The Shorkey Education and Rehabilitation center has provided a new way for children to get out of the house this summer and learn a new hobby while developing their minds and bodies. Started back in the summer 2022, the Shorkey Center’s Physical Therapy Team introduced “stand up paddleboard aquatic therapy” (SUPAT) to their wide range of programs for special needs children in Southeast Texas. Thanks in part to a grant provided by the “Million Dollar Round Table Foundation,” these programs have been able to empower children participating in the classes with new skills and improved development, staff reports. Additionally, as realized by the nonprofit, the new initiative had the added advantage of showing parents what their kids are capable of while providing a fun activity the whole family can enjoy together.
Shorkey’s service was sparked in response to studies that have shown programs like those offered by the Physical Therapy Team provide significant benefits both physically and mentally including improved cardiovascular, musculoskeletal and neurological system benefits, as examples.
The SUPAT program alone has provided 19 children this summer with paddleboarding lessons meant to improve their motor skills and provide opportunities to engage with other children in a fun and safe environment. The physical gains PT patients reportedly make in a short 10 weeks are outstanding, staff assert.
“Possibilities only become reality with opportunity,” Executive Director Dr. Robin Pearson said, adding that the agency is providing an extraordinary opportunity for kids to develop a fitness driven recreational activity.
“Beyond therapy,” according to Pearson, “many of them develop a lifetime exercise they can participate in with their peers in a community setting.”
Pearson went on to praise the Shorkey team, Dr. Christina O’Neal and her staff, who have partnered with a team out of Georgia State University to continue studying the effects of stand-up paddleboarding on children that have been diagnosed with cerebral palsy and autism.
“We are one of only two testing sites in the United States that are collecting data to aid in further research of the benefits of standup paddleboarding as a therapeutic tool,” Pearson said.
To learn more about summer programs provided by the Shorkey Education and Rehabilitation Center, visit www.shorkey.org.