Bronx Therapy Center for Special Needs Children Opens

Three years ago, special needs children at Intermediate School 180 in the Bronx just had a single room and an old mat for their physical therapy.

School officials last Friday debuted a new, five-room therapy complex featuring a Pilates room, wheelchair-compatible treadmills, interactive computer programs and more high-quality equipment.

The Larry B. Seabrook Occupational and Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Center -  will serve 60 middle school students with disabilities, including cerebral palsy, neurological disorders and Down Syndrome.

The former classrooms now feature colorful mats, exercise balls, treatment tables, small weights, trampolines, and other equipment.

Students come to the ground floor facilities once or twice a week for 30-minute sessions to work with a therapist on mobility or sensory issues that can help with everything from sitting in a chair to copying work from the blackboard.

"For the kids, it's motivating," said physical therapist Kam Johal. "It's not like going to the gym; it's fun therapy, and it will help them in school."

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GMU's Speech Accent Archive

George Mason University's Speech Accent Archive allows you to listen to people from all over the world read the following paragraph: 

"Please call Stella. Ask her to bring these things with her from the store:

Six spoons of fresh snow peas, five thick slabs of blue cheese, and

maybe a snack for her brother Bob. We also need a small plastic snake

and a big toy frog for the kids. She can scoop these things into three red

bags, and we will go meet her Wednesday at the train station."

The paragraph is designed to make a speaker's accent stand out and can be useful in areas of speech therapy and linguistics.

Musical Injuries and Occupational Therapy

A violinist, an obo player and a pianist...not your usual occupational therapy patients?

For Christine Guptill, an Occupational Therapist, musical injuries are a very real thing and can possibly be treated with OT.

Christine developed carpel tunnel syndrome from playing the obo. This injury inspired her to pursue a PHD in OT, specializing in musical injury treatment.

She has identified four determining factors which contribute to musical injuries:

1. Musical Instrument Played
2. Age of the Musician
3. How Often the Instrument is Played
4. The Style in Which the Instrument is Played
   

New Name for Professional Logo

Progressus Therapy has unveiled their new professional logo, naming it ‘Amelia.’ This new logo stands for the notion of flying free of bounds. In July team members submitted suggestions for a name and after 100 entries, Clinical Coordinator Katie Staniszewski’s ‘Amelia’ was selected.

“Amelia Earhart is such an iconic name and it gave me the feeling of flying or moving forward. After doing some research on her I found that she had a remarkable life. She had to overcome barriers to reach her goals and so do the districts and students we work with. Progressus helps find solutions so that the job speech therapists, occupational therapists and physical therapists do can be successful," said Katie.