote the development of fine motor skill and rhythm every day. Because nothing is over yet, the treatment is going on, the hard and intensive work is continued at home. Tom still does not stand on his own, however he can now stand for several minutes holding on to the bed or some other support, freely crawls onto and from the bed. We heard the word “mommy” in Russia during the therapeutic speech massage, with the help of the speech therapist, which is why there is hope that someday Tom will also be able to say it with meaning.
This is why we would like to say big THANK YOU for the moral and financial support in creating this opportunity for us to go to the clinic. Without you it would still be a dream for us, but now we can enjoy the fruits and draw strength and inspiration for the next trip!
Ainārs and Linda Cauņa