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Medical Rehabilitation: Therapies change lives!
Medical rehabilitation focuses on the treatment of disabilities to help individuals achieve greater independence. The Easter Seals Rehabilitation Center enhances the lives of children and adults with all types of disabling conditions, whether experienced at birth (such as cerebral palsy or spina bifida) or later in life (such as paralysis due to a spinal injury or stroke). Contact us for more information on medical rehabilitation therapies at the Easter Seals Rehabilitation Center.
Physical Therapy
Physical therapy services focus on enhancing or restoring strength, balance and mobility for individuals like Ben Trockman, 2010 local Adult Representative, and Mo McDowell, 2010 local Child Representative. At the Easter Seals Rehabilitation Center, licensed physical therapists and physical therapy assistants use therapy exercises, assistive devices and special techniques to facilitate improved strength, coordination, balance and mobility for independence at home, at work, at school, and in the community. Therapists have a variety of tools at their disposal, including a "Discovery Wall" used to improve strength, balance, hand-eye coordination, flexibility, and self-esteem for young clients.
Occupational Therapy
Occupational therapists assist people of all ages with varied disabilities to complete activities of daily living, such as eating, dressing, playing, and working. Occupational therapists are trained to evaluate and treat the areas of fine motor skills, sensory-motor skills, visual-motor skills, oral-motor skills, sensory integration, upper extremity function, handwriting skills and activities of daily living. Treatment is specific to each person's needs and may include custom-made splints, adaptive equipment, adaptive computer systems, therapeutic exercise, Therapeutic Listening Program, activities of daily living, and sensory integration. Occupational therapy helped Josh Woolsey, former local Child Representative, develop skills he uses at home and school.
Speech and Language Pathology
Speech-language pathologists evaluate and provide therapy for individuals with communication or swallowing disorders. At the Easter Seals Rehabilitation Center, licensed and certified speech-language pathologists work with people of all ages to maximize their communication skills. Specific areas targeted include: language and language processing, oral-motor, fluency (stuttering), articulation/phonology, dysphagia (swallowing), neurological (apraxia, aphasia, and dysarthria), and voice. A certified auditory-verbal therapist specializes in working with individuals with a diagnosed hearing loss. The Easter Seals Rehabilitation Center's speech-language pathologists hold master's degrees and are certified by the American Speech, Language & Hearing Association (ASHA). In addition, our therapists specialize in working with pediatrics.
Audiology
Audiology services focus on identifying hearing loss in individuals of all ages. If needed, the Easter Seals Rehabilitation Center can provide hearing aid fitting and appropriate therapies or, if required, referral to physicians for medical follow up. The Easter Seals Rehabilitation Center has specialized equipment to evaluate infants and young children as well as technology to assess hearing aids in order to provide the most optimal benefit.
First Steps (ages 0-3)
The Easter Seals Rehabilitation Center is the largest First Steps provider in the tri-state. Children from birth through thier third birthday, who are experienceing developmental delays, typically receive services through the state-wide early intervention program, First Steps. Our credentialed therapists provide physical, occupational, developmental and speech therapy in the young chil'd natural environment (at home, daycare, etc...) which involves the family and caregivers. We are the only provider of First Steps audiological services in the area, providing comprehensive hearing testing, hearing aid fittings and follow up at our Center. Click here for more information.
Autism Services
Autism and other sensory integration disorders require unique treatment strategies. A multidisciplinary approach combines the expertise of professionals such as a speech pathologist, occupational therapist, audiologist, social worker, and psychologist. The team helps individuals and families set goals, develop an individual treatment plan, and work to achieve greater independence.
A new program—The P.L.A.Y. Project—is expected to change lives for area children with autism and their families. The P.L.A.Y. Project is designed to help children with autism achieve their greatest potential, and to help parents experience the joys of their child’s first words, first smiles, and first hugs.
Play and Language for Autistic Youngsters is a nationally proven, home-based, family-centered early intervention program for children from 18 months to 6 years of age. Therapists from the Easter Seals Rehabilitation Center recently earned certification as P.L.A.Y. Project home consultants, and are now accepting local families into the program.
Aquatics
A wide array of programs are offered at the Easter Seals Rehabilitation Center's therapeutic pool, restored through donations in 2006. Programs are designed for all levels of fitness and ability, and include aquatic exercise classes for those with low back pain and arthritis; water aerobics classes; open swim times; individual swim lessons for children with and without disabilities; and individual physical and occupational therapies for individuals with disabilities. Pool water is 92 degrees (5-10 degrees warmer than a non-therapeutic pool). This warmth enables optimal muscle relaxation. The pool features non-slippery deck flooring, a wheelchair-to-water lift, wheelchair ramp and therapeutic steps into the pool, grab bars, four water levels to allow for a variety of therapy alternatives, and adjustable parallel bars in the water at each level. Three locker rooms are available--men's, women's, and unisex (for a person with a disability assisted by a care-giver of the opposite sex)--and all are fully accessible. For details on aquatic therapies and individual swim lessons for kids, and for a current schedule of exercise classes, call 812-474-2365 or contact the Easter Seals Rehabilitation Center using our online contact form.
The Easter Seals Rehabilitation Center therapeutic pool is truly accessible to everyone, thanks to the 2008 addition of a motorized wheelchair-to-water lift. This state-of-the-art equipment was funded by a generous grant from the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation.
Contact us to learn more about the benefits of aquatic therapy at the Easter Seals Rehabilitation Center. For many individuals, regular sessions in our fully accessible warm-water pool will truly change their lives, greatly enhancing their mobility, fitness, and overall quality of life.
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