31 for 21 - Day 21 - Kicking It Olympic Style With Kinesio Tape

It's been a busy, busy week of speech therapy, Help Me Grow assessments, physical therapy and a new developmental pediatrician appointment.  Ahhhh.... the relief of the weekend sinks in with a nice glass of Pinot Noir.  

Grabbing Mama's camera strap-- totally fuzzy, but love how his eyes look. 

Overall, other than noticing a new eye development (Joey has started crossing his eyes when objects come in close-- we just moved up our February eye appointment to early November), it's been a super busy, but super positive week.


This was the kind of week that you have to drink in and savor (like this glass of Pinot) in the moment.  He started off with Speech Therapy and is eating more and more foods.  We are really working on sounds and signs.  I keep signing with my hands and just keeps smiling at me.  I know one of these days he is going to sign either "more" or "milk" right back to me and I'm going to fall off my chair.  In the meantime, we keep trying new foods and textures.  This week's hit was pumpkin bread with cream cheese frosting.  Who wouldn't love that?  Joey was a huge fan.

Practicing one of our favorite new moves- waving.

Our first appointment with a phenomenal developmental pediatrician who specializes in kids who have Down syndrome was on Tuesday.  This was the appointment we had to fill out a 232 questionnaire along with a total of almost 20 pages of questions and forms.  It was worth it.  She. Was. Amazing.  She loves our pediatrician and takes her own children to him, which was great news.  She was also very, very positive about Joey's verbal and social skills so far.  She says that so far he does not exhibit any of the early signs of Autism (about 10% of children who have Down syndrome also are diagnosed with Autism), which is something we will continue to monitor.  Overall, it was such an incredible appointment.  She was so well versed in the world that we live in and that made the appointment really meaningful and helpful.  She said that given that Joey had his heart surgery in June, she was really impressed with his current level of health and progress.  Yes!!!!


Thursday's Help Me Grow assessment also went really well.  We were told that Joey is basically at the correct cognitive level for his age.  I know that this may not always be the case, that in fact it will probably not be the case, but it was such a good progress report and we are celebrating his greatness.  That is one of the things that Joey has taught us-- to celebrate and live in the moment.


Finally-- he had a super hard core work out at physical therapy that ended in him looking like he should be on the 2012 Olympic Beach Volleyball team.  Kinesio tape!

Beach volleyball champion Kerri Walsh wearing a new type of athletic tape. (Natacha Pisarenko/The Associated Press)

According to our physical therapist, the Kinesio tape will help provide more sensory input and cues to Joey as he is sitting and using his core muscles.  His hypotonia (low muscle tone) is what makes it hard for him to master gross motor skills.  The low muscle tone requires him to work against gravity to do many of the things that come naturally to other children his age.  Needless to say, Thomas Henry was quite interested in checking out his brother's super cool new back tape.  

Some gratuitous Thomas Henry photos of him stealing my chapstick. . .

Cheers and happy Down Syndrome Awareness Month!

If you are looking for more information on Kinesio taping on children, I found a wonderful website that describes the benefits of Kinesiotaping for pediatric physical therapy: 

Monday, December 13, 2010 by Jessica Sapel

Kinesio Tape has long been used for athletes, and gained popularity when it was seen used in the Summer Olympics.  Kinesio Taping is used in many therapeutic ways by physical therapists and the benefits can be just as effective for children.  Here at Child and Family Development in Charlotte, NC, pediatric physical and occupational therapists use Kinesio Tape to help children with a variety of concerns and diagnoses, such as low tone and weakness, cerebral palsy, Down Syndrome, and developmental delays.

Kinesio Taping is great for kids because:

• It encourages the body’s muscles to complete multiple, correct repetitions of a desired movement over time. 
• Anywhere your child’s therapist would put their hands to encourage or assist a certain movement, the therapist can apply the tape to guide the body in the correct movement. 
• Your child will complete hundreds of correct repetitions, rather than practicing incorrect movements. 
• Does not make the body do a certain movement, it makes the body want to do each movement correctly.

What is Kinesio Tape?

• A latex free material, a cross between a band aid and an ace wrap. It is the approximate thickness of the body’s skin, so the child will very quickly forget the tape is on.  
• It can be worn through a bath or swimming, as long as the adult takes care when washing and drying not to let the tape roll off the skin. 

Are there any contraindications of Kinesio Tape?

• No! As long as it is applied correctly, the only contraindications to Kinesio Tape are not to put it over an open wound or severe eczema or other skin condition. 
• Your therapist will do a small test patch before applying the tape over a larger area. 
• Kinesio Tape can be used along with all other therapeutic interventions.

What else can Kinesio Tape do for my child?

• lengthen and relax muscles
• provide pain relief
• increase sensory input and proprioception
• correct misaligned joints