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In-home programs benefit children, parents

Indiana First Steps provides developmentally delayed children up to 3 years old with in-home therapy services.

A program that is part of the Division of Disability and Rehabilitative in the state, First Steps made the move to the home as part of a 1997 amendment to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The amendment stipulated that Early Intervention Services put in place by IDEA should be moved from therapy clinics, hospital departments and developmental centers to an in-home environment that further promotes advances in development.

Jennifer Throgmorton, of Griffith, is a developmental therapist working for St. Margaret Mercy Sisters of St. Francis Health Services. She has seen firsthand the benefits of in-home care.

Sean Strickland grimaces as Stacy Holdeman stretches his arm to increase its range of motion. Strickland works with the physical therapist at First Advantage Physical Therapy three times a week to regain use of his left side after suffering a stroke earlier this year. (Photography by Tony V. Martin/The Times.)

In the parking lot outside First Advantage Physical Therapy in East Chicago, Sean Strickland concentrates on placing one foot and then the other firmly on the ground, slowly inching toward the door with the help of his hemi walker, en route to the second floor therapy room.

His mom, Darcel, and step dad, Larry, follow close behind with the utmost patience. Proud of his accomplishment, the 36-year-old Gary man smiles an endearing crooked smile, his young face permanently altered as a result of the hemorrhagic stroke that debilitated his entire left side. A half circle of uneven hair growth is evidence of the emergency brain surgery that was the first step in his continuing recovery. His sparkling demeanor, on the other hand, reveals no inkling of hardship.

It’s unknown how long he lied unconscious beside his bed before Darcel Strickland, troubled by his curious absence, let herself into his apartment in April 2008 and called paramedics. Clearly, it was long enough that doctors appeared sure he’d remain in a vegetative state if he survived at all.

Karen Jensen is using her hand and fingers to call attention to the relative movement of her patient's sternum in front and her ribs and spine in back as she moves. 'I feel which directions she moves easily and indicate new ways for her to move through subtle changes in pressure and direction with my touch,' says Jensen, a practitioner of Feldenkrais. (Photograph courtesy of Karen Jensen.)

Karen Jensen was teaching at the Chicago Waldorf School when she began suffering from headaches when she wore her bifocals.

“I kept getting headaches from the prescription,” recalls Jensen who lives in Miller. “My optometrist told me I needed to work on my balance and referred me to a Feldenkrais practitioner.”

A system of mind-body awareness, the Feldenkrais Method is a self-help approach that aims to improve movement and enhance human functioning. According to feldenkrais.com, the technique is named after Moshe Feldenkrais, a Russian-born physicist, judo expert, mechanical engineer and educator who founded it.

Jensen has arthritis as well, so her Feldenkrais practitioner recommended a workshop given by Anat Baniel, founder of the offshoot Anat Baniel Method. Not touted as a cure-all, this alternative physical therapy is said to ease pain and increase physical mobility. In attendance was a woman whose infant was diagnosed with torticollis, a medical condition caused by cramped conditions in the womb. The result can be muscle damage.

Despite six weeks of traditional therapy, Jensen says, the baby was only able to turn his head to one side and his hand remained clenched in a fist. “Anat began touching the child’s shoulder, ribs and neck,” recalls Jensen. “In minutes, we saw his hand began to unclench. Within 20 minutes, the child’s hand looked totally relaxed and he began looking side to side around the room.”

Impressed by what she saw, Jensen decided to learn Baniel’s method so she could help people with similar problems. A series of studies led her to become certified both as a Feldenkrais and Anat Baniel practitioner. Using what she’s learned, she works with children with disorders like cerebral palsy to help increase their range of motion. She also works with adults.