Play is an essential part of development. It’s where kids test boundaries and push themselves to grow. Pediatric occupational therapists are trained to foster play. A skilled therapist can set up a room in such a way that it invites a child to engage. Not just equipment laid out on a mat, but an adventure calling a child to create. “Let’s make it a spaceship!” Or “Let’s ride a train.” This is when the real therapeutic magic happens.
Some of the most creative uses of the Southpaw equipment at CI Pediatric Therapy Centers were dreamed up by a child. Children’s imaginations are uninhibited. The Tube Swing nestled horizontally within the Rainbow Acrobat Swing becomes a hot air balloon, bouncing through the air. A child escapes through a “secret passage” by pushing a large exercise ball through the Resistance Tunnel. Riverstones scattered across the room allow safe transition across a “pit of lava.” A skilled therapist plus state-of-the-art equipment is an unstoppable combination.
Our Southpaw equipment is utilized in traditional therapy as well as our specialty intensive OT/PT program, Advance. Our Advance program gives participants and therapists a chance to take working hard to the next level. Participants typically come for 4 hours per day, 5 days per week for 4 weeks and are working on increasing their functional independence. Whether they’re working to attain a new developmental milestone, blast through a plateau, maximize gains after surgery or just give a burst to their traditional therapy services, these kids are working HARD! At CI we pride ourselves on keeping play and function at the forefront of all our therapy, which means on Hour 3 of Thursday during Week 2 of Advance, a therapist will likely have to work extra hard to help their client remain engaged and at the optimal level of arousal to stay true to that mission. Having the right environment and equipment is key to success.
Instead of drilling through sit-to-stands, Southpaw’s Rovers and MSE+ Super Switch allow kids to make a game out of it, changing lighting, graphics, music and so much more as they transition from sitting to standing. Maybe they’re playing Simon Says or Follow the Leader by changing the lighting in the bubble tube, or practicing grading movement by copying the speed and intensity of the music or the images from the Rover. Working on gait, throwing/catching/kicking and dressing are all familiar goal areas in pediatric therapy. Using the MSE+ Power Cube we can make working on any of those skills even more fun and interactive than if we were simply walking on a treadmill, kicking a playground ball 10 times, or doing 5 trials of pants donning. The Southpaw Custom Support Structure and Custom Floor Mat is a staple at many of our clinic locations. Of course, it allows us versatile options for suspended equipment to target vestibular and proprioceptive sensory processing, regulation and so much more. But we’ve also loved doing even more wild things like kicking off our shoes and socks, squirting shaving cream all over the seamless mat, and ice skating. What a blast! And such a great way to offer really rich tactile input, improve confidence and coordination walking on a dynamic surface or even work on praxis skills—all as the result of following the child’s lead and imagination!
The occupational therapists at CI Pediatric Therapy Centers are always seeking out ways to provide sensory-rich opportunities to support learning and skill acquisition. Would you rather sit at a table and do a puzzle or fly through the air in the Standard Dual Swing to reach pieces positioned all around you? Our children are seeking what occupational therapists refer to as “the just-right challenge.” That is, a task that pushes you to develop a skill but doesn’t push so hard that it becomes frustrating. Having access to top-of-the-line tools and equipment can support therapists to set up that just-right challenge, especially when kids are exhausted as they near the end of a 4-hour Advance session and can even more easily tip into frustration. Our therapists are intentional about incorporating lots of creative equipment use and so much play into these long sessions to keep kids regulated, engaged and motivated. And it pays off. The result is expectation-crushing progress and a huge sense of pride by the time each participant reaches their Advance graduation celebration.
For more information about CI Pediatric Therapy Centers or our intensive OT/PT program, Advance, visit our website or find us on Instagram @citherapy or @ci_advance.