Elise Making Great Progress in Multiple Therapy Sessions

Eleven-year-old Elise M. was born with Polymicrogyria (PMG), a condition characterized by abnormal development of the brain before birth. Typically, the surface of the brain has many ridges and folds, called gyri. In babies born with PMG, their brain surface has too many folds that are too small to process information received, which leads to problems with body functioning, similar to the effect a stroke can have on the brain.

Elise has one of the more severe forms of PMG, affecting much of her brain and resulting in more severe neurological differences. At nine-months-old, Elise was diagnosed with quadriplegia spastic cerebral palsy (CP), epilepsy and global developmental delay. 

CP affects a person’s ability to move and maintain balance and posture. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CP is the most common motor disability in childhood. It affects approximately four infants in every 1,000 born in the United States.

Spastic CP affects 80 percent of individuals diagnosed with CP. Children diagnosed with spastic CP have increased muscle tone which means their muscles are stiff and their movements can be awkward. Spastic quadriplegia is the most severe form of spastic CP and affects all four limbs. 

Plan of Care

In 2019, after receiving a thorough evaluation and recommendations from clinicians at Solace Pediatric Healthcare, Elise started an individualized in-home and telehealth therapy treatment plan. She receives occupational, physical and speech therapy services from each clinician twice a week.

Stephanie M, Elise’s mother, used a different agency when they lived in Littleton and switched to Solace Pediatric Healthcare after moving to Brighton. 

 “I heard about Solace through a search I conducted of agencies that would service our new area. The reviews were very good and transitioning therapists was made easy for us. Solace does a terrific job of taking care of all of the background tasks that are required for care so that families can focus on their child’s progress and not paperwork,” adds Stephanie M.

In-Home and Telehealth Sessions Allow Children and Families to Thrive

The clinicians at Solace are highly-trained professionals specializing in pediatric in-home and telehealth therapy. They meet with each family to create an individualized care plan that includes agreed upon goals, which allow them to make progress towards living their best life. 

“All of our therapists are very accommodating and always put Elise’s needs first. She just loves people, and really enjoys working with her therapists. In-home therapies are so convenient, as it is not easy to leave the house several times a week with a wheelchair and siblings in tow,” said Stephanie M.

“Elise’s therapists are a wonderful resource for me as a parent, as I learn new techniques to help Elise progress in her goals all the time. Everyone is so patient with me and Elise when we are learning something new, we really appreciate the collaborative approach to treatment,” adds Stephanie M.

Occupational Therapy

Amanda B, registered occupational therapist, and Vijaya M, certified occupational therapist assistant, help Elise in the therapeutic use of everyday activities.

“Elise is a great kiddo to work with every week. I have been working on increasing her range of motion to her upper extremities, and encouraging her to use her hands to complete tasks such as brushing her teeth and hair. We are definitely starting to see improvements,” said Vijaya.

“When Elise first started OT, she would not use her left hand at all. Now, she will independently reach fo​​r objects with her left hand and is making progress with opening her fingers,” adds Meyer.

Physical Therapy

In PT sessions, Elise works on a range of motion exercises and stretching, along with sitting and core-strengthening. 

“It’s been awesome to see her make progress with holding her head up while she is sitting and playing with her mom, sister, and to watch her favorite shows on her iPad,” said Lindsey G, physical therapy assistant.

“Elise is always making gains in her development. She never goes backwards, and she never stops trying. When we began in-home PT, Elise could barely hold her head up for more than a few seconds. Now, she can hold her head up and turn it left and right without any trouble for nearly 30 minutes,” adds Stephanie M.

Speech-Language Therapy

“Elise has made so much progress in her speech-language sessions. I have been working with Elise for a little over a year. She uses an eye-gaze speech generating device, as well as communication through reaching and turning her head,” said Summer S, speech-language pathologist. 

“What is truly wonderful is being able to co-treat and collaborate with the other clinicians. With the skills Elise has gained in OT and PT, she is able to not only comment and request with her eye-gaze system, but also request to perform physical movements.”

“Recently, Elise has requested to ‘turn the page’ of her favorite book. Watching her strength and ability to perform this type of action has greatly improved her motivation to use her speech-generating device. She has also started to use her communication to request to brush hair, play dress up, watch a favorite show, choose music and most importantly communicate when she is tired and doesn’t feel well. Collaborating with the entire team, which includes Elise’s family, has contributed to her amazing progress,” adds Summer.

How to Refer Your Child

Solace Pediatric Healthcare is the leading provider of pediatric nursing, family caregiver, occupational, physical, speech and feeding therapy services. Since 2005, our clinicians have provided pediatric care to children from birth to 21 years of age. At Solace, we’ve instilled a culture built on trust, communication, teamwork and accountability. Our mission is to provide pediatric clinical services to help children and families live their best lives.

• I want to refer my child for an Evaluation/Therapy. If you know you would like to speak to our patient advocate to discuss scheduling an initial evaluation with a licensed pediatric therapist, simply complete and submit the Referral Form so we may contact you. Please provide as much information on the secure/encrypted form as possible as it is required to begin the process. We do accept Medicaid and most insurances.
  
  
• I Want to Be Contacted. If you would like to speak with our patient advocate for more information prior to submitting a Referral Form, simply complete the Contact Me Form and submit.
  
  
• If you prefer to contact us to discuss your child, please call our team. You can reach us by phone at: (Denver) 303.432.8487; (Colorado Springs) 719.623.5463; (Northern Colorado) 970.775.8476; and (Pueblo) 719.695.4535.

References: Medline Plus, Epilepsy Foundation