The Physical Therapy Department at ICRE-R consists of a licensed Physical Therapist and a licensed Physical Therapy Assistant. Treatment programs provided by the Physical Therapy Department serve to improve students’ abilities to move and be functionally independent as well as they can in their daily lives. Treatment areas include therapeutic exercises for range of motion, strength, balance, and coordination, development of activities of daily living, neurodevelopment therapy, and aquatic therapy.
Our Rehabilitation Gym is used for therapeutic exercises, along with other functional activities including bed mobility, transfer training, and ambulation, when appropriate. Neurodevelopment therapy is also incorporated in the program to facilitate normal gross motor development and to help students achieve their optimal potential in their posture and specific skills such as sitting, crawling, walking, and higher-level movement skills.
Aquatic Therapy is used to increase strength, sensory integration, cardiovascular conditioning, and endurance, and is performed in our heated therapeutic swimming pool, which has a hydraulic floor for easy access.
Mobility Access Program: In addition to the therapeutic programs, the Physical Therapy Department implements the Mobility Access Program, which focuses on training for wheelchair mobility in the community and safety awareness. Community activities from other services often integrate the Mobility Access Program, in order to further develop the students’ skills and independence.
Orthotics clinics: ICRE-R’s Physical Therapy Department also works in collaboration with certified orthotists. Therapists determine need for and appropriateness of braces, splints, and other assistive devices, instruct in proper wear of these devices, and monitor their use. Students are taught changes they can make in their daily habits that can decrease their potential for future injuries and help them maintain or increase their present level of functioning.
Each program may be done individually or in groups, depending on the needs of the students. Programs are designed to promote a positive attitude toward therapy and functional independence, and to teach the students how to manage more of their physical and/or cognitive disability on their own.