Lyla's Splints

Lyla's condition, whatever that may be, causes her muscles to be very tight, or spastic. This is very apparent in her little hands. Most of the time, especially when she is stimulated or trying to do something, her hands tighten up into little fists. It is extremely difficult to open up her fingers when she is so tight. It's not good to let her hands continue to be fisted like that all the time, so we are trying to stretch out her fingers and keep them open as much as we can. When she is sleeping she is generally pretty relaxed, so we don't have to worry about that, but during the day, she needs to be splinted. Her occupational therapist fit her for splints a little bigger than her hands, and got out some "pretty" pink velcro to secure them. It screams that there is something amiss, but she's a girl, so we like to be girlie in pink! Here is what they look like: She is nice and chubby in her hands, so sometimes it looks like they are too tight, but they are not. We have to keep them tight enough to keep her fingers extended, but obviously don't want to cut off any circulation! Even with the splints on, you can tell that she is working against them. In the next picture you can see that her fingernail tips in her left hand are white, trying to clench her fist. The hope is that having the splints on will help keep her hands open and stretched out, otherwise they will grow curled inward. So, we like them, even though they are nice and bright!