Nothing prepares you for an emergency during the final stages of your labour, I can remember Florence being whisked away when she was born and then a short time later being taken to see her in NICU. The paediatrician explained that Flo has suffered from a loss of oxygen during the final stages of labour, she was at risk of brain injury, a condition known as HIE. She was placed on a cooling mat for 3 days to limit the damage to her brain.
We spent the next 11 days in NICU, spanning Christmas and New Year, frightened and overwhelmed and with no family support close by. We were grateful for the fantastic care we all received, unsure of what our future held, we loved our little girl and were grateful to hear that we had a choice of early intervention support following her discharge from hospital.
After reviewing our options, we chose Conductive. What really stood out for us what the focus on a holistic approach, emphasis on life skills and the structure of early intervention support teacher alongside the Conductor. One of the most important factors was that Conductive offered a home based programme. We had read about how early input greatly enhances outcomes and so we were really happy when Flo had an initial visit at 5 weeks with the team and then started her programme just two weeks later.
The house visits were excellent, as an anxious new mum, having Conductive visit in my own home made the service much easier. I was more relaxed and was able to focus on the plan and how best I could support Florence. The team were aware of my needs and fears and I felt incredibly supported. Those visits not only provided me with a clear outline of activities that I could easily incorporate into Flo’s ‘routine’ but also gave me a much needed boost.
Immediately, I could see the benefits and I would often say to Peter that Flo would sleep for a longer time after her sessions and then would be ‘demonstrating’ her new skills later that day. This was incredibly positive and motivating for both myself and Peter and we enjoyed sharing her progress with our families back in the UK.
Flo had regular reviews and I really appreciated the reflective and collaborative approach that Conductive took with families. We had lots of opportunities to raise any concerns and also discuss goals for Florence and our family, as well as celebrate as she achieved her milestones. We were given a personalised plan and lots of resources and strategies to help us to work with Florence. I was able to borrow many resources from the centre to work with Florence at home.
Flo also attended sessions at the centre. It was wonderful to see her enjoying the environment and interacting with other children. I enjoyed sitting back and watching Flo spend time with the team. I also looked forward to chatting with the team and enjoyed the Friday sessions as much as Florence! Throughout her time with Conductive, our family were fortunate enough to have expertise from the team in all areas including feeding, sleeping and language. The focus was always practical and easy to implement. Importantly, it felt like play and fun activities whilst building life skills.
Today Flo is a highly social and interactive happy little girl who is thriving and has been discharged from hospital. I have complete confidence in saying that the many inputs she has received through the Conductive programme have ensured she is doing so well and we are extremely grateful and lucky to have had the service from the team at Conductive. We would recommend the Conductive team to anyone.