Therapy through play is game plan for Abbeville firm

• By LAURA FAULK
• Special to The Advocate
• Published: Mar 24, 2008 - Page: 1B -- Acadiana Edition - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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ABBEVILLE — The shortest distance between two points is not always a straight line. Sometimes it is a whirly swing ride, a bounce on a trampoline, or a trip through a twisty tunnel slide into a colorful ball pit.

“Let them feel this movement. It’s through this movement that you organize and desensitize the nervous system,” said Lorri Malagarie, owner of Sensory Pathways.

The organization and desensitization helps children with such sensory disorders as autism, ADD, ADHD and cerebral palsy to learn how to handle transitions and move from one situation to another without falling apart.

“You get an adaptive response,” she said. “You don’t get the autistic behavior or temper tantrums.”

Sensory Pathways was founded in 2004 when Malagarie, an occupational therapist, noticed that her clients were making better progress by going to local parks than working in their homes.

“The gym came about because I said it’s what’s making the kids pull together,” said Malagarie, 38.

Malagarie first puts together a game plan for each child’s therapy needs before any real work can be done. The four-step process is conducted in the 3,000-square-foot facility of Sensory Pathways.

The first step is to watch how the child plays. That shows Malagarie what kind of movement sensations the child is seeking or avoiding.

“Kids have this drive to climb, to investigate,” she said. “If they’re not climbing, there’s something wrong.”

The next thing Malagarie does is to figure out what she can use as a tool. If a child loves the ball pit but hates the swing, she might use the ball pit as a reward for using the swing.

“If I can mix it up with something that’s fun, you’d be amazed at how fast the tears dry up. I’m desensitizing them to their movement fears,” she said. “If you make it fun, it’s not so scary anymore.”

The gym Malagarie and her therapy techs use is anything but scary or clinical. There’s a play set that would make any McDonald’s green with envy, a trampoline, slides, ride-on toys, chalkboards and much more.

The third step involves getting more information from the parents by asking what they see the child do or avoid so that she can piece the picture together. Parents will often mention that they displayed some of the same behaviors when they were children.