Therapy

Billy’s therapy is from the team at Centre Of Movement in the Gold Coast. It works by taking advantage of neuroplasticity in the brain and by using physical activity and repetition to create new neuro pathways to aid in development both physically and cognitively. In Billy’s case he does 3 hours of physical and occupational therapy per day 5 days per week for 3 weeks. During this time he has made significant improvements. Billy’s condition was expected to leave him with very limited mobility and cognitive ability, since he attended his last two therapies, we have noticed significant changes in his social skills and he has even learnt the sign for “more” which he uses regularly to communicate his needs. While this may not sound significant for a typical child, this is groundbreaking for our Billy. We were told he will not be able to communicate so it is incredibly exciting to see that at only 19 months he does now possess the ability to communicate. He has also built up the strength in his legs to support his own weight and has started making an effort to take steps while supported. He is also able to sit unassisted for short periods of time and has learnt how to fall appropriately by using his arms to catch himself rather than just flopping backwards.

The team at Centre of Movement use a wide range of different techniques and equipment that are tailored to the individual child and their needs and goals. Billy has benefited from some of their equipment that releases his high tone to allow more free movement. He also does a lot of arial work which involves sitting, standing or kneeling on various pieces of equipment or the therapists hands to help him work on his strength, balance and confidence. It is very hard to capture what they do in words as it is very unique in comparison to anything available here in NZ so if you’d like to understand further, I encourage you to check out @thecentreofmovement on Instagram of any of Billy’s socials @building_billys_brain on TikTok and Instagram or Building Billy’s Brain on Facebook.