Practice...

We've been a little too relaxed with O&M lately. And the Pope has become a bit lazy because of it. We've heard friends complain that their child doesn't get enough O&M instruction. Perhaps this is true for the Pope. He gets O&M with a certified instructor, for about an hour, every other week. I don't think any child could get proficient at any task if they only worked at it for an hour every other week. So, in between his instruction, we practice cane skills, orientation skills, walking in a straight line, going up and down steps, etc. It's not the Pope's favorite activity, but we try to make it fun. We use obstacles, go new places like to the park or the mall, all in an effort to get the Pope to walk with confidence. He still has trepidation when the surfaces change (ie. going from carpet to wood floors. He still wants to sit down between thresholds, so we're trying to teach him to use the information from his cane. He is otherwise doing wonderfully well and especially enjoys evening O&M walks outside! Hooray for the warmer weather!