United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

How do you find out where places do aquatic therapy in your area?

http://www.injurednewborn.com/maia/aquatics.html

call local PTs look in the phone book- and of course Frans site might haVE YOur area listed too
good luck- aquatics are really really really G R E A T

Tracey there are two issues that are important...

(1) find out what the temperature of the pool is...
a therapy pool is 91-94 degrees....

one way to ascertain if the temp is correct and not colder is to ask them if they have aerobics classes there, that's a true tip. If they DO have aerobics, they will keep the pool too cool - can't do aerobics above 90 degrees - too dangerous. And aerobics are usually big money makers for some places.

(2) find out if the therapists are trained and certified in "Aquatic therapy". Aquatic therapy is just not the same as just taking PT stuff and doing it in the water. There are very specific techniques used to maximize the possibilites in the water. Ask to see their certifications. You can ask them about what specific techniques they are trained in and ask them to explain it to you.


We were going to aqutics at easter seals here and had a great therapist. Then he decided to leave. They hired two new therapists. On Maia's first day with the new therapist it was evident that something was wrong. I asked if she was trained and she said "I'm a trained PT"..I asked if she was certified in aquatics "No"...I asked if she was planning on getting certified in aquatics..."no" I asked if she ever read a book on aquatics..."no"..I asked if she ever saw a video on aquatics..."no"

So I ended up taking Maia to a different pool and working with her myself. Why should my insurance pay for something that doesn't exist! Shame on them! To make a long story short - we just recently found a TRULY trained Aquatic PT - she actually is a trainer herself. Now we are fighting the insurance company to cover her because she's out of network. Ugh... wish they would figure out how much I saved them by not going to those untrained ones!!

Another piece of info is that you should take your child to the pool to check it out before you sign up. Reason: what if your child reacts to the chemicals in the pool? Maia is allergic to most of the chemicals and her already eczemic skin becomes boils if there's too much chlorine, etc. in the water. There are 3 pools locally that we can never again step into for her health's sake.

Just sharing our experiences with you...
francine

Tracey, I found some local therapy pools by calling different hospitals in the phone book and also calling different therapy / rehab. centers and by asking Nicole's land therapists for recommendations. I guess we're very lucky b/c there are actually a few options for us nearby. Francine gave you some good tips already. BTW, some places have two pools -- a therapy pool (in the 90s) and a fitness pool (in the 80s). The fitness pool would be the one where they do the aerobics, swimming lessons, etc. I too think it is important to have an Aqua therapist, although the "certification" part of it is sometimes hard to comeby and varies by state. I think it's also important thought that they are licensed in a discipline of PT or OT. For example, we have an Aquatic PT.

I would also ask the therapist what his/her ratio is of water/land patients. We had an Aqua OT who covered for a while during the regular Aqua PT's leave and I could tell very early on that while she had training and experience in water, she spent most of her time on land (and I believe she preferred the land therapy). Not only will the ratio obviously effect how much experience she has in the water and likely be indicative of how much she likes (or NOT) being in the water, but it might also impact how much time your child is actually in the water. For example, the Aqua OT we had for a while had land therapy before our appt. and then lunch break after our appt. So, we ended up getting very little time in the water with her time allotted for walking from the other part of the hospital, changing 2x, setting up toys, etc. Our actual pool time was only about 30 minutes compared to 50-60 with the other therapist. For some children, 30 minutes might be enough, but it was a tease for Nicole.

You also have to inquire about their age requirement. Some places will want your baby to be potty trained and out of diapers first, which I think is a bit ridiculous b/c the pullup swimmers work great. However, if that's their policy, even if you could get them to bend it, then you might not get the best quality therapy b/c they don't usually work with such little ones. Know what I mean? I would ask about their experience with babies in general. Also, see if they could get permission from another parent for you to go observe the potential therapist first.

One more thing that's important is their policy on the therapist going in the water and their policy on the parent going in the water. Now it seems very strange to me that a therapist wouldn't go in the water and it's so hard for me to believe, but I have actually heard of a couple therapists who do NOT go in the water -- the parent holds the child in the water and the therapist stays at the edge of the pool. I would absolutely NOT even consider doing anything of the sort and it sounds crazy to me, but you need to ask. On the other hand, some places do not want the parent to go into the pool at all. That would also be unacceptable when we first started going. Nicole was only about 1 1/2 y.o. and was not ready to be in the pool w/o me by any means. So, I would bring her into the pool and the therapist and I would switch off holding her. That worked out very well. Now that she's older and more comfortable (too comfortable/confident sometimes LOL) now, I don't go in the pool, but stay in the room in a chair.

Sorry this is so long. I hope you're able to find a good facility and a good Aqua PT/OT. Email me if I can answer anymore ?s. BTW, I'm so glad we're doing aqua therapy for Nicole and believe it's been very beneficial to her. Have fun!!

-Tina

tina that was a great post! Can I add this stuff to my aquatics page???

let me know,
francine

Thanks,Francine. Of course you can! -T )