Jane,My daughter is 9 yrs old.She was diagnosed at 5 yrs old.she ahd several strokes one severe one that left her with no use of her left side.Her recovery has been steady but slow.She still ahs no functional use of her elft hand and arm.she's walking with the help of an AFO and SMO.She's gained back a lot of speech so far but has a long way to go.She gets 5 speech sessions a weeka t school.She's in a reg Education classroom with an aid and special ed support.She also gets 3 OT and 3 PT every week.Why doesn't your daughter get speech??? Does she get OT and PT??? I'de love to help you if I can just ask away with any specific questions you have.You can also e-mail me direct if you'de like.We never give up hope that Kathleen will keep making gains forward.I look forward to hearing about your daughter
Mary Grace
mgrace5@nycap.rr.com

Jane have you checked into your laws on special educationa nd related services?the law here says that staffing or funds can NEVER be an excuse for not providing services.that's not to say that we have to fight for what our child needs at times because they do try to get away with doing things as cheaply as they can.That would be the first place to start checking your laws that apply to school.that's where kathleen gets her services.Have you tried getting services through your insurance?or through something like our Medicaid which provides people wiht dissabilities free insurance which can be used for therapy.Kathleen does get a lot of help and I don't know where she'd be without it.We also started electrical stimulation on her affected arm and hand,our insurance has paid for a machine to use at home so she doesn't have to go to a facility for the therapy.Please let me know if there's anythin I can help with.Even if it's advice on what our therapists do that you can do at home.How is your daughter doing? How is school going for her?
Mary Grace

 Nancy, Kathleen wears an SMO on her right foot now.It's shorter than the AFO(only up to her ankle), and has no hinge jsut a "notch" cut out so her ankle can bend,it's used to hold her right foot in place.The foot part looks like the AFO.Her right foot was "colapsing" just like her left had.Turning inward such that her ankle bone was almost touching the floor.It seems like it's just never ending wiht the orthotics,we're constantly making adjustments and just when we get it right she outgrows it.I haven't seen you post much lately how is Mandy doing doing?
Mary Grace