Today was our LAST DAY at Conference! So sad, I feel like I could do at least 3 more days or so, now I really have a perspective as to why 8 day conferences are so important for these kids, it just allows so much more time for amazing integration to take place! I am so so excited that we are signed up for an 8day conference in January! This will be amazing for Silas to get these intensive conferences this close together. The earlier (age wise) you start them the better, it just allows for such a deeper level of integration when their brains and bodies are that resilient.


Silas did so amazing today! You’d think by day five he would be so tired and warn out...and while he his tired you could tell he was still so present in his sessions. Wow, what a difference from January in FL...he was still so lethargic then, he still had all those nasty toxins from all of the seizure meds he had taken for his first year of life, he body was just still so resistant to the therapy because of the brain trauma. This conference he is so present during his therapy, he is tolerating his tummy, melting into the table and letting his brain rest. And he was so vocal all day! You can tell a huge difference in his ability to focus, to make eye contact when people are talking with him, and to really looks at their faces and study them.  There was so much reciprocal vocalization between us, especially between him and his Dada. 


His first session he had tactile with Amy. Matt was lucky enough to be treated at the same time as Silas and experience some tactile with from of the therapists in training. Silas did great with Amy, all he needed was the music from his ipad signing time show, he actually rarely needed the visual from his ipad all week, huge difference from January...he needed a visual flashy distraction for every single session, which of course is not the best for his brain, he is able to take in the therapy so much better without the visual stim. But of course he did need his light up sound toys a lot, be we tried to turn them off when he didn’t need them, and towards the end of the conference the music was almost enough for him to stay calm during his sessions. So that in itself is a huge difference. Dr. Masgutova even liked one of the songs playing so much that she asked for us to email where to find it to her. She says there are some singers that have a certain calming tone to them, it really does calm him right down. Nice to know that she approved his music. 

Silas had his oral/facial and visual/auditory integration after Tanyas session, and it was so fun! I was blown away with his vocalization and his acceptance for her working in his mouth. She was able to get some amazing work done. He even started to move his tongue laterally, which is SO cool! The ability to move your tongue laterally (back and fourth, to the sides of your mouth) allows for so much growth, not only for eating to clean out your cheeks and push around food, but for  language, verbally being able to move your tongue to make new sounds, and also for gross motor skills like rolling over! So the fact that when she had her finger in his mouth and he was moving his tongue to the side to touch her finger was HUGE FOR HIM! See...things that we take for granted, things that seem so simple, are things that Silas cannot do and NEEDS to be able to do, we are getting closer everyday! She taught me so many cool techniques to use that will help with his inner oral integration, and i’m so excited to start it with him!!! He was so so so vocal during his session, I took some great videos! I unfortunately cannot post them for liability reasons, if someone were to try to mock a technique and didn’t know correctly how to do it that wouldn’t be good! But wow was he chatty!!! Never have I ever seen him so happy while someone is inside his mouth! Normally he would scream! That in itself is huge!!! 


Our last session of the day was neurostructural with Svetlana’s Nephew Elvin. We feel so lucky to have gotten on his team for conference, he is definitely a genius and a healer like Svetlana! At only 22 years old he is doing incredible work for these kids! He was so professional and so effective with his work. Our last session with him was awesome. He showed us incredible easy techniques to get Silas’ feet to relax, his feet are so cramped up with his spasticity, so much so that his second tow is often hidden and pushed down under his other toes. It is so hard to get it to come up at the same level but Elvin did this for his toes within 30seconds!!!! He showed us how to do this for him at home, he said the more we work with it the better it will get. I mean...it was magical! His once cramped up feet were flat! Then the work he was able to do with Silas on his stomach was amazing. Silas was happy, and vocal, ON HIS STOMACH!! Amazing! 

Overall, absolutely amazing day!!! Such an amazing conference overall! I am so so proud of him for all of the progress he made, and for the endurance he had throughout the conference. He stayed so strong the whole time. I cannot WAIT until we go to San DIego in January to the 8day conference! We secured our spot, so now we just have to come up with the funds! Thank you to all who donated to get us here, I ask that you please share this life changing journey will all those around you and fight for us to get to another conference. It is all about quality of life. This therapy is a lifestyle for us now, and a necessity. It is what works to help heal him from his traumatic brain injury. We would have never come this far if we hadn't found MNRI. If you know companies, individuals, anyone that would like to make tax deductible donations please message me, we have a non-profit account with Annie's Angels Memorial Fund! We appreciate all those who make it possible to give Silas this therapy! SO THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts!! Stay tuned for progress reports of Si back at home with his home program!!! 

Wow! I cannot believe it. Were over the hump! More than half way through. Only one day left to go! Seems like it flew by! I am sad it's almost over!!! Camp is so wonderful! We woke up this morning and had a delicious breakfast. Silas seemed a little cranky and a little off but that is to be expected on Day 4...his body it trying to process all the new information and organize the chaos! I diffused Joy and Lemon in our room before we left for tactile and I think it did help some for Silas because he was happy as can be in tactile. We had a gentleman shadowing us today. Really cool story actually...he was here on work (he is a pilot) and today happened to be his only day off. He met one of the therapists while in the pool last night and they started chatting and making small talk. They put two and two together that she was here working as an MNRI core specialists for camp and he just so happened to have a daughter who just turned one with HIE (the same type of brain injury Silas has). So he was able to shadow us today and see what MNRi is all about and what it could do for his daughter! Is that not meant to be! I feel so blessed to have been a part of that and I hope that the family will become involved with this therapy, it sounds like it'd be the perfect fit for her at such a young age where foundational work such as this is key for their brains to heal. If only we could have found MNRI when Silas was that age! Anyway, I just feel so blessed to have had the opportunity for him to be able to shadow our family throughout a day at camp, and the cool part, he was even able to notice the changes Silas had made in just three sessions! The therapists on Silas' team kept giving us praise saying what a wonderful thing it was to let him follow along, it didn't even cross my mind as to ever even say no to letting him follow us, we are here to help not only Silas, but educate ourselves to spread the healing along to others. That's what it's all about. 

Silas did great in tactile today, we will definitely miss his tactile therapist, we love her! He stayed on his tummy for quite some time with only s little bit of fussing. He talked back and fourth with Matt for a lot of the session. Those two have a bond like no other. I am so glad that Matt is so present in Silas' life and involved in it all! Even though it is harder for Matt to endure these long days of therapy since his norm is to be at work providing for our family, he is still putting amazing effort in to care for Silas and entertain him through our sessions. he appreciates the small (BIG to us) victories that Silas has made because he knows his son so well! 

Silas did awesome in archetype today. Jean was able to get some great work done with him. His was so much less spastic and so much easier to work with today, day and night from when we arrived. Jean was able to get in tucked so well into the fetal position when he then pushes out of it like an infant would when coming out of the womb. That is one of those foundational pieces to his MNRI program. Silas' birth trauma left him in such a state of fear, so its important for him to go back and relive the experience but in a healthy way and the correct way.  Silas also spent about 20 or more minutes on his stomach during his session with no complaining! That is hugeeeeee for him to tolerate that! We were blown away. Jean wore her Silas' Saga shirt today too which was a cool little surprise! 

Silas and Dada skipped lunch today to get an extra long nap in since we knew he'd probably need it, being Day 4 of intensive therapy and all. I was able to chat with my Mama friends during lunch, it's so great being able to connect with other families. Silas had re-patterning with Tanya after his nap break and started his session off with a nice little present (if you know what I mean! Stunk us out!!!) So glad he got that out of his system though because he was able to have a really amazing and successful session afterword! We did some great work on his hands supporting and STNR which are both huge for crawling, balance, protection, rolling over, etc. During his STNR technique he felt so so loose. Normally I have to hold his little hands down on the table with all my might while Tanya pulls up on him...to keep his hands down! This time I barely had to put any pressure, we felt sooo much different then when we did it the first day of conference. Svetlana came over and of course as usual wowed us with her magical hands! She did a lot of work on Silas' upper body. He is so tight in his armpit area - so tight you have to force him to get his arms to go up above his head, which makes dressing him very tough. Svetlana worked her magic and all of the sudden Silas raised his left arm at his side up over his head ALL ON HIS OWN! What!!! If that wasn't amazing enough she worked on his right side and got it to do the same! Then what did he do!? He raise both arms at once up over his head ad if he were saying "CHAMPION!" So incredible! Never has he ever done that on his own! But wait, there's more magic! Silas was assessed by Svetlana Day 1 of conference. His tested "minus minus" (meaning no reaction, no integration) on his leg cross flexion. Leg cross flexion is tested by stimulating a point in one leg and having the opposite leg flex into a right angle and pull up. So Day 1 Silas had nothing for this reflex (minus, minus). She tested it today and BOTH legs reacted!!!!!! he now has leg cross flexion in both legs!!!! This is huge for crawling, walking, and soooooo important! She told me she needs to change his home program! Because his priority already changed and we haven't even left conference yet!!! Wow! Absolutely mind blowing! That is how fast this method can work! And thats why these intensive conferences are SO important for kiddos with such severe trauma and injury. How she does these things, I have no idea!! Praise also to our amazing cores to work so well with him this conference to get him to these points! I said after to the father shadowing us..."if that doesn't convince you on the method I don't know what will!" I am so glad he was able to witness that amazing moment! 

Silas had oral/facial with Lucy and did so incredible. He is just so different this conference than the one in January, tolerating and accepting the therapy so much easier! She again was able to get into his mouth for about 20 minutes! She was able to get to her second knuckle when testing his gag reflex before he reacted! Day one she could get maybe half a knuckle...that means his gag reflex it maturing!!! Huge for eating, handling saliva, and so much more. When she took her finger out of his made he shocked us all when he made his first raspberry noise with his lips!!!! We were all so shocked! I have been trying to get him to do that for two years!!!! Maybe it happened by chance or maybe not, but it was so cool to hear him make that noise independently with his own lips!!! He was just so calm during this session, and talkative, and did soooo well! 

Silas had neurostructural after oral/facial and was so talkative and present during his session. This modality is so tough for him too because his brain is trying so hard to fight everything they are trying to integrate. Even they noticed how different he felt, especially his his arms! We told them it was because Svetlana worked her magic!! We had a woman in training working to co-treat him and Silas was still so patient with it all, even the slower pace...which he probably really liked, longer breaks in between techniques! Again he spent a great amount of time on his tummy and did not even scream! By the end of the session it looked like he was melted into the table he was just so relaxed! 

Our last session of the day was Basil Ganglia, which is a modality that takes pieces from each program and applies the technique at a much deeper level to reach the basil ganglia part of the brain. SIlas did so so well during this session. He didn't even seem too overtired, that longer nap must have helped him! He did a lot of cool things during this session too including locomotion! This is when he is lying on his side and he picks his head up along with his arm he's laying on and his leg that straight. Hard to explain, but I got down and did it for myself....its tough even for me! I can;y believe he did that! I remember him doing it a little in Orlando, but not like this! He totally loved it too because after he kept doing it. Locomotion is important for so much too, so what a huge accomplishment! What a great ending to our fabulous day of therapy! Just one more day to go!!!! Then back home and onward to San Diego in January for 8days if we can raise the funds!!! We will make it happen even if I have to sell all my belongings!!! Because seriously, this therapy it worth it! 

And what an amazing day it was! Today started out really great...we got a nice little break and were able to sleep in until about 8am - Normally at home I sleep in until around 11AM since we have nursing and i'm not "on duty" for AM wake up (Matt and I switch off getting up with Si...teamwork is keyyyy!) So for me it was bliss to be able to sleep in at least until 8! We got up and had a nice breakfast, made sure to start Silas' tube feed up early with just water so we could pack in some extra fluids. We started our day with tactile integration with Amy. During our session I did some hands on work, thats part of the whole educational piece of these conferences, to be hands on with the therapist on your child so that you feel confident carrying through at home. We did the sciatic nerve exercise with Silas which is one of his number 2 priorities on his home program. It was a little confusing at first, and still is, but with practice it will come. I also got to have it done on me! It helps to have having them done on you so you know that amount of pressure to give, how it feels to have done, you can also feel the motion and how fluid everything is done on you. I always like to have things done on me, its a nice little treat from treating Si all the time! Mamas and Dadas need this too!! Like I said MNRI is awesome, everyone needs it! Speaking of...I plan someday to get some PTSD done on me to help with healing from Silas' birth, it was definitely traumatic not only for him but for me as well...thats a whole other story though! Anyway...tactile went amazing and we got a lot of really great work in. Silas was very content the entire session, chatting and playing with his toys.

Next we had Jean for Archetype. Svetlana came to see us during the beginning of his session! At conference you will most likely see Svetlana about two times. First for their assessment, and a second time for a small treatment. Or should I say HUGE treatment...because we is a magical person! The things she is able to accomplish in just 20minutes is absolutely mind blowing. So yes, we had an amazing session as always with her! She worked with Silas, he did not need his ipad, just his start toy, turned off so no sound or lights were distracting him. She did so many amazing things but the one most amazing and huge thing she did for him was on his head. See Silas has an asymmetrical face, last conference they did a lot of work in oral/facial to help align his ears because was one higher and pushed forward a little more. When you change the position of something in the face that is not symmetrical, the positive changes go far beyond what their appearance will look like after, but it makes a huge difference is so many other areas. Silas' head has always been misshapen and also still has soft spots in the front since birth, not major soft spots, but enough to know his head is misshapen. Svetlana worked on his head and said to us "come see" and she has pushed his bone structure of his skull forward to where it needed to be! Filling in those soft spots! His head is now much more symmetrical! It blew. my. minddddd! How did she do that!? She told us his head will continue to change from this shift and we will see many great results. I cannot wait to compare before and after pics, already since being here he looks so grown up to me! Svetlana finished up her session in about 20 minutes and we finished archetype strong with great work done my Silas, Jean, and Jeanie! 

Had a nice lunch break as usual...Silas and Dada went up about half way through for their cat nap, feel so so bad waking those two up when you can tell they both want more sleep...like father like son! I like lunch time because its a nice time to connect with the other families here at the conference...and honestly I could chat forever on the topic of Silas! 
I woke the boys up and we went down to have our second half of the day...second half meaning FOUR MORE HOURS OF THERAPY...which is why we are so tired after, especially Si! We had re-patterning with Tanya and he did some great stuff. His hands supporting reflex is showing less delay than yesterday which is awesome! Intensive work = quick results! You wouldn't necessarily know just from looking at him, but in three days he has already made huge progress! 

Silas had a breathing session in place of oral/facial with our good friend Marie France! I love her work! I told Silas before we went in that he couldn't use any light up toys or music in her session because she needs to keep concentrated to do her work. He must have listened and taken my advice because this was our first full session with NO LIGHT UP TOYS! NO IPAD! And he talked and cooed, and chuckled and did soooo amazing! Breathing is an intense program too! So Matt and I were both soooo proud of him! Here are some pictures below of our session! Great connection between Silas and Dada as usual! Marie france was so happy with Silas' progress, his ribs were still in alignment and symmetry for the most part, and flat like the need to be instead of crunched up into a ball of tinfoil (which is what they were like in January). She was able to get a lot done on his back that she hasn't been able to reach with him on such a deep level before, just shows that the work is sticking with him, so incredible! And gosh these core specialists are SO talented! So needless to say...breathing went AWESOME! 

We went to neuro-structural integration next. Silas was in great spirits from just having a very successful breathing session! His therapists in this room are very concentrated and serious...one of them is Svetlana's Nephew and the other is a woman in training. Svetlana's Nephew does incredible work! He is so focused and accurate! I feel lucky to have him treating Silas at this conference. That family is made of healers. This session is tough for him, because it focuses on a lot of things that his brain is fighting. For instance getting his hands up over his head...this is very hard for him...so you can tell its tough for him. He does so great though. But it's definitely one where he needs some distraction to get through it...okay he needs a lot of distraction! He did use his ipad in this session because it seemed very tough for him day three. His body is changing so much, and really trying hard to work through the chaos. They used the "Silas Foot Tendon Guard" and she literally pressed the spot and without having to even touch his foot it came up into a right angle without any delay! Incredible! If you know Silas well, he points his feet like there is no tomorrow! His spasticity just takes over his little body because the brain isn't signaling for it to relax. I would literally have to use muscle to force the foot into that angle...which is not right, and very un-natural! So the fact that Svetlana was able to find this point on Silas is absolutely incredible, how does she know!? And even cooler...Svetlana told two other kids team of therapists that they need the "Silas Point" - he is a legend! Haha, what a rockstar! 

Silas' last session of the day was prop/cog and will actually be the last prop/cog session at this conference, because it'll swap out for a very cool modality called Basil Ganglia...which i'll explain more about in our Day 4 post. He was most definitely tired by this point in the day, especially after such intensive work, his small session with Svetlana, his breathing and everything else...he still did awesome regardless, but you could just tell he was tired. He did some rolling, crawling, and hands supporting during his prop/cog session. He is so close to both crawling and rolling, but there are some very important things that need work before those will happen. He did roll about ten different times from back to belly before coming here, but this is helping to integrate the correct sequencing needed to do those things. I cannot wait until the day he crawls, rolls, sits, etc...it will be so rewarding and incredible. It's amazing what we take for granted and then to see someone work so hard just to lift their arm above their head...these kids are fighters and true heros. 

Silas had a little bit of a rough night getting to sleep, I think a mix of being over tired, third day of camp, i think this may have happened in January at our Orlando Camp also...it is just so much information to process. Jean our home therapist came up and was able to muscle check him, he definitely needs even for water in his system. I love having our home therapist here with us, just feels safe. Now is is off to dream land ready to conquer Day 4 tomorrow! Thank you all for reading...please share our blog, especially if you know someone this could help! They are doing incredible work for PTSD right now with the troops and have also worked with the Newtown folks. I would highly encourage even just reading Dr. Masgutova's story about how she brought MNRI to the USA and even cooler how she same up with the method, it is incredible.

We started the day out with an amazing experience. We were asked to bring Silas down for the morning meeting to demonstrate a couple of things for the entire team of core specialists. Dr. Masgutova demonstrated hands grasp reflex with Silas, some breathing stuff and also his new technique! Svetlana named it the "Silas Foot Tendon Guard!" Were going down in history!! Haha...but seriously how amazing is that! That Silas was able to help Svetlana create a new technique! That is what I absolutely love about MNRI...the program is always developing new techniques and new pieces to help each and every child. Thats why this therapy is also so successful, because every one of these kids needs everything from the MNRI program. Just because one child has cerebral palsy and one child had autism doesn't mean they don't need some of the same techniques, they need all of the same techniques, they might need them more or less than some, but everyone gets every single part of the MNRI program here regardless of their diagnosis. 

Silas did absolutely amazing today. He had so much for tolerance for the sessions and showed less delay in a lot of the techniques they were doing. He seemed to have an overall better acceptance for the therapy today even more so than yesterday. You could tell his body was adjusting and realizing that it needed this work. He did great in tactile, stayed very relaxed and didn't need his ipad. Talked a little and had a great session. His therapists got to try his "Silas Foot Tendon Guard" on him and he responded right away. It is so cool for the therapists to be able to try these new things as well and to start applying them to other kiddos! Silas did awesome again in Archetype with Jean, his home therapist. I spent a lot of the session learning the material so that I make sure I am confident to do it at home with him. Thats the other thing about these conferences that is so great. it is an educational conference, and they teach the parents how to do all the work so that they can create a home program with the kids and carry on at home. That also plays into the money factor as to why it is so expensive. Well because its amazing for one, and two they teach you how to do it! It's just incredible. We received Silas' home program yesterday that was written after he was evaluated. They give you number one and two priorities for home. Things that you need to be doing most frequent and how many days a week to do each one. So right now I am focusing on feeling confident in being able to do Silas' number one's on him at home. I have a great team at home so they can help me as well with number ones and also help with his number twos. 

Silas was able to take a little cat nap with Dada during lunch to rest up for his remaining four sessions to finish the day. We went down to Re-patterning where he had a great session with Tanya.  She pointed out to us that SIlas was not in ATNR as much today. I watched him throughout  the day and she was right. He really wasn't in ATNR as much! This is goooooood! We were able to get some great hands supporting done in his session with Tanya. This is to help with balance, if he is sitting up and needs to catch himself if he starts to fall instead of retracting his arms which is what he does currently, it will help with crawling, supporting himself on all fours, and so much more. This is a huge priority for Silas, one of his number one priorities. 

Silas did so awesome in oral/facial visual/auditory integration...again! He let his therapist get inside his mouth for a good amount of time and she was able to do a lot in there! This will help with suck swallow, gag reflex, and so much more, speech and using his tongue properly. Silas also did great in his neuro-structural and prop/cog programs. He just seems so soooo much more excepting of his programs and the work they are preforming with him. By the end of the day yesterday he was totally beat, so so tired and having mini meltdowns...today so happy still by the end of the day! Let me tell you too, that this work is hard for him, not hard because its hurting him or too much for him, but hard because they are fighting against his brain to integrate his reflexes, and trying to organize all the chaos! It's so important to for him to have this intensive therapy due to his trauma at birth, ever since his birth his body has been in fight or flight and protection. That is why we have to go back to the foundations and work forward with him. I am so proud of Silas for doing all this wonderful work, what a strong boy!    

Overall, just a great day for SiGuy! We took a nice stroll outside to grab something to eat, and took a nice bath! We do little detox baths for Silas with Epsom Salt to help his body move along with the natural detox he is already getting from the therapy itself. Back in January at our 8day conference he had a really tough detox from the therapy. The work is so intensive it is important to really push fluids kind of like when you get deep tissue massages, very important to make sure they are getting enough water. The other reason that Silas had such a tough detox in January is because for one it was his first intensive conference and two because he was detoxing all of those NASTY seizure meds he had been given for his first two years of life. So it makes sense that this conference would be a little easier for him. And it definitely shows because during his assessment he showed so much less delay. Also...for instance to put it into an easier perspective, each home program is written on one piece of paper, there are two sides to the paper with all the different movements written down, with priority they are, and how many times a week to do them...well last conference he didn't even go onto the backside of the paper (which is more of the advanced movements for when they progress)...this conference we have most of the back checked off to do at home! What a long way he has come! I can't tell you how great it feels to be here, to get praise from Svetlana Masgutova for doing such a great job at home with him (and praise to all that work with him on his MNRi program, Jean Rice, Sarah, Fran his nurse, Steph and Melissa (Hippotherapy) and soon to be Holly! And also to those amazing therapists who have worked with him in between conferences, LOVE you all to death! You guys are family to us!) The overall feel at these conferences is so so so heartwarming. To chat with all the parents here, to give advice to those coming for the first time, to take advice from all the "regulars" and just being around such a healing environment! So here's to tomorrow, another day, Day Three! Cannot wait!!!

A small warning for those about to read...this blog is to help me reflect on our days at MNRI conference, it will be filled with explanations of some things, pictures of Silas at work, reflections and thoughts on his assessment with Dr. Masgutova and shared stories of exciting "inch stones" in Silas' development! This blog will serve as a place for me to look back and compare his progress, to remind me how far he has come. To let me reflect on such an emotional and amazing experience. Keep in mind I am processing all of this information still as there is SO much amazing information to learn, so as I reflect on our days here at conference I am too still trying to learn everything. So don't hold me to it! Haha! Some of this info I write may not be completely accurate but it is my reflection of how I have perceived the information. I write these blogs not only for me but for others looking for that "miracle" therapy for their kids as well. Be it cerebral palsy, autism, gene mutations or disorders, PTSD, undiagnosed, whatever it is, this method could be your miracle therapy. So please, if you take anything from following our journey, share our story with others, because you could be helping someone in a huge way! That is how we got here!

The first day at conference is always very exciting! So many emotions are going through our bodies. It is such an amazing and emotional experience being surrounded by families going through the same struggles as us, being around those who understand and walk in the same shoes for much of our daily life. It's so motivating to see others who are giving their all to get their children to conference, knowing that some of those families are also working day and night to get the fundraising to get their kids here just like we do. Because it is not a choice, we need to get ours kids this therapy. Once you experience what this amazing program has to offer you dedicate everything in you to get them back to conference so that they can receive this life changing therapy and quality of life. A year ago we attended our very first mini clinic. Svetlana assessed Silas and said "I want to see this boy at conference!" I looked her in the eyes and told her "We will be there!" "We will do everything we can to get him there!" To finally see progress in your children after two years of traditional therapy with little results is so refreshing. To know that there is a method out there that could greatly improve your child's quality of life when they were given a diagnosis so scary an discouraging. Like I said, this therapy is not a choice for us, it is a necessity.  

Silas' day started off with neuro-structural reflex integration. This is one of the modalities of the MNRI program that is very important and a high priority for Silas. I won't go too deeply into details of each program because it is very complex, but I will tell you how amazing Silas responds to this work and needs it for motor development and behavioral, emotional and intellectual development. Within this modality there is a lot of lengthening and stretching of the limbs. For kiddos with spastic quad cerebral palsy, they are very tight, and stuck in their bodies because the brain isn't sending the signals to let their limbs relax. Silas' left side shows more protection than his right side. The right side of his body responds faster to the work. Today in his session they were able to get Silas completely stretched out! His arms were above his head! This is huge for Silas. Trying to move Silas' limbs, or for example even trying to dress Silas is tough. His body is so stiff you have to put muscle into getting his body to relax enough to complete daily tasks. So the fact that they were able to get his arms above his head and stretch his body was huge for him. They even had him on his stomach (which he usually hates) with his arms down by his side and were able to apply technique. When he was on his stomach he would pick up his head and move it from left to right when he wanted to readjust, that was very cool to see! He had two therapists working on him at once and although it was very sensitive for him at times he did wonderful. I felt they were able to get a lot done with him during this session! 

Silas had Tactile as his second session of the day. Each session is 50 minutes long and there are six sessions each day. I know what you're thinking...that is a TON of therapy for such a small kid! Well yes it is, and I still feel like it is to an extent. But during our opening ceremony last night Svetlana explained this in such a great way. Yes these kids are being worked on for almost six hours a day. But these children are in fear and protection for 24 hours a day! With their diagnosis comes a lot of stims and habits and struggle. So receiving this six hours of therapy is amazing for their bodies, and this is six hours where their bodies are receiving positive and great work that their brain needs in order to live their daily lives without so much struggle. So yes it is a lot of work for them, but at the same time their bodies accept the therapy because it is what they need. So back to Tactile Integration. This is one of the most relaxing modalities and VERY important for Silas. It awakens the body, and lets him know where his body starts and ends. That he has five fingers on each hand, five toes on each foot, two legs, two arms and so on and so on! A lot of times kiddos with cerebral palsy aren't aware of certain parts of their bodies. For example, you see a lot of kids with cerebral palsy with their hands all clenched up and thumbs tucked in tight...they might think that at the ends of their arms there are only fists. The program helps to "wake up" the body and organize it. Tactile is a very gentle and relaxing program. Silas did great today during his. I even got to experience some on me to understand what techniques work best and how they feel in comparison. It felt so good. It definitely makes me want to work with this method on Silas more than I have been at home knowing just how good it will feel for his tight body. I think I will start to incorporate the tactile program when we apply his essential oil spasticity rub. I think the two will complement each other well. The thing about MNRI is you can apply technique in any position and in any circumstance. I could even do his tactile program while he's taking his bath. I am looking forward to our session again tomorrow with his tactile therapist, I felt a great connection with her and she was so great at explaining everything to Matt and I. Although we have been to conference before there is just so much to learn, new techniques are always being developed and its just good to have a refresher. It definitely gives me the motivation I needed to work harder with his home program.

Silas' third session was with our home therapist Jean who works on him every other week back in Maine. So good to see a familiar face and for Silas to have familiar hands laid on him and working with him. This modality is called Archetype. Archetype helps with telling the body it has a back and a front, two sides, a top and a bottom. The program generally starts at the core of his body and works its way out like a star. This is a pretty complex program which I am still learning, but it's obvious that Silas needs this program to help him with so much. It integrates all reflexes to be able to help with things like gross motor skills, moving limbs individually, eventually walking and organizing the body to be able to achieve these skills. Silas did really well in this session. When he was in the fetal position he was able to push himself out of it which is something he missed out on during his traumatic birth. When kids endure trauma like Silas did they miss out on the initial foundations that their bodies would have experienced during their birth, so it's very important to go back and re-learn these skills. When you skip something as important as that your brain gets disorganized and cannot process things it should have, thats why it's important for instance for kids to go through all stages before learning to walk, not skipping something as important as rolling or crawling. Silas also got into full extension like he had in neurosturctual. This is so good for his body. At the last conference Silas grew half an inch just from these excersizes. It will in turn help him with breathing and range of motion because he won't be so cramped up.

We had a nice lunch break after three hours of therapy and Silas was starting to get tired. He also gets very over stimulated in crowded loud areas, so after we ate we went up to our room and him and Dada took a nice little nap before our next therapy. I definitely notice a huge change in Silas' tolerance for intensive therapy. He is a lot more accepting of the work and doesn't need his ipad as much as he did at the last conference. It is still something I wish we could eliminate permanently but it is a constant work in progress. He is non-verbal...so that definitely makes it harder to understand what he needs when he's screaming...it's so much easier to just hand him his ipad...although we know it's a bad habit. We had Reflex Re-patterning as our next modality. This program is very important as it helps to re-teach areas where his reflexes are confused or mixed up. It helps with supporting yourself with engaging the reflexes to protect yourself. For example if you were sitting cross legged and you started to loose balance, you would put your arm down and your hand on the ground to catch yourself. Silas does the opposite. He tucks his arms in and has no idea how to catch himself from falling. To be able to eventually sit one day he will need these reflexes to be integrated. So its all about going back to the very beginning and re-learning and re-teaching the brain what to do. It is important for so much, for rolling, crawling, sitting, walking, grabbing, head control, neck strength. Silas did great in this session as well, he has worked with this therapist many times before and they definitely have a connection. Plus she just gives off such a calming ora, which is great for Silas. We got Silas up on all fours and did a technique that helps to open his hands. When we did it in January at the FL conference both his hands were in fists. Since we left, his left hand has been so open ever since. So I am hoping to get the same results for his right hand and hopefully start to integrate the reflexes he needs to grab. That way he could self entertain and play with toys (he does now but still doesn't know how to grab onto a toy). 

For his fourth modality we have Oral/Facial and Visual/Auditory Integration. He did so amazing in this session! He was very vocal and very present. This program helps with so much as well, with suck and swallow, speech, face symmetry, TMJ, organizing his audio-visual perception, balance in both sides of the body, and so much more. Silas let his therapist do a lot of inner oral work where she worked inside his mouth. Silas usually fights anything in his mouth, he is defensive to it because he does not eat by mouth, and lost his suck/swallow at six months old. So this program is so important for him and that fact that he let her work like that inside his mouth is so amazing. At one point when she was working with him on the outside of his mouth, working on the deep suck reflex she was singing to him "if you're happy and you know it shout: agggh!" (that is one of his favorite sounds to make)...and right on key he said "agggh" right after we sang that line. We all laughed and clapped for him, that is so amazing and there was no delay in vocalizing back to her what she asked him to say. This program is also a very complex one (well they are all right now for me!) and I still have so much to learn. But we will take whats most important for him and work our way up! 

Next up was Silas' assessment with Svetlana!!! I cannot even explain how amazing his assessment went! She was thrilled with his progress from January until now! Silas showed progress in SO MANY AREAS! I can't explain every little thing because I am still trying to process it all myself! But in a nut shell he showed a lot less delay when she tested certain reflexes. In some areas there was no delay or very little delay. Others still needed work, but overall what an improvement! Silas showed high potential for cognitive ability in the areas of speech and learning. He showed less potential for gross motor, but thats not to say that things will never happen for him, they are just happening slower than his cognitive abilities. Matt and I have always said we will take talking over walking ANYDAY! To be able to communicate with Silas would be a dream come true, if he could talk we could better communicate about his gross motor abilities to get him further along in his program. Silas had a much more prominent and strong hand grasp. When she tested his hand grasp reflex it had come a long way since January where he pretty much had none. His head control coming up from a lying down position was still pretty weak but his head righting was so much better, meaning for example if you were to fall to the right your head would stay upright instead of flopping down to the right onto your shoulder. Svetlana told us she was going to experiment a little with his reflexes in his feet to see what he responds to best (his feet are usually pointed out straight and its a struggle to get them at a 90 degree angle)...she was trying things and all of the sudden found something that worked. She showed us and said this is new! Thank you Silas for helping to create a new technique within the MNRI program! He helped Svetlana create a new technique! WAIT, WHAT! So amazing!!! SO amazing she might even name it after him!! She will be demonstrating this new technique along with his hand grasp tomorrow morning to all the therapists before they start treating so they can apply this technique to their patients! Wow, so blown away! She has magical hands and is such a genius!!! Overall, amazing assessment, we will get our home program before leaving and it will be a lot more in depth work for us to do with him since he has progressed so much! One of the most amazing things she said to Matt and I during Silas' assessment was "thank you for being such dedicated parents." You don't know how amazing that feels for both of us to hear! All our hard work paying off!   

Our last session was Proprioceptive and Cognitive Integration. This program focuses on a lot of gross motor reflex integration...rolling, jumping, balance, and more. I love this modality of the MNRI program. It is so fun to get down with the kids off of the massage table and watch them learn the techniques to roll across the floor and crawl and balance on balls and more. This session for Silas went pretty well...of course it was his sixth session of the day so you can imagine how exhausted he was. But he still did great! We worked with another therapist we had last time who we love, she is so great with him! We love our team of therapists! I cannot wait to see what tomorrow brings!!!! We will soon start to see some amazing changes more than we have already! How encouraging this was for our first day at conference!!! Silas is sleeping soundly and resting up to "wow" all the therapists in the morning with his new technique he helped Svetlana create! We cannot wait to show off our new skills!!! I hope you all enjoyed reading, stay tuned for amazing things to come! We are so truly blessed to be here, and we couldn't have made it here with all of those out there who have contributed to Silas to help us pay for this life changing therapy!!! Thank you all, please continue to share our story with others! See ya tomorrow! Goodnight!