Friday morning was the last day at the What To Do About Your Brain Injured Child Course. It seemed that everyone who wasn’t having their children assessed on Monday was ready to go home to their kids. We had learned so much, I just needed to get home and start working with Z. Honestly I thought I was ready after Thursday and could not think of what more they could really tell me. Of course now looking back, this was a silly thought, I’m sure they could have keep us for a month and still not completely shared all their wealth of information. However I think I was hitting information overload.
At the time I could see why they have 6 more Lecture Series for parents to attend instead of drowning parents in the first What To Do About Your Brain Injured Child Course(WTD). However a year later I attended Lecture Series II and I noticed a lot of information overlap between WTD and Lecture Series II. I believe the mentality is repetition is good to help us remember. I get why they do this. But at the same time, if I am flying all the way to Philadelphia and being away from my family, I really want complete new information.
Friday they broke it up into good bite size pieces so as not to overwhelm parents.
- Five Treatment Principals- They explained each treatment principle and told us that each treatment procedure can be placed under one of these five principles
- What are the odds?
- When do we give up?
- Psychological Problems in the World of Brain Injured Children
- The Family as the Answer
- How to Begin- This section was very helpful for me. It made me realize that I could do the program with my son and still run my home daycare. What I need to do is include my daycare kiddos in the process.
I left Friday feeling like I could really do this. I realized I needed to include our whole family in the program. Friday’s lecture made me see, where there is a will, there’s a way.
At the end of the day we were all presented our certificates which stated we completed the What To Do About Your Brain Injured Child Course. I felt so accomplished when I received this certificate. I know it’s just a piece of paper. However I had wanted to come down and take a course at he IAHP since my oldest was a toddler and I read “How to Teach Your Baby to Read.(Read about that HERE.) It felt amazing to have finally made it down there to do it. Truly a dream come true.
The one thing that was truly amazing were the Parent Summaries. The one or two people that left before sitting though this, I have to say you missed out. If your going to attend this course, do not plan on leaving till Saturday. You do not want to be rushed on Friday.
All of the staff we had worked with throughout the week sat at the front of the auditorium. Each person had a few minutes to share their story, what they had learned, and what they are taking home with them from the What To Do About Your Brain Injured Child Course. I know this might sound scary, but let me tell you it wasn’t. You feel like you know these people well after a very short period. No one is trying to keep up with the Joneses. So for me when it was my turn to share, there was no fear. I was excited to share what I learned and what my hopes were with everyone.
Wow! So many emotions went through me that evening while I sat there and listened to everyone’s story. I don’t think there was a dry eye in the room. Almost everyone came there with crushed souls. Some families had been given such depressing prognosis. Before they arrived that week they had no one telling them they could help their child. Just people preparing them for the worst. Telling them to give up.
But something had changed for them. Something changed for me too. Once you have seen this information, you cannot unsee it. It seems like the other parents had the same experience.
Afterwards we all gathered for a group picture. I had seen these posted on the IAHP facebook group many times. I was so glad to be able to be in one of them. This group of people became like family during the 5 days we spent together. We all had so much in common. Every single one of these parents were fighters. We spent 12 hours a day, learning, sharing meals together and sharing our experiences. Our kids ranged from mildly to severely brain injured. But no one was willing to accept that where there kids are now are where they will be forever.
I also got pictures with Betty from the book store(God knows I spent a lot of time there) and Harriet who is the registrar for the course(I had spent plenty of time on the phone with her over the years). I was also able to get a picture with Janet Doman, Glenn Doman’s daughter.
I don’t know what happened to most of them months and years after the What To Do About Your Brain Injured Child Course. I hope they have experienced the same success and witnessed the same degree of improvement in their child’s quality of life that I have seen in Little Z man.
Afterwards I packed up my belongings and said my goodbyes. A lot of people were staying behind to chat, but I had a lot to absorb. As I drove my car through those campus gates I felt like a new person. I felt like Batman with a tool belt full of new things to use to help my son.
This was my last evening in Philadelphia and I knew I had to pack, but I wasn’t ready just yet to head back to the house I was staying. I landed up going and doing some retail therapy. I checked out a store a YouTuber I regularly watch often vlogs about, Five Below.
When I arrived a friend of mine from back home called. Well I felt like I had so much to share with her, but I couldn’t organize my thoughts. I landed up letting her go because I had so much on my mind from the course I was unable to multitask. People were giving my dirty looks in the store because I was that annoying person that was on the phone not paying attention. When I got back to the car, I got a text from this friend. I guess I was so distracted I came off as upset with her. Holy, that was not my intentions at all and I felt bad. Luckily a few text back I was able to clear the air. I promised to call her when I got my thoughts together.
I decided I needed to get one last Chickfila fix. But I really didn’t want to sit in my car and eat alone again like I did every night. I also don’t like to sit in a restaurant alone. After a quick google search I found Five Below was right by a Willow Grove Park mall with a Chick-fil-a. Don’t ask me why eating alone in a restaurant makes me uncomfortable, but a food court is just fine.
After I ate, I decided to explore the mall a bit. I found this really cool toys store called “Go Games & Toys”. I was able to find a few board games at a great price to bring him for the big kids. As I walked out of the store I started to wonder if I was going to be able to get everything I had bought into my carry on and backpack. I was pretty sure I would be able to, but I still a bit of doubt.
It was getting late, so I started to head back to the house and get my bags packed. When I got there the babysitter/nanny was watching the kiddos and the parents had gone out. I went upstairs and started packing. Wow, I was completely delusional. There was no way I was going to get all the books, toys and souvenirs I had bought into those bag. Not even close. I don’t know what I was thinking.
If you haven’t seen my IAHP Better Baby Bookstore Haul video and want to know which books I had picked up that the IAHP Baby Store, check out this video.
I looked up the closest Walmart, and they were closing in a little more than an hour and I was still 20 mins away. When I went downstairs to leave the nanny seemed very concerned I was going out so late at night. Maybe I was naive. Back home I go to Walmart at all hours of the night and don’t think twice. I assured her I would be fine. We chatted at the door for a bit. I just loved this woman, we talked about books and what life was like there. I wish I could have spent more time chatting with her but I was short on time.
On the way there I got turned around and landed up on a toll road. I had managed to avoid them all trip. Do you think I had any cash on me? Nope. I landed up having to use the rental car Ez Pass. So I had to pay for the toll and the rent the EZ Pass for each day I had the car. So needless to say, that was an expensive toll.
I made it to Walmart with 15 mins to spare. I hurried and looked around and could not find the luggage section. Luckily I found an associate and she was able to lead me to the spot. I grabbed a bag and hurried back to the house.
When I made it home I decided to wait till morning to clean out the car. I went up to my room and filled the duffle bag I bought full. I could have fit more in my carry on and backpack, but I figured why haul around two airports more than I have to since I was already checking a bag.
I showered, tidied up the room and got into bed. I phoned home and chatted with Travis for a bit before I went to sleep. I had so much on my mind I had a bit of trouble falling asleep, but soon enough I was out.
Last post about my trip to Philadelphia for the What To Do About Your Brain Injured Child Course coming soon(I promise to have it out sooner then this post took).
Did you miss how the beginning of my trip to Philadelphia to take the What To Do About Your Brain Injured Child Course went? You can catch up and read about it in the following posts:
Day 1& 2 of My Trip To The IAHP
What To Do About Your Brain Injured Child Course – Monday
What To Do About Your Brain Injured Child Course – Tuesday
What To Do About Your Brain Injured Child Course – Wednesday