By Lana Carr, MOVE International Trainer®

When I am asked how MOVE® came to The Joseph Sams School, I quickly say, with a smile on my face, “Oh you know, it was one of those pushy parents!” Of course, I am as quick to qualify my statement.

MOVE did come to The Joseph Sams School through a parent that was dedicated to providing her son with every possibility to grow and become independent, as well as for all of the other children with mobility impairments that were a part of our school.

I must be honest with you. When the concept of MOVE was presented to me I said thank you and promptly filed the information away; I’d look at it later. A year later, I was approached again. This time the mom wanted us to visit a MOVE Model Site. I agreed and traveled to visit the MOVE Model Site in Decatur, Alabama along with two supervising teachers from The Joseph Sams School.

All skepticism vanished when we met Dr. Tom Maynor, supervisor of developmental programs, Robin Irwin, physical therapist, and several parents of students in the MOVE program. Seeing young people excitedly transitioning from place to place, using gait trainers and Kaye walkers, left us speechless. Watching high school students in dynamic standers playing volleyball alongside peers without special needs was inspiring. Seeing the preschool and elementary-aged children actively participating in morning circle was thrilling. However, listening to parents speak about their children, the goals attained and their children having a more positive outlook since becoming a part of MOVE had the most impact on us. I was convinced that we had to bring MOVE to The Joseph Sams School.

At the time we had seven children with physical challenges in our school, all eligible for MOVE®. We wondered if we should start with only a few children until we got our feet wet and knew what we were doing. If that’s the route we took, who would we include in that fast group? We quickly realized that it had to be all or nothing. We knew that once our families found out about MOVE® they would want their children to be a part of it.

A six-year journey began. Today, we are a MOVE Model Site and have two MOVE International Trainers on staff. It hasn’t always been easy, but it has been worth it.

One of the first positives we saw from MOVE was attendance. Our children with physical challenges historically were frequently absent due to upper respiratory issues. Hospitalizations have dropped. Weight has been gained. More students are sitting in non-adaptive chairs during the school day. Children and their families seem happier.

I asked our staff and parents of MOVE kids to discuss their perceptions of MOVE at The Joseph Sams School. Their responses were as varied as our MOVE kids. Here are a few comments:

“Parker really enjoys walking. She’s like the Energizer Bunny – keeps going and going. She directs where she wants to go.”

“Ahja has tremendous trunk control. She walks from activity to activity and is able to move her legs with more ease.”

“Kelly has gained more confidence in her ability to stand. It appears to make her feel more independent.”

“Darby can move her pacer using reciprocal steps. She is not as sick as in past years.”

“Sam loves to move. She is eating independently and is able to bench sit during circle time.”

“Emily can bear weight for a longer time, walks independently in her Kaye walker and is more aware of her surroundings.”

“Blake, who used to walk with a heavily-prompted pacer, now walks unassisted, helps get in and out of the car and has demonstrated spontaneous language due to mobility and motivation.”

“Justis seems to move faster this year than last. He is able to explore his world better. He had a blast dancing at the school dance.”

“The MOVE program at the Joseph Sams School in Fayetteville, Georgia has been a lifeline for our son Justis who is 13 years old,” commented Hope Blackstock, the ‘pushy parent’ mentioned earlier. “Justis has cerebral palsy and cannot sit, stand or walk without assistance. After devoting many years work of every therapy imaginable to keep our son physically active, it was a relief to find MOVE and a staff at the Sams School dedicated to making the program work in the lives of its students.”

“When our son was younger, a therapist told us that we needed to make as many physical gains as possible by the age of seven,” she continued. “She said that after that age physically impaired children progress very little du to the difficulty of exercising larger and heavier children. She told us that everyone wants to help when they are small, but that willing hands and backs decrease as they age. We did not want our child’s progress to stop at seven and we certainly did not want to lose the progress we had fought so hard to gain. The MOVE program was a promise that someone would daily take our child’s hand and explore with him all the many wonderful ways the human body can express its power and strength through movement. We fully believe that a child who is not given the chance to move will find it almost an impossibility to learn – so fully intertwined are movement and knowledge of the world around us. The MOVE program has meant that our child will never have to sit and watch while the world goes by. Because we know that caring hands are dedicated to helping Justis continue with his physical achievements, the MOVE program has brought us a feeling of deep, inner peace about our son’s future.”

from EP Magazine, September 2005, pp. 26-27