My daughter went to Shriner's yesterday and they said she would be a prime candidate for constraint-induced movement therapy. For two weeks she would wear a cast on her left arm and have "fun" therapy four hours a day, causing her to learn to use her weak right arm and hand. Since she is two years old, they say she is in the prime age group for best results.

It seems to be very promising according to the statistics they gave me. And there is nothing painful for my daughter to endure. Everything is fun and games therapy. The only downside is she has to keep a shoulder-to-fingertip cast on continuously for two weeks. Has anyone been through this kind of therapy or been through it with your child?

Thanks,
Melissa

I am 39 with left sided hemiplegia. I can tell you that constraint therapy is a fairly new thing they are trying with Cerebral Palsy patients. My doctor that gives me my botox injections (hes a pediatric doctor) is heading up a program at my hospital. I hear it is very sucessful and they are showing lots of positive results. So far the cast doesn't seem to be that big of a problem according to a couple of articles I have read. You can search on the subject on the net and find some articles to read. I say give it a try!
My botox doc is great so if he thinks it is something useful then I would certainly put my child in the program.

Hope that helps ya! Good luck and keep us posted if you decide to do it.

Lastramy

A friend recommended that we take Mark to Shriners. What services have they helped you with? I hope that the therapy works for you guys if you try it. It doesnt sound horrible,research, and if there are no real risks associated with it, give it a try. Good luck!

Hi yall,

Lastramy, we are going to try it out. The therapist who suggested CIT is also doing research on the subject at Shriner's and gives seminars. She gave me a copy of her powerpoint presentation on CIT to take home and read over. I understand most of it and it sounds really good. Hopefully I can get my daughter in before September. Has your doc suggested CIT for you?

Randadell, Shriner's is a great place. They showed me how to do therapy at home. They also give us splints, sometimes they have to make them, every six months when we visit. The CIT therapy is proveded free of charge from them. So I would definitly suggest to include Shriner's as part of your son's team of doctors.

The only thing that they did wrong was misdiagnose my daughter. At her first visit there after she turned one, they said she had brachial plexus palsy. They told me cp was ruled out because her hip x-ray was good. So when I took her back Tuesday, they (different doctors) seemed to pay very close attention to her after I told them of her cp diagnosis in February. My daughter has been there four times in almost a year and a half... she has never seen the same doctor or therapist twice. But that's okay, I still think they are good.

Take care,
Melissa

I am hoping to get my daughter into a constraint induced therapy program as well. Could you please let me know which Shriners you went to and who I should contract about the therapy?
Thanks!

Hi beautifulbaby,

Shriner's wasn't able to get my daughter in CIT before the end of the summer break. So we are going to delay it until next summer. It's a real bummer for me because I really wanted to do it this summer.

Anyway... we take her to the Shriner's in Shreveport, LA. Just talk to any therapist in the rehab department and they can give you the info you need.

Take care,
Melissa

Hi beautifulbaby,

Shriner's wasn't able to get my daughter in CIT before the end of the summer break. So we are going to delay it until next summer. It's a real bummer for me because I really wanted to do it this summer.

Anyway... we take her to the Shriner's in Shreveport, LA. Just talk to any therapist in the rehab department and they can give you the info you need.

Take care,
Melissa

Thanks so much for the information. I am going to have the OT that I have been speaking with up in Minneapolis (Shriners) talk with the people in Shreveport and hopefully they can help me set up a program up here. They haven't ever done it in Minneapolis so maybe with some more resources they would be willing to give it a try! I have read so many wonderful things about CIT that I am so anxious to give it a try. Did the therapists that you were speaking with discuss any minimum number of hours they would recommend your child spend in therapy per day? I think that you may have said 4 hours per day. Did they have concerns on if they would have enough resources for this extensive of a program? Have they done CIT before and if so, what have the results been for them? It seems like everything that I read states that most of the improvements have been continued for 6 months but it seems that there isn't too much info on what happens later on - if the results are permanent or not.

Anyway, thank you again for your help and I would appreciate any more info that you may have!

just curious ladies

i have never used Shriners--i have insurance and up until now i have used Bureau for Children with Medical Handicaps in Ohio.

my insurance pays first, then BCMH pays--so i use Drs. on both plans and pay nothing.

unfortunately there has been major cuts in funding so i believe i will no longer qualify after this year.

have you ever heard of a program like this in your state? maybe you can see one dr. instead of several and maybe you can get therapies quicker in locations near where you live.

ours is through the state health department. it has really helped me with dr bills.

Hi Melissa,
Is CIT the same as suit therapy? I was looking into the suit therapy which places rubber band like straps on his body to correctly align his muscles and then he goes through intense repetitive therapy for 4 hours a day for 3-4 weeks. He can't do it until he is 2 1/2 though and is a certain height. Maybe I should look into CIT!

Dina

Hey beautifulbaby,

The Shriner's hospital therapist that runs the CIT program said that there have been improvements of various degrees in all the children who have participated. She said that one child in particular, a seven year old with a mental age of two with severe cp, showed a little improvement after the program. Yet children with less severe cases should show greater improvements. They also said the improvements would last throughout life.

The researching therapist gave me a copy of her presentation because she didn't have any parent-friendly handouts. Here's a little from the "Treatment Outcomes" topic:

"Improvement of voluntary motor control of reach, grasp, release"
"Increase speed and fluency of movements"
"Increased interactive play with affected extremity"
"Increased weight bearing during transitional movements"

And since this therapy ultimately affects the brain, brain cells are forced to "sprout" new connections. Which makes me wonder... would this therapy help prevent seizures?

Take care,
Melissa

Hi Melissa,
Is CIT the same as suit therapy? I was looking into the suit therapy which places rubber band like straps on his body to correctly align his muscles and then he goes through intense repetitive therapy for 4 hours a day for 3-4 weeks. He can't do it until he is 2 1/2 though and is a certain height. Maybe I should look into CIT!

Dina

Hi Dina,

I've never heard of suit therapy. Children can start CIT as early as 12 months or the beginning of creeping. There are some other selection criteria such as behavior, vision, and hearing. It sounds like a very promising program.

Take care,
Melissa

Hi Melissa,
Thanks for all of your help. I spoke with an OT at the Shriners in Shreveport and she was very helpful. The OT that I am speaking with in Mpls is on vacation for 2 weeks but once she gets back I am going to have her get in contact with the Shreveport OT dept.
I have heard many of the same positive results as you have. My daughter is 10 months old now so I am hoping to start a CIT program this winter/spring. She has a "mild" case - she is already crawling on her own thanks to lots of therapy but I am hoping that CIT can help her with coordination of the affected hand and with more "natural, quick" types of movements.

I appreciate your help!

Hey beautifulbaby,

Let me know how the CIT goes for your daughter. Hopefully she can get in it pretty soon since she is already crawling. Good luck!

Take care,
Melissa