No Hands

Stepping up and down steps, with body/hips square and without hand holds is something Oia practices every PT session. In fact, this has been such a focus for so long now that I really can't remember when we started doing it. In PT, Oia must step up or down a wooden square box, roughly 7 inches high, which amounts to the average step in a home, small curb, etc. The small surface of a box makes for a less forgiving step since the footing must be precise, narrowing the base of support. In other words, no wide stepping, no stepping up sideways, etc.

In recent sessions, Oia has been stepping up and down the therapy boxes very well and multiple boxes/step up and downs in a row... a little obstacle course of sorts. It's exciting to see.

We recently spent 5 days in Ohio, staying at my parents house. There is a step in their home which equates to the same height of step used in therapy. It's even more exciting to see the hard work from session carry over into "real life". The video below captures successful, hands-free step ups but she wasn't so tolerate of me trying to get a step down video (but she could do it!!)



This was the first stay at my parents house where I didn't have to follow her every move in fear of her falling. She roamed freely around the house, coming up and down as she pleased. It's obvious progress and it makes me so thankful for our girl who works hard and for the PT that pushes her to do so.