By Wendy Harron - March 13, 2012

Hey Kids! Today was my Lucky Day

Some of my patients are very sports oriented. When we start IM, I tell them all about how professional sports teams such as the Miami Dolphins or the golf pro ViJay Singh use IM as part of their training to improve and enhance their performance. Every once in a while, I get a patient who just really “gets on a roll” and makes improvements very quickly earning lots of “bursts” (so many consecutive super right on the beat hits).

Bill was one of those kids. He just loved beating his scores during every visit. He got the idea in his head, that he wanted to reach 1000 bursts before he completed his sessions. Every visit, Bill would request to perform various exercise that he knew he was good at, just to increase his number of bursts so he could reach his goal. Now a kiddo (who happened to have Asperger’s syndrome and ADHD) who has set his mind to something is very difficult to stop! 

We have a small blackboard in our IM room where the kids “compete” by writing their total bursts, and also leave each other messages of encouragement to one another. On Bill’s 11th visit, he reached his goal! 1000 Bursts (set at 2 green = 1 burst) was written at the top of our black board with his name right next to it. Then, in small letters he wrote – “Hey Kids – today was my Lucky Day”! 

Motivation is the key to a successful IM experience. If you are motivated to improve and complete a task, you can succeed! If your child is not excited to go to therapy, try to find out why. Are they bored with the activities? Maybe they need a special motivator to help them get the job done. Even as adults, we love to get a “bonus” or a pat on the back sometime. Help your child have their “Lucky Day” in therapy today!