'She started crawling': St. Augustine clinic helps children with movement disorder at no charge
AUSTIN (KXAN) – When Ariya Stein was born, a doctor told her mom, Lilly, that she would likely never crawl or take steps.
Ariya, who’s is three, has a diagnosis of spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy and dystonia – both movement disorders.
“She cannot sit unassisted; she cannot walk like a regular toddler can; [and] she is nonverbal,” Lilly said. “But, recently, within the past few months, she started crawling.”
“I thought it was something we would never see and never achieve if it wasn’t for this program,” she continued.
The program is the Pediatric Neuroplasticity Clinic at the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences. The university started the program in 2019, and it offers children with cerebral palsy, spinal cord injuries, and other conditions treatment at no cost.
While the treatment, which involves intensive one-on-one training with advanced equipment, is beneficial to the patients, it also serves the students observing the sessions.
“The students are taking the pediatrics course, so half of their lab hours are filled here in the clinic,” said Dr. Sheila Brose, who supervises and runs the pediatric neuroplasticity program at USAHS. “They learn about different interventions that drive neuroplasticity [and] about patients with a variety of diagnoses.”
The University of St. Augustine for Health offers degree programs in programs for degrees in physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech language pathology.
Brose described neuroplasticity as the brain’s ability to form new connections. In children with conditions such as cerebral palsy, treatment might attempt to form new connections in healthy areas of the brain to improve motor functions.
One device the clinic uses is the gait training treadmill that allows a child to practice how to walk while being supported in a harness.
“It can increase endurance, stepping and speed of walking,” Brose said. “We have seen [in some children], they have gone from maybe using forearm crutches to no crutches, and they’re walking in the community without their wheelchair.”
Brose said her clinic is one of very few in the state that have this equipment. Those interested in enrolling in this program can find more information on the university’s website.
“If it wasn’t for this program, Ariya wouldn’t be doing the amazing things that she can do now, and I wouldn’t be contemplating having to baby-proof my house,” Lilly said.
