The Intensive Program at the Upledger Institute was provided for years, under the guidance of Dr. John Upledger.  Kat and Chas have furthered the program, taken it on the road, and allowed it to flourish, providing services to hundreds of people who might not have been able to make it to the Institute. 

The Comprehensive Therapy Programs (CTP) are typically a 5 day, multi-hands, multi-discipline therapy approach, designed to provide the most development possible.  A large group of PTs, OTs, MTs, DCs, Nurses, Psychologists, Acupuncturists and other like-minded folks converge in one location, with a smaller number of significant needs cases.  I usually attend three or four times a year for the pediatric gatherings.  

A typical week at a CTP looks something like this.  This was January, 2011.

Day 1

I lead a group of therapists with Michael.  Michael is a 16 year-old boy, who was hit by a car at 18 months of age.  The ensuing brain trauma and following surgeries arrested his development at about the time frame of his original injury.  He can walk, but is non-verbal.  He loves the CTP and the therapists he gets to work with.  In all, a total of six therapists work with Michael the first day, mostly Brain Curriculum, peripheral nervous system development and other calming activities.  And he was much calmer in group the following morning.  His development is slow, but very observable.

Day 2

Nathan is an 18 year-old boy, well developed with Asperger’s Syndrome.  Spending the day with him was an exercise in being vigilant, as he constantly tracked everything that moved in the therapy room.  By virtue of doing this for several years, his parents had taken to calling him “The Town Crier” because he always knew everything that was going on.  As we spent the day down-regulating his awareness, he began to get much calmer, and less concerned with the surroundings.  In order to give him control and a handle on his new development, we named the new, calmer function “Nathan Two point Oh”, giving him, and his parents a reference to call on whenever it was needed. 

Day 3

An adult woman was there to release some pain associated with an automobile accident that happened a few months back.  She had been making a U-turn, while on the phone, and was rear-ended, in what turned out to be a hit-and-run.  Working through the painful spots and connections, she mentally took herself to a downhill skiing accident she had been in as a young girl.  She said she had hit a tree and race control determined she was fine, and urged her to get off the course, focusing on the racers still competing.  She connected those two incidents: going the wrong way, being distracted, and then being tossed aside, musing about how we can continue various patterns in our lives.  An interesting insight for her to come up with.

Day 4

This day we spent with Jon, a 25 year-old man who had been injured in a construction accident.  The framing had collapsed on him, breaking his back (T 11) and only “bruising” his spinal cord.  Hmm, if it’s only bruised, why is he still paralyzed from the waist down, two years later?  This was a multi-hands session focused on fluid flow, energy flow and muscle activity down the spinal cord, improving his sensation in his legs.  And letting him see the muscle control he was developing in his feet.  A most gratifying day.

Day 5

I was unassigned, giving me the opportunity to “float” around the room, looking for needs.  One young man had been a near-drowning victim, and was in a vegetative state, and showing signs of development, by communicating with blinking and hand squeezing.  Another was recovering from a stroke, and working with motor control of his legs, improving his gait.  Several other people were working on various issues, and the love, development and progress in that room was palpable.

I highly recommend multi-hands therapy to anyone with significant needs, and would be delighted to refer you to www.integrativeintentions.com.