Foam Yoga Blocks...for Our Little Ones with Down syndrome

In the effort of Down syndrome awareness I wanted to share something that our fabulous occupational therapist, Karen, introduced us to that has helped Reid tremendously with his sitting posture both during therapy but also at preschool. As we all know low muscle tone is something to contend with for our little ones with Down syndrome and it is not rare for me to find Reid sitting on the floor with his back hunched over, looking up at Sesame Street with his chin down but eyes turned up and tongue out or head way back resting on his shoulders with tongue out. Karen started using a foam yoga block with Reid during therapy about a year ago and explained that this helps tilt his pelvis forward and realigns his shoulders, neck, and head. This in turn changes his visual perception of things, seeing them at a different level and helping him to be more alert and engaged. It totally works... and I have noticed less open mouth and drooling from him. Below are pictures during therapy and the last one is Reid and his backpack....about a week into preschool I noticed that familiar floppy posture of his while sitting during circle time. I asked his teachers if it would be okay to try the block with him at school, which we did...and they noticed a HUGE difference in him. Plus, they also commented that it helped him to stay in one place on the floor LOL :). So Reid takes his block with him to school and knows to get it out first thing and takes it to the floor to sit with the other kids. We bought our yoga block at Target but you can also find it at any sporting good store.