The Intensive Model of Therapy (IMOT) is increasing in popularity in paediatrics. There is emerging research demonstrating children who participate in the IMOT compared to traditional therapy have quicker gains in strength, motor control, functional mobility, balance and independence.
What does the Intensive Model Of Therapy (IMOT) look like?
Intensive therapy occurs at a high frequency over a short duration of time, where a child may receive combination of an hour of physiotherapy, occupational therapy and/or speech therapy 5 days a week over 3 weeks. At the completion of each Mobi Kids intensive, our families are taught and provided a home exercise program to implement to ensure gains and progress towards their life goals are supported, maintained, and reinforced. Compared to the traditional model of therapy may involve hourly physiotherapy, occupation therapy and/ or speech therapy weekly or fortnightly. The task specific approach and high volume of repetition of intensives capitalises on neuroplasticity of the brain. This has shown to accelerate progress in functional and developmental skills towards one or two chosen goal areas for each intensive block.
Intensive therapy is suited for children less than one years of age up to young adulthood and is open to existing Mobi Kids clients and new clients! Mobi Kids recommends completing intensive blocks interspersed throughout the year in addition to ongoing weekly physiotherapy, occupational and speech therapy. An individualised intensive therapy program can lead to greater gains and faster results than the typical ongoing weekly or fortnightly therapy.
Who would benefit from intensives?
Intensive therapy is safe and beneficial for children with a variety of diagnoses such as children with hypotonia/ hypertonia, cerebral palsy, chromosomal/ genetic conditions, global developmental delay, acquired brain injuries, prematurity, plagiocephaly and torticollis and delayed early movement skills in babies and toddlers.
At Mobi Kids, our intensive programs are tailored to the child’s age, diagnosis, medical history, level of therapy participation and family goals. Your therapist may incorporate a variety of therapy techniques and tools which include, but are not limited to:
- Cuevas MEDEK Exercises (CME): CME involves the use of specific exercises to promote automatic postural responses against gravity. A key principle of this technique involves reducing the level of assistance as the child progresses, from the child’s trunk to pelvis to thighs then ankles.
- Gait training: Gait training involves practice walking on the treadmill or with an assistive device to improve the quality of movement, independence, and efficiency with walking.
- Functional Training: involves exercises that stimulate real-life body movements by working muscles together rather than isolation. Functioning training can work towards improving strength, endurance, balance, coordination, flexibility, reduce risk of injury and foster independence.
- Task-specific electrical stimulation (TASES): is an evidence-based functional electrical stimulation used on children and adults with cerebral palsy and movement disorders. TASES can increase muscle awareness and contraction ability to improve movement patterns and function as well as enhance active independent movement and activation with proper timing.
