Success Stories:
Cerebral Palsy

Unlocking Potential

Success within our individualized programs usually looks like incremental progress points that lead to unlocking more and more potential. Breakthroughs are common as families work closely with their Jacob's Ladder team in their client's growth journey.

Cerebral Palsy

Student Name: Samantha
Age: 4
Diagnosis: Cerebral Palsy

Functional Challenges: Samantha entered Jacob's Ladder, exhibiting low bodily movement awareness and an inability to walk independently. She lacked foundational gross motor movement abilities (sitting, running, etc.) and had difficulty comprehending and using language.

Through qEEG brain mapping, we identified and measured areas of Samantha’s brain where communication flow was lacking (hypo-coherence) or was locked and overly used (hyper-coherence).

Using her top 10 areas of challenge for hypo-coherence and top 10 areas of challenge for hyper-coherence as the focus of her model of care, Samantha had three primary goals:

Goal #1: Communicate appropriately in moments of heightened emotionality.

Goal #2: Manage “fight or flight” response in daily situations.

Goal #3: Comply with routines and understand expectations.

"The doctor told me, 'I need you to understand, she will never walk like you, she will never talk like you, she can be the best that she can but she will never do that like you.' But now, I see her talking, I see her walking, she’s started jumping, she’s started running, and I see her so happy – and I am so glad we’re here and found this place."

- Samantha's Parents

Samantha's Program and Functional Gains

As the proper connections began to form between areas in Samantha's brain, she experienced substantial gains in her mobility, communication, and neurodevelopmental milestones.

Starting at Jacob's Ladder

Low proprioceptive awareness and gravitational insecurity, prohibiting independent walking
Inability to complete foundational gross motor movements and progressions
Challenges with language accessing and production

8 Months Later

Increased awareness of her body, muscle control, and coordination, allowing her to walk independently
Development of gross motor movements and foundational patterning leading to higher-level cortical function in the brain
Improved comprehension of complex language, original-thought statements, and conversations with multiple exchanges

Samantha's Brain Improvement

As the proper connections began to grow between areas in Samantha's brain, she experienced substantial gains in her mobility, communication, and neurodevelopmental milestones. Connection improvements seen in her follow-up qEEG brain map are shown below.

The communication flow between the Somatosensory Cortex and Superior Temporal Gyrus was lacking by 3.22 standard deviations from a normalized connection.

Through Samantha's individualized model of care, activities were implemented that improved the communication flow to +0.58 standard deviations from a normalized connection.

The communication flow within the Somatosensory Cortex was locked and overly-used by +4.10 standard deviations from a normalized connection.

Through Samantha's individualized model of care, activities were implemented that improved the communication flow to +1.47 standard deviations from a normalized connection.