Therasuit™ Therapy
Who can benefit by the suit?
There are a wide variety of diagnoses that can benefit from suit therapy. They include, but are not limited to:
- Cerebral Palsy
- Developmental Delay
- Traumatic Brain Injuries
- Ataxia
- Athetosis
- Hypertonicity
- Hypotonicity
- Spina Bifida
- Post-Stroke
- Down syndrome
Contraindications to use of the suit include hip subluxation greater than 50% and severe scoliosis. However, patients with these conditions may be eligible for a modified intensive treatment session without use of the suit.
Precautions are necessary for use of the suit in individuals with:
- Hip subluxation less than 50%
- Uncontrolled seizures
- High blood pressure
- Hydrocephalus with a V-P shunt
- Diabetes
- Heart conditions
- Kidney problems
- Osteoporosis/ Osteopenia
Patients with any of these conditions will require special medical clearance to participate in an intensive suit therapy session.
Please contact us if you have any questions about whether your child is eligible for intensive suit therapy.
Intensive Therapy
Why do intensive Therasuit™ therapy?
Many children in the United States only receive school-based therapy that is educationally focused. It often does not address a child's ability to move independently of a wheelchair or other assistive devices. If school-based therapy is not enough, some children may receive in-home or out-patient therapy. Many parents find even with this additional therapy that progress is slow or that their child may plateau in their progress after gaining a skill.
The dramatically increased potential for a child to progress in the intensive suit therapy environment is amazing. Three weeks in an intensive therapy program can bring about progress in a child's motor skills that may normally take six to eight months with traditional therapy. Our program focuses on a child's abilities and works on building their skills to further enhance their motor development.
Our programs's focus on repetition of gross motor movements trains the child's brain to make these movements automatic. Once a child has mastered that movement they can utilize it in their everyday activities of sitting, rolling, crawling, transitioning, walking and playing. Intensive suit therapy provides the push a child needs to move to the next level in their development.
The Monkey Cage
The monkey cage is used for isolating and strengthening specific muscles necessary to produce functional movement. It uses a system of pulleys and weights to target specific muscles. It allows the therapist to facilitate strengthening of weak muscles while preventing compensatory use of other muscles. It is also used for vestibular activities such as "flying" and swinging. It can be used with a treadmill for unweighted gait training. The monkey cage is a very effective tool for teaching children how to activate and use their muscles for functional activities such as sitting, changing positions, and walking.
The Spider Cage
The spider cage uses a belt and bungee cords to provide dynamic assistance to maintain an upright position. The spider cage can allow a child to stand without a therapists's assistance while allowing freedom of movement and facilitating balance. It is useful for learning to transition between positions, to acquire the weight-shift needed for functional movement, and to improve proprioception and arousal with jumping. The spider cage can also be used with the pulleys and weights of the monkey case to perform strengthening exercises in more challenging positions. The goals of the exercises performed in the spider are to improve functional skills such as sitting, crawling, and walking. It also helps to improve balance, coordination, and sensory-motor integration. The ultimate goal of the spider case is to promote independent movement.