We came across BDI 4 1/2 years ago, just as my son was aging out of Early Intervention. I had not had any exposure to pediatric therapy places and when I came across their website, I saw a review and realized that it might have been written by an aquantance of mine. Sure enough, it was and she had only the best things to say about the practice. Well, that was enough to get me to make an appointment. After meeting a therapist and those of two other practices, I knew that BDI was the place for us. The expertise of the staff was evident and I knew that my son was going to make great strides there. This has been one of the single best decisions that we have made for him.
After these 4 1/2 years, I have learned a lot of things about pediatric therapy in general and specifically BDI. There are lot of differences between adult pt or sports medicine and pediatrics. First of all, a practice can make really good money with adults because a therapist and their assistants can treat several patients at the same time. Pediatric therapists work one on one with a child. Adults are usually shorter term and kids often need therapy for years. This often means a lot of paperwork to insurance companies, schools, etc. to make sure that their patient’s needs are being met. A pediatric therapist may have 30 to 40 kids on their case load at a time. This means 30x the paperwork and phone calls. Not to mention the texts that they get from concerned parents at midnight.
Knowing all of this makes me even more impressed with BDI and all that they do. I have met so many therapists over the years and each and every one of them is committed to their patient’s success. They host and go to numerous conferences to learn as much as they can to help their patients. Just recently, they held a seminar about breathing and how it affects kid’s movement patterns. They came straight back to the clinic and began implementing what they learned. Another example is that once they moved into their new building, they built “cages.” These are metal spaces that allow kids to be attached by bungees to four corners. The therapist can adjust the height of the bungees to give the kids as little or as much help as they need. Essentially, it takes “away” some of their weight. This allows them to do a particular movement in good form that they cannot normally do for various reasons. In the cage, they can squat or jump the way it is meant to be done. Their body can experience the feeling of how their body is designed to move and it can actually help retrain their body and brain. The only problem with all that they do is that they could devote 3 hours a days to each kid and get so much out of it, but sadly, they have to get as much done as they can in an hour!
Every single therapist encourages my kids (I now have two kids there) and finds the things that uniquely motivate them. They have created a space that is dynamic and positive. My son has had such great success there. One of the best things that they have done for him is serial casting. BDI stepped out to develop a serial casting program at the clinic. This was a huge undertaking of training, planning and cost. So much so, that you normally only seen this done at hospitals. However, their commitment to do this, even at cost to them, shows how much they value the success of each patient. Due to serial casting and the therapy that surrounded it, my son regained his ability to stand flat footed and stay stable, something that he had not been able to do since the age of two. He can now run and casting has also prevented or at least delayed the need for surgery to address his needs.
Finally, none of this would be possible without the passionate leadership of Janis, the owner. As described above, I know that she is not in this for the money. She is fully committed to the special needs population in our area. She works tirelessly with insurance companies, vendors and families to ensure each patient gets the best care. She brings therapy dogs in to encourage the kids. She helps plan theme weeks for patients, provides classes for the community and regularly visits preschools and other events to educate families and local educators. She probably doesn’t even know that I have observed this about her, but us parents most certainly have.
I would recommend BDI (and often do) to any family that I meet that has special needs. You will not find a place anywhere in the area that provides the level of care that we receive at BDI.
