At NAPA Center, we use the Intensive Model of Therapy (IMOT) when treating children with cerebral palsy and other neurological disorders. This treatment model is increasingly used throughout the world as patients, therapists, and doctors recognize its many benefits and outstanding results. NAPA therapists create a customized program for each patient that varies in time, duration, intensity, and tools used.
Children often advance to the next developmental skill or higher during the three-week program. For example, if a child is using a walker, it is not uncommon for them to gain the strength, balance, and ability to walk with crutches.
Utilizing a team of highly trained and dedicated therapists, our intensive program’s renowned success is built upon the interdisciplinary collaboration of occupational, physical, and speech therapists. Children of all ages, starting as young as 10 months through young adulthood and beyond, may benefit from our intensive therapy program.
What this means for your child
Many children make more progress toward their goals in three weeks of intensive therapy than in a whole 12 months of ongoing traditional therapy.
Our intensive programs use various modalities, selected for each child. Explore some of the most common:
Builds strength, balance, and gross motor skills such as sitting, standing, and walking.
Develops fine motor, sensory, and self-care skills that help children take part in everyday activities.
Supports speech, language, and social communication so children can express themselves and understand others.
Augmentative and alternative communication, from picture systems to speech-generating devices, for children who need another way to communicate.
Helps children build the oral motor skills and confidence they need for safe, enjoyable eating and drinking.
A suit of bungee-type cords that supports alignment and adds resistance during functional activities.
A Multifunctional Therapy Unit that provides adjustable, bungee-supported practice for standing, balance, and walking.
Hands-on exercises that encourage active, more efficient movement patterns.
Neuromuscular electrical stimulation used during feeding therapy to support swallowing.
NAPA therapists utilize the IMOT by treating patients multiple hours a day, five days a week, for three full weeks. The three-week intensive program is based on strengthening and conditioning, decreasing unwanted reflexes, and teaching new and improved motor patterns through repetition and correct alignment. Because of the individualized approach to each patient’s plan of care, NAPA therapy programs can include any variation of specialized tools and modalities, which are specifically chosen to enhance the efficacy of the therapeutic activities and target the domains of development that support our patients’ independence.
The time and duration of each intensive vary depending on the patient’s diagnosis, age, stamina, and therapeutic goals, among other factors.
See how an intensive can come together in our spastic diplegic cerebral palsy case study.
IMOT is the model NAPA uses when treating children with cerebral palsy and other neurological disorders. Therapists create a customized program for each patient that varies in time, duration, intensity, and tools used, focusing on strengthening and conditioning, decreasing unwanted reflexes, and teaching new motor patterns through repetition and correct alignment.
NAPA therapists treat patients for multiple hours a day, five days a week, for three full weeks. The exact time and duration vary depending on the patient’s diagnosis, age, stamina, and therapeutic goals.
Children of all ages, starting as young as 10 months through young adulthood and beyond, may benefit from our intensive therapy program, including children with cerebral palsy and other neurological disorders.
Intensive programs may include combinations of occupational, physical, and speech therapy, along with modalities such as the NeuroSuit, SpiderCage, Dynamic Movement Intervention, and VitalStim.
Day 1 includes a collaborative discussion with each therapist on your child’s team, with an emphasis on establishing therapeutic goals and family education about the plan of care. During the third week, families receive a Home Exercise Program to continue supporting progress at home.
The cost of an intensive depends on the program and number of therapy hours your child’s team recommends. NAPA is in network with select insurance plans at several US clinics, and families can also use out-of-network benefits or self-pay and request a superbill for possible reimbursement. Our Billing and Insurance page lists the current fee schedule and in-network plans by location.
NAPA’s US clinics are located in Los Angeles, Boston, Austin, Denver, Chicago, and Charlotte. Services and schedules vary by location, so our team will help you find the clinic that best fits your child’s plan.
If you think your child or loved one may benefit from intensive therapy at NAPA, review our registration process to submit your request. Not sure where to start? We’d love to hear about your child’s needs and recommend the programs best suited to them.
or call 888-711-NAPA
