I’ve experienced loads of different types of therapies throughout my life and as I’ve grown up, the types of therapies I’ve found useful have changed. As well as that, the way I view therapy has changed. I also want to acknowledge the fact that I’m extremely privileged to have had so many different types of therapy as I’m aware that getting therapy can be really difficult.
My first real memories of therapy are in nursery. I had my community physio who I’ve known all my life and I have always got on with and I had another nursery physio who did more practical work with me. I was not a fan of this nursery physio as they made me do lots of stretches and exercises which were uncomfortable and boring to my 4 year old self. This physio also gave me an exercise plan to take home which I referred to as ‘physio’s evil plan’, despite my clear resentment of physiotherapy when I was younger, I’m glad I had it.
Along with physiotherapy, in nursery I also did ‘speech therapy’ which clearly wasn’t great as all I can remember from it, is being told not to eat jelly because I would choke on it (which as much as I believe you should trust professionals, I’ve never choked on jelly).
When I started primary school (age 5) I couldn’t walk. My parents had seen Bobath advertised on the internet but it wasn’t till the physio at nursery referred me that I started going to Bobath, or as it’s now called Cerebral Palsy Scotland. At CP Scotland I did intensive blocks of physiotherapy and occupational therapy. This was really beneficial to me and gave me lots more confidence in trying to be more independent. It was after my first few blocks of therapy that I took my first steps. This was a massive milestone for me as I wasn’t really expected to be able to walk. So after seeing this massive improvement that my parents decided that intensive therapy was the best way to go for me.
Occupational therapy at CP Scotland was my favourite thing when I was younger. I’ve seen the same OT there for my whole life and it’s always a really positive experience when I see her. I’ve always loved occupational therapy because I feel that with each block I learn new skills and I enjoy all of the trying and testing of different products and techniques. Another thing I love about occupational therapy at CP Scotland is the kitchen. Cooking is pretty dangerous when you have coordination like mine but I really enjoy learning techniques that I can use safely in my own house. Occupational therapy strangely feels like part of growing up to me, like every OT block I feel like I go in with different types of goals. I also have so many memories from occupational therapy, like the time when I was 6 and I was learning to use cutlery. My
ccupational therapist gave me a Mars bar to cut up and as she turned to get the cutlery, I shoved the whole Mars bar in my mouth and started choking because it was obviously too big (my OT still brings this up, I don’t think she’ll ever get over it).
I also do physiotherapy at CP Scotland. Like occupational therapy, it’s in blocks and there’s usually some kind of goal I’m trying to achieve by the end of the block. I have always found physio harder and more tiring than occupational therapy but I’ve found that as I’ve gotten older I’ve become more aware of the benefits of it and have become more motivated to actually do more of the exercises at home. Usually I have blocks of physiotherapy at CP Scotland after I have Botox injections and my goals surround things like improving balance of getting better core strength. However the intensive blocks of physiotherapy usually take a lot of energy so I tend not to have them too often.
Along with going to CP Scotland, I also do hydrotherapy. I love being in water so hydrotherapy is one of my favourite ways to do therapy. I’m lucky enough to go to a Secondary school that has a swimming pool so I’m able to have blocks of hydrotherapy with my community physio at school. Usually the sessions of hydrotherapy include things like walking in the water and using my legs to fight against the pressure of the water. Some of the exercises get a little tedious after a while but it’s definitely more enjoyable than regular physiotherapy. Another factor I like about hydrotherapy is that I don’t always have to be doing exercises, for example, I could do ten minutes of exercises, swim normally for another ten and then return to doing exercises. Over the summer I’ve actually done some hydrotherapy in a proper hydrotherapy pool with my mum, and I can say that doing it in a pool that is made for hydrotherapy is way better than just doing it in a normal pool. The heat of a hydro pool is also super beneficial for relaxing my muscles.
I’ve also been really fortunate to have been able to go to hippotherapy or equine-assisted therapy. This is like physiotherapy but on a horse. I loved hippotherapy, I used to go once a week and I think the fact I got to do therapy with an animal really motivated me to keep doing it. I would usually ride the horse sideways, so both my legs were on one side of the horse and I would have four or five people around me to make sure I didn’t fall off. Despite this there was an occasion that I did fall off and luckily enough, it was the day before my birthday. My horse heard a loud noise from outside the barn and got a little fright, I fell off and landed on my bum which really hurt my back for a few days, it was painful 13th birthday. I did get back on another horse straight after my fall but I still had to work on rebuilding my confidence after the fall. Contrary to this experience, I would definitely recommend hippotherapy, it’s a great way of doing physiotherapy for people who aren’t usually motivated to do it and falling off is genuinely a very rare experience.
As well as doing all of these types of therapies, I also think that some types of therapies aren’t necessarily labelled as therapy. Like I see my gymnastics as a type of physiotherapy and it’s something I really enjoy and I’m motivated to do. I’ve also recently started going to Speech Bubble drama which is a drama group for kids and young people with speech difficulties. It’s been really beneficial for my speech and drooling issues. I also see things like drawing as a type of occupational therapy as I’m using my hands to practice dexterity. I also want to say that as well as doing all these things for my physical health, I see a great importance in taking care of my mental health, so I do things like yoga, meditation and practicing breathing techniques. It’s really important to balance out physical types of therapies with things that look after mental health otherwise it can become exhausting doing all this physical work on yourself. Therapy is very important, making sure that your body and your mind are both equally as healthy. It’s especially important if you are disabled, because doing things to the absolute best of your ability is one of the most powerful things you can do.
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