The Special Learning Center has some new physical therapy technology, thanks to the support of a Jefferson City chiropractor.
Dr. Derrijk Hollon - one of the co-owners of Hollon Family Chiropractic and a board member for The Special Learning Center - said at a ribbon cutting Friday he had encouraged his staff to raise as much as they could to support The Special Learning Center's needs over the past year.
The $12,500 raised has paid for a Gait Keeper Treadmill and associated technologies; "that was what we had our hearts set on," Hollon said.
"It makes them really safe and adds us a pair of hands," SLC physical therapist Lisa Borgmeyer said during a demonstration of the treadmill with a couple of children.
The LiteGait harness system with the treadmill provides "proper posture, reduce(s) weight bearing, eliminate(s) concerns for balance and facilitate(s) training of coordinated lower extremity movement, all while ensuring a comfortable experience for the patient. The devices also allow clinicians to manually assist the legs and pelvis of a patient to achieve proper gait patterns," according to information handed out at the ribbon cutting.
The harness can also be rotated horizontally to allow for a child to practice taking steps in different stances, such as side-stepping.
SLC physical therapist Mary Owens said the devices and the GaitSens software that comes with them allows for more accurate measurements, such as the amount of weight a child is putting on his or her steps; step length; and cadence, or the speed at which the child takes steps.
All of that information can be put into a report and shared with physicians - "that's probably our best thing," Owens said.
The software also allows therapists "to be able to replay any portion of the therapy session after recording ends."
Owens said SLC's intensive physical therapy program - which started two years ago - has them working with one child for three hours a day, three times a week for six weeks. She said that means the new technology will probably benefit about 20-25 children a year.