The reports below have been provided by parents, carers, teachers, assistants and physiotherapists. They are usuful for those considering Rebound Therapy as a treatment and to students who regularly comment that there is insufficient written material to assist with research papers.
If you would like to provide a report of your experiences with Rebound Therapy, to be published on this page, please email it to info@reboundtherapy.org
Please include in your report, your child's condition, your objectives or hopes for the sessions, your observations, your view as to the outcome or effectiveness of the sessions. Also, please advise on other treatment that the child is receiving.
From Vivien Lim in Malaysia:
Thanks to Rebound Therapy founder Mr Eddy and Trainer Mr.Paul. RT is such a wonderful therapeutic activities.... I have work intensively with a age 4 girl since Jan 2011 with no verbal, no eye contact, no communication skill. Today she has ...all this skills, she can talk with understanding, she is able to have eye contact and engage other child to play with her, amazingly is she is able to read and sing... my next work with her is to develop her writing skill......... in our country..parent expect their children to write and read at age 4.......
The FeelGood PE programme:
Designing an autism- friendly
PE curriculum in a residential
school setting
Article written by Clare Stockley on behalf of GAP - the Good Autism Practice Journal which is published by BILD - the British Institute of Learning Disabilities.
Includes article and case study on Rebound Therapy.
Katie’s First Rebound Therapy Session
Katie’s Condition
Katie was born three months premature and as a result has Cerebral Palsy.
This condition affects all four limbs and her trunk control. Katie is a full time wheelchair user. She is cognitively age appropriate. (8 years old)Our objectives or hopes for the session.
With all new therapies we went to the session with a fairly open mind. We hoped that it would be a fun experience for Katie that would help relax at least some of her tight muscles. Katie was excited by the thought that she would be trampolining .Our observation.
Katie took to the trampoline immediately. With the support and encouragement she was given she felt very stable and confident. The session began with gentle bouncing that allowed her to relax from the outset. One exercise involved her bouncing while sitting on a ‘peanut’ therapy ball. This imitated horse riding which she found challenging but enjoyable. It was noticeable that as the exercise progressed her legs and feet relaxed down. This enabled her to push down on the trampoline with her legs and become more involved in the activity. The activity that surprised us the most was the stretch with a parachute. It was a simple exercise that clearly relaxed her whole trunk.Was it worthwhile?
The session exceeded our expectations. The benefits were visible as her muscles gradually relaxed down as the session progressed. It was epitomised by her sitting with a straight back in a bean bag as she bounced on the trampoline. Katie has great difficulty in maintaining her balanced when seated but she showed great control unaided. We also noted that even her clenched hands opened and she showed splayed ‘star’ fingers. Although as with all therapy once is not enough rebound therapy was certainly worthwhile and if it was available we would be back for more. Katie said, “Do you know why I liked it? It was fun exercise.” To Katie fun exercise is the best therapy .Current Therapies and Treatments.
Conductive education 2 to 3 sessions per week. Each session lasting for at least an hour. This is a form of physiotherapy. Swimming. At present Katie’s having two swimming lessons a week at the local swimming pool. She normally only has one. Horse riding. Katie goes horse riding at The Diamond centre. She attends every week for 12 weeks once a year. Sometimes this is increased if they have space.
Hydro. If we are lucky Katie has one session of hydro for 6 weeks each year provided by the NHS. Katie receives no hands on NHS physio.
Katie is also under the care of Great Ormond Street Hospital where she has Botox injections into selected muscles. This is carried out once or twice a year.
We have seen a remarkable change in a little girl who attends our school. She has CHARGE syndrome and spends a large proportion of her time in a wheelchair. She is 8 yrs old and when taken out of her wheelchair and stood by her rollator, she often refuses to walk and sits down on the floor. I suggested some rebound therapy with a parachute, moving her limbs by rolling up the parachute. The first time she saw the parachute she took interest and was spontaneously more lively. She seemed to really enjoy the attention and having her limbs stimulated in this manner. Our objectives are: enjoyment, more movement hopefully leading to more mobility. Evie was visibly excited and this in itself caused some slight spontaneous movement in her legs. The session was very well received and more than met my expectations.
I am teaching 2 students who are learning to walk again following brain injuries.
Student A's injury was due to meningitis and student B was involved in a road accident.
With student A, I have been teaching her back bounces. This is strengthening her core muscles and helping her to develop improved coordination. We have also been sitting her on the trampoline and I have been walking around her while she stays still. She said this is a great help to her due to not being able to walk, as this is a strengthening exercise that she can do.
Srudent B has problems with walking. I first met him 8 weeks ago and he was in a wheelchair. Now with the aid of a stick, he is almost walking.
B has problems with his balance and co ordination. So I have been teaching him to Jump. At first he was rocking the bed, then jumping with me supporting. Now he can jump with 2 feet in the air and stay in the middle. Seat drops are the next thing we are going to learn. He is really happy that he has started trampolining and feels this is helping to gain his balance and develop his poor muscle tone due to being in a wheel chair