I Can Touch Myself

For all of that clicked on this because you thought the title was naughty, I assure you this is a completely G-Rated Post.  Noah has been doing a lot of alternative therapies since he was thirteen months old.  We still have mixed some of his therapies with traditional therapies at times.  But Noah has always found more success and more contentment with what insurance companies deem "alternative therapies."  Also really known as therapies Medicaid refuses to pay for.   This of course throughout the years has contributed to the financial hardships of not just our family but all families like ours.   However, it's kind of like those credit card commercials you see on TV; Therapy $5,000, Gas to get to therapy $500, watching your child do something for the first time?  Priceless.

No, for real the feeling is quite breathtaking when it comes to witnessing your child do something that he or she could never do the day before especially years after they were physically supposed to be able to meet such a milestone.  We've been doing a therapy for a couple years called MNRI with Noah (The Masgutova Method of Neuro-Sensory-Motor Reflex Integration), which has hugely benefited Noah's life.   We added it to the line up of Acupuncture, Hippotherapy, Warm Water, ABM/Feldenkrais, Cranial Sacral, Conductive Education and the other long list of out of pocket therapies throughout the years for Noah.  And nope Medicaid doesn't touch any of it. 

It's been my dream to get Noah to the MNRI center in Florida for years, but financially I don't think we'll ever make it there.  Most camps run about 8K-9K a session and Noah would need go multiple times.  But we're so pleased with the progress he's made with his local MNRI practitioner.  Noah adores her - they are close friends which is great when Noah forms a bond with therapists that forms into a close friendship.  Noah's been having lots of reflex break through lately.  Alternative therapies are like that - it's like one day the wires in Noah's brain connect and re-wire themselves and suddenly something he couldn't do yesterday he is doing today.  The brain is an amazing thing.  And Noah's continues to learn and adapt ways around his global brain damage. 

It was like almost overnight and Noah went from not being able to get his hands to his face to being able to swipe and touch his face all the time.  This of course is posing new problems like him scratching the bridge of his nose and chin, and now that he is able to reach and touch his face he's more susceptible to germs if someone touches his hands and he then touches his face.  In fact, for the earlier this year, Noah has been battled a cold that started with him that he so kindly shared with the rest of the family.  My best guess is that we were doing interviews for a new speech therapist and someone physically touched him and transferred a germ to him (even though I have a hand washing policy upon entry) that is voided if a person decides to chew a finger nail or rub their nose after they wash their hands and then come in contact with Noah.  It really then defeats the purpose of my hand washing policy.

While I'm ecstatic that Noah can now touch his face, I'm of course a tad nervous about this new challenge.  People generally like to touch Noah's hands oddly enough when they do touch him.  I suppose it's natural instinct to touch a special needs child on the hands rather than patting them on the head like a pet or something.  Although really I wish that people recognized you should NEVER touch a special needs child without explicit permission and/or invitation from the parents.  In Noah's case germ risks combined with a severe sensory processing disorder does not make him a favorable candidate for unwanted touching. 

So in true mama bear style now that Noah can touch himself, I searched out little warning tags to plaster all over Noah's wheelchairs or adaptive equipment to serve as a do not touch the merchandise reminder.  I know people are likely to think I'm crazy.  And I'm more than okay with that.  It's my job to protect Noah in every way I can - including from any unwanted germ transfers.  It's not easy on him to be sick - this last time it required three doctor's visits and multiple pulse ox checks, and tons of medications.

I found these great signs on Etsy and Kind Sign Inc. that will put people on notice (or so I hope) to remind people touching Noah isn't a good idea.  Has it helped?  No not so much, since putting them on Noah's wheelchairs his legs have been rubbed, his head continues to be petted like he's a small puppy, and his hands picked up and caressed by strangers in parking lots.  And it happens so fast I can turn my back for a second to get something from under his wheelchair...  and the touching is already happening.  But maybe it's going to decrease the amount touchy business - I don't know that there is much more I can do.

Love,



Noah's Miracle by Stacy Warden is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.