Bridge to Care (BTC) is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting both children and adults with disabilities with a focus on rural populations. The mission statement of BTC is:
“To promote dignity, individuality, independence, personal growth and community inclusion for people with Mental-Cognitive, Psychological & Psychiatric disorders”
Currently BTC offers a range of services including
day-time, in-home, and overnight respite and transportation services. The Specialized Services/Rehabilitation Services center will provide:
Residential services including behavior support, in alignment with the current BTC model, for adolescents with disabilities. Specialized rehabilitation services, also available to the community at large and other BTC clients, will be provided. These include: occupational therapy, physiotherapy, and speech-language therapy. A sensory room will enhance the services of occupational therapy. Other services under consideration are:
Music therapy - has been demonstrated to support further engagement of clients with speech therapy services (Geist,McCarthy, Rodgers-Smith and Porter,
Animal assisted therapy: Animals, like therapy dogs, demonstrate that they can offer physiological, emotional, social, and physical support for children (Friesen, 2009)
Addiction supports
Mental health counselling
GOAL OF THE PROGRAM
To provide children/adolescents with the opportunity to engage with behavior support, to promote independence through enhanced medical and rehabilitative activities, to engage in society, to achieve personal goals and to optimize community inclusion and involvement. Rehabilitation Services will be available for children living with disabilities in the community with the same overall goal
FOCUS
Physiotherapy: Focuses on gross motor skills, strength building, endurance, and fitness. Prevention and reduction of impairments focuses on achieving optimal functional mobility and participation (Houdrow and Murphy, 2019). The use of adaptive equipment such as braces and other mobility aids including walkers, wheelchairs and lifts prevent the progression of impairments. Occupational therapy: In children, occupational therapy seeks to improve engagement and participation in life roles with a focus on tasks that support activities of daily living (Houdrow and Murphy, 2019). Areas of focus are upper extremity functions, fine motor skills, visual-motor functions, and sensory processing skills. Occupational therapy often utilizes sensory rooms as a treatment modality. Multi-sensory rooms provide a feeling of relaxation and stimulation by stimulating the senses and movement producing feelings of relaxation and well-being. The benefits of sensory rooms include:
Ø Sensory stimulation
Ø Improved balance, movement, and spatial orientation
Ø A sense of comfort and calm to assist with behavioral challenges.
Ø Engagement of inactive individuals
Ø Enhanced learning and play promoting retention of and absorbing more information. Speech and language therapy: Focuses on communication and cognition by enhancing verbal or alternate communication expressive language skills (Houtrow and Murphy, 2019). Regular team communication, including parents and caregivers, is important. Discussion includes updates on the child’s status, the achievement of therapy goals, identification of new goals, the planned cessation of services and family functioning and concerns.
