Of all the therapies that I had as a kid, Physio was my least favourite. I used to go to the Bobath Centre which specialises in helping children with cerebral palsy. Because of this, my parents thought it would be the best place to go to help my body be as flexible as it could be but I hated it from a very early age because I never got on with the therapists. I despised the way that they made me feel that I was weak and that my body was wrong and needed to be fixed. For somewhere that specialised in 'treating' (I hate that word) those with cerebral palsy they never seemed to be aware of fundamental aspects of my lovely condition such as the fact that your physical state is so reflective of your emotions. My legs are jumping a lot as I write this..exhibit A.
Therapists at Bobath seemed to love expressions like "this is a naughty leg today" and "that leg isn't very straight is it?" and it was always around this point that I'd turn from being quite an easy going child into one that was completely uncooperative and stubborn. Looking back, in some ways I feel sorry for them because I'm sure I was hard work but I always wanted to fight against this perception. I've always felt quite protective of the way that my legs are because they are my radar..they encapsulate every emotion that I've ever felt and I love their uniqueness. So I wasn't going to let anyone talk about them like they were an inconvenience. Also as someone that now works with children, I know that how you phrase things plays a vital part in getting a child to cooperate especially when you're asking them to do something that they fundamentally don't want to do. For me, physios were always lacking understanding of children and what motivates children because they didn't see a child they saw an abnormality. They didn't understand that disabled children are children first and that their disability is secondary to that fact.
When I was in year 4, we had to write 3 wishes and one of mine was that physios spent a day in a wheelchair. I always wanted to give them a wider understanding of what it was like to be disabled and what growing up in a wheelchair was really like. I'm sure I conveyed this view during many a tantrum in the lovely Bobath centre...but maybe slightly more angrily.
One of my biggest issues with physio was that when I was young they put a lot of emphasis on trying to get me to take steps and walk up and down parallel bars without ever explaining to me that this wouldn't necessarily lead to me walking. In a young mind walking exercises = walking = no more wheelchair = no more disability. So when the walking exercises dwindled and it became apparent that I couldn't walk unaided I experienced quite a big comedown. I was and still am so angry that they gave me false hope, that they never thought about my feelings or emotional development.
But alas, I think I've ranted enough. Physios and I never saw eye to eye...and probably never will.
