4MyChild: Help and Hope for Life

July 17, 2007

New Virtual Technology Helps Rehab Kids with Cerebral Palsy

Simulations Allow Disabled Children To Improve Balance, Have Fun
(CBS) NEW YORK Morgan Chisolm, a 6-year-old cerebral palsy patient, is getting a big boost in her physical therapy, with a new system that makes her sessions fun and productive.

Chisolm, born three months premature, suffered a broken blood vessel in infancy, which left her with cerebral palsy. The illness, Morgan noticed, has made her different from others around her.

“The way God made me — there’s a problem.” she said. “With my legs, they don’t work like other people.”

“She’s not able to balance like you and I,” said Jennifer Chisolm, Morgan’s mother. “Her feet do move, not perfectly, but you know those muscles in her abdomen are just not coming in, so she just can’t balance.”

Thanks to some technological advancements, Morgan is participating in a unique form of physical therapy that has improved her balancing skills without her even noticing.

A new form of chroma-key technology uses a green screen (similar to TV weather forecasts) to place children inside their video games, allowing them to downhill ski, kick a soccer ball and score a touchdown from their own living rooms.

To read the entire story visit here. For more information about cerebral palsy treatments and therapies.