It’s been almost 4 months since the pandemic brought everything to a standstill, and families have had to adjust schedules and adapt to a different kind of new normal. And for some families, like Andrew and Kelly Cleveland whose daughter Rachel has cerebral palsy, that meant additional challenges including changing to a virtual setting for therapy sessions.

When the Children’s Treatment Centre of Chatham-Kent closed their doors on March 16, staff worked remotely and rallied together to figure out the best methods to continue to assist clients. They were available to answer questions, provide information and resources, review equipment needs, provide suggestions and activities to support goals, and help in whatever way they could.

Born in April, 2018 and sharing a birthday with her twin sister Sadie, Rachel has been a client of the CTC-CK since March 2019. She works with therapists and receives Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, Speech Therapy and assistance with seating.

“Staff have been so supportive with helping us transition and make sure we were comfortable working virtually with a laptop and a camera”, says Kelly. “Rachel loves seeing her therapists, she waves and interacts with them.”

Rachel’s easy-going personality has made transitioning to this method very adaptable. The family shared that they like they can see the exercises live and can interact with her right away at home on their living room floor. Seating and equipment needs were addressed through “porch visits”, where staff completed a home visit outside, wearing appropriate PPE.  Adjustments to the equipment were made to ensure appropriate fit and that they would have the equipment needed to support their goals for their daughter.

The CTC-CK and Rachel’s team look forward to continuing to support and work with her to meet her goals today and into the future.