Sledding With CP... A Lesson In Not Limiting Independence

Andrew wants to be independent in just about everything he does. Even though he doesn't walk without assistance, he can crawl up stairs, climb on chairs and counters to access things, independently take a shower, play on playgrounds including inflatable bounce houses and slides, get his own drink, get dressed by himself... the list goes on and on. There are limits to what he can do independently because of his cerebral palsy, but he is constantly pushing the boundaries so he can do more. He wants complete independence with a type of fierceness that I have not witnessed before.

We recently had a snow day. Here in the south, they are few and far between and it is an exciting time for my kids (and the grown-ups too). We have snow pants, boots, gloves and sleds even though we only use them for a day or two every year. You would think that Andrew's  mobility issues would limit him tremendously in the snow. Although he cannot use his walker or wheelchair, he CAN crawl and has always done so during snow play so that he can have that independence.

Crawling through the snow toward the top of a small hill.
His brother decided to crawl with him.

Because of his direct contact with the cold, I make sure he has higher quality snow pants, boots that cinch tightly around his feet, snow gloves that fit well and cinch around his wrists, and layer him up like crazy. He is usually the first to want to go outside to play, but is also the first to want to go inside because he gets cold quickly. However, with his determination and a little creative thinking on my part, he is still able to be like any other kid and do the things in the snow that HE wants to do without Mommy or Daddy carrying him around.

Andrew, age 4, building a snowman with his brother.

Before this year, sledding was something he could not do on his own. It was virtually impossible for him to drag a sled up the hill while covered in snow and ice, get on it, and get it going. However, our other two kids couldn't quite do it independently either, so it didn't really matter for him that we put him on the sled and dragged him up the hill and then got him going. He still got to sled and participate with everyone else. That's what mattered to him.

Daddy and Mommy have spent countless hours dragging kids up hills on sleds.

This year, however, both of my other children figured out how to get the sleds going by themselves and were perfectly capable of dragging them up hills. So, Andrew decided that he was going to be independent with it as well. As much as the mom in me was thinking of all of the difficulties and "impossibilities" that he was likely to face, I remained supportive and allowed him to try. He was able to put the rope in his hand and drag the sled up the smaller hills while crawling. This impressed me, but not nearly as much as when he got his slippery, snow and ice covered self onto the plastic sled, and then used his arms to get himself going. He soon learned that he needed to position himself to the back of the sled instead of the front, but he basically spent all of the snow day sledding down the hills on his own. It was a little bittersweet for Mommy that day since I no longer had to help my kids in the snow and could just sit, watch and take pictures. But, then, I grabbed a sled and joined in on the fun.

Andrew's first attempt at setting himself up on the sled and getting it going on his own.

Andrew has taught me to not limit his independence by pre-conceived notion of his abilities. He can and will achieve anything, even if it means that he has to do it a little differently than most kid.