September: First Steps Program In September, Beckett started a program called First Steps through the Step by Step Intervention Society. It offers music therapy, speech-language pathology, and physiotherapy… but perhaps what excites me most is that it gives Beckett regular time to be with other kids his age. Right now he goes three mornings a week—Monday, Wednesday, Friday—from 8:30-10:30 . Yes, it’s a bit inconvenient for Keith and me. Full-time work schedules + morning drop-offs can be messy. But every time I see what Beckett gets out of it, I know it’s more than worth it. What about PUF funding? Alberta’s Program Unit Funding (PUF) doesn’t apply to Beckett yet—he was under 2 years 8 months in September, so we don’t qualify. I’d assumed we’d have to wait a whole year before he could attend a program with peer-interaction. Which is why I’m so grateful for First Steps: it’s one of the few (maybe the only?) places that provides specialized care for little ones who don’t yet meet ...
This blog is intended to provide information and updates on Beckett’s (and our) journey with hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), Cerebral Palsy (CP), and Currarino’s Syndrome and how we are doing as a family of three. More than that it is also a way for us, Beckett’s parents, to share and process what we’ve been through as a family.