Clinic Reaches Out to Families in Need

Families whose children need occupational therapy have an ally in St. Scholastica.

The College's OT department, with support from the 3M Foundation, has established a Community Clinic designed in part to serve children who are uninsured or underinsured. The clinic pairs the children with OT graduate students and faculty for weekly therapy sessions that last 45 minutes.

The outreach effort benefits the students by developing their skills in hands-on patient assessment, treatment and referral. The purpose of occupational therapy is to help people with illness, injury or disability achieve a maximum level of independent living.

The clinic is funded in part by a $50,000 Vision Grant from the 3M Foundation of St. Paul, MN. St. Scholastica was one of only four private colleges nationwide to receive the award, which encourages programs that "bring students and faculty together to further the connection between learning and the world beyond campus."

"This innovative project fits well with the College's mission and goals," said St. Scholastica President Larry Goodwin. "It helps strengthen the academic preparation our students receive; it increases students' awareness of ways the occupational therapy professional can contribute to society; it helps faculty and students become involved in the life of the local community; and it meets the special needs of individuals who would otherwise be unable to obtain services."

The clinic is in the Science Center, and is equipped with colorful equipment designed to increase clients' physical, sensory and cognitive skills. The 13 children who receive treatment have disabilities including mental retardation, fetal alcohol effect and syndrome, cerebral palsy, autism and traumatic brain injury.

Debbie Lepak of Duluth brings her son Jeremy Almeida, 6, who has autism.

"He's bright at learning, and very verbal," she said of her son, "but he needs sensory stimulation. He enjoys it here so much. When we get home he's calm. It helps him a lot."

Marilyn Gow of Duluth brings her sons Richard, 13, and Xavier, 6, who have hyperactivity/attention deficit disorder, sensory issues and other challenges.

The clinic experience has "given us more tools as a family," she said. "That's mostly what I came here for. To help sort out the many issues these boys have." Richard works with OT student Brady Town. "Brady has been really good for Richard," Gow said. "He loves his time with him. Brady being a male, Richard feels like he's got another good mentor."

The Clinic is the brainchild of Nancy Gabres, assistant professor of Occupational Therapy. She notes that many of the children have diagnoses that limit how much therapy they can receive through conventional medical or school channels, either because they don't have "enough impairment" for insurance reasons.

"Some of these children might get 20 minutes of OT a week through their school. Some of the families who have insurance might be able to get more through a medical setting, but the medical setting can be very intimidating. And on the insurance piece, they have to show consistent gains within a specific amount of time. Some of these kids do not change rapidly, yet they benefit from individualized services.

"I've worked in pediatrics for 20 years and have always thought it would be a great thing to have a space where these children could get more help and have students get hands-on experience working with them," Gabres said. "Seeing it happening is very exciting."