James Thacker Overcomes More Than Cerebral Palsy Limitations-2023: Wrote by James Thacker assisted with his mother Diane Thacker

Motivational Mondays: Invent Your Solution

Today is # NationalChopstickDay2023.

In celebration of #National Chopstick Day, A-NOD For Situational Awareness LLC is telling James Thacker’s story on how he discovered chopsticks and how he has overcome “the idea that those who deal with disabilities find it impossible to eat with them”.

But before we speak about James and his discoveries, I will direct your awareness to today’s National Chopstick Day informational summary. It speaks about how Japanese food is typically eaten with chopsticks (called o-Hashi in Japanese), but according to the National Chopsticks Day Summary, the author stated that chopsticks can be exceedingly difficult, if not impossible, to use by people with disabilities affecting their hands. An author for the BBC website in August 2014 agreed that foodies and foodies with disabilities still face many barriers when trying to eat at restaurants, claiming that many people without disabilities struggle to eat with chopsticks!

Yet my son. James Thacker, age 11, disagrees with the concept. That. It is impossible. To be able to use. Chopsticks. In fact, from the age of ten, he found. A pair of chopsticks is in our Kitchen drawer. And asked what they were and began to look at videos to learn how. James deals with. Sensory processing disorder. And low muscle tone. Born a micro preemie. One pound 6. He spent three months in the NICU. Overcoming many barriers. One of them was a failure to thrive. And one was eating concerns. What James makes up for. Height and weight, thankfully, under the doctor's care, he is thriving today, and he is making his own height and weight curve to her satisfaction. Any way that we can get him to eat the foods that he needs to maintain his weight and height is a good thing, she says. So, if James wants to use chopsticks, there is even more reason to learn and then demonstrate it.

Situational Awareness strives to bring awareness to those crises and barriers that deal with anxieties, disabilities, and sensory health concerns while in the situation that they are in. More so, our vision strives to help loved ones who have disabilities. A-NOD looks for a way to gently alert our first responders. That they may be dealing with something that needs more attention before the main reason for the first initial contact. That there is a person first, and then their condition. And then it is up to the parents or guardians to be able to discuss what the condition may be. And how to advocate for everyone at that mindful moment so that everyone is safe? Until the outcome itself.

Well, one could say, well, this has nothing to do with chopsticks. James begs to differ. And as my mother learned, accommodation is accommodation is accommodation. And when we are attempting to assist those with disabilities, rather than focus on their condition, that changes everything in that situation. On all levels.

Today, James found a life hack. On how somebody could work with chopsticks to make it easier. For somebody to at least work on using chopsticks. Amusingly, James even gets very serious and even asks Mom, “Have you ever done it left-handed? No, I have not, I said to James. However, I am sure you will once you figure it out.

This said, Chopsticks are mentioned as early as 1,400 years ago in the Kojiki book - a chronicle of Japanese history thought to have been written in 712 AD. However, historians believe they made their way to Japan from China via Korea much earlier than this and have been a fundamental part of Japanese. In August of 2014, an article was done on Katsuyuki Miyabi, a Japanese craftsman, who does not think anybody should be excluded from this age-old tradition and is custom-making chopsticks for clients who are disabled.

Based in the Fukui prefecture of Japan, Miyabi's solution is spring-operated and requires little strength and dexterity to use. Although they look like chopsticks, they operate like tongs. Squeeze them together to pick up food, and once the pressure is released, they spring back open.

Individually designed, Miyabi says each set of chopsticks needs to meet the specific needs of the owner. For example, a person lacking a thumb needs a unique design from somebody who has paralysis.

IMAGE SOURCE,KATSUYUKI MIYABI

Image caption,

The individually designed chopsticks are spring-operated

IMAGE SOURCE,KATSUYUKI MIYABI

Miyabi meets clients face-to-face. First, they choose the style of chopsticks together, then Miyabi carves them according to the precise shape and measurement of the client's hand, and factors in other disability needs such as strength. The result is a pair of bespoke chopsticks, uniquely suited to the individual client.

According to the Japanese cultural blog Spoon & Tamago, the meetings are not just so Miyabi can simply get measurements, but also so he can understand how the disability of clients affects them in daily life. This is a game-changer for those who deal with cerebral palsy.

James was diagnosed with a mild case of cerebral palsy when he was about two years old in Iowa City at the Children's Disabilities Center. Dr Reasoner did not, at that time, know how long his condition would last. And did not know what it might do to James. She also explained all the different signs and symptoms he may experience, suggesting that he do physical therapy to begin work on his muscle tone.

Just last year, James graduated from this type of program. And before graduating from his Physical therapy program, his doctor signed off on James, indicating that she did not see any other signs of cerebral palsy in him.

 A miracle, yes. Accommodations were made, yes, and the outcome was always a journey. Hard as it may be. But, yes, not the one that is made by Us, the Guardian, with the parents.

Many, many people, I am saying again and over, have heard this before. It takes the community to raise a child. And I am so blessed to know the many who have been in our world. Going forward, I would like to be part of you all as well. In programming and resources. Especially those that stem from our business, A-NOD For Situational Awareness LLC., which strives to find those other resources that families can benefit from. Networking is the best way, especially on days when we deal with hard situational moments.

As the journalist said in his articles, with rituals like this central to Japanese life and death, disabled people could benefit from accessible chopsticks rather than resorting to Western cutlery. James and I would agree and say, no matter the culture, what is central to one’s life and death, when our loved ones deal with disabilities, it is beneficial for all to find the resources and accommodations to assist, rather than what is prescribed. This makes all the difference.

James just taught us how and why.