CME Therapy | Helping Motor Delays or Movement Disorders

Cuevas Medek Exercise (CME) Therapy is quickly gaining popularity and becoming one of the hottest new physical therapy trends today because of the INCREDIBLE results kids are experiencing.

Have you ever heard of this type of therapy?

If not or if you are searching for more information, look no further (and thanks so much for being here)!

We are going to go down the ‘CME’ rabbit hole together and touch on the what this type of therapy is, what to expect during a CME session with your child’s certified therapist, where to receive this therapy, plus more.

My intention is to hopefully equip you with the information you need to gain a better understanding of CME therapy and answer any of those lingering questions that may pop in your mind.

Without further ado, let’s get started!

What is CME Therapy?

Cuevas Medek Exercise (CME) Therapy is in an incredible exercise technique to help children with motor delays.

It is used in both physical and occupational therapy where the therapist will have the child do certain exercise movements to focus on improving their reflex postures and overall mobility.

==> Click here for one of the BEST tools to use if your child has mobility issues in their hands and arms <==

The goal is to progress towards developmental milestones such as rolling over, sitting, standing, jumping, walking, or chewing.

Have you ever heard the term thrown around ‘Intensive Physical Therapy (PT)’ or ‘Dynamic Method of Kinetic Stimulation’ (MEDEK)?

If yes, that is what CME therapy basically is … it is also called MEDEK or Intensive PT. It’s a form of therapy which can be ‘intense’ in nature because of the continuous exercise movements that are repetitious to help a child gain confidence and independence in their overall development.

If no, well now you know. 🙂

What to Expect During CME?

NAPA Center is an intensive physical therapy facility that talks about what happens during CME therapy sessions perfectly which is why I want to share what they have to say.

They explain, “During CME, the therapist physically manipulates the child to stretch out tight muscles and train the muscles in groups. These manipulations eventually allow the child to gain control over his or her trunk, which is necessary to perform basic gross motor activities such as sitting, standing, and walking.

Sessions begin on a table. Then, if the child is able to stand with ankle support, the floor is used. Floor exercises involve seven pieces of equipment, which can be configured in various ways to challenge the child’s sense of balance.

Exercises are repeated until the reaction of the brain becomes automatic and the body reacts normally to situations where required to keep its balance.”

Who Offers CME?

Through The LENN Foundation nonprofit I’ve had the honor of running with my sister and our incredible board members, the warriors our supporters have helped throughout the years received CME therapy through a couple of these facilities (mentioned below).

These facilities offer intensive programs to help children who have motor delays or movement disorders work towards developmental milestones.

We have received incredible feedback and the results parents have shared with us on what their child has accomplished is amazing. Here are a few of the fighting warrior’s and their achievements …

I want to provide you this list to help you out as a lot of parents will come to us asking where their child can go to an intensive program.

Here are my top recommended CME Therapy facilities:

• NAPA Center located in the United States (Los Angeles, California / Boston, Massachusetts / Austin, Texas) and Australia (Sydney and Melbourne).
• SMILE Therapy located in Ontario, Canada.
• Walk This Way located in Tumball, Texas.
• Total Education Solutions (TES) Therapy located in Troy, Michigan.

Are you interested in having your child attend a CME intensive in your area or possibly at your own residence? If so, click here to learn more.

Takeaway’s with your Child’s CME Practitioner

Doctor of Physical Therapy, Alyssa Vanover, says, “A CME® practitioner does not expect a child dealing with the frustrations of motor delay to always be cooperative or content with the challenges of CME® Therapy they are presenting.

Rather, it is the responsibility of the CME® practitioner to choose the appropriate exercises to support and provoke the best possible response from the child.”

When your child works with their CME practitioner, here are common things to expect:

#1. An evaluation will be done.

They will see what milestones are absent and base an exercise program around this.

#2. They will work with your child to have them perform motor responses.

The goal is to have the child do movements that they were previously unable to do.

That could be focusing on improving their fine motor functions (the smaller movements in their body) or their gross motor functions (the larger movements in their body).

==> Click here for an engaging activity recommended by therapists to stimulate your child’s motor skills <==

#3. The CME program is meant to be challenging.

The reason for this, it will help the brain connect with new motor functions and movements. If your child is no longer challenged by an exercise, then the practitioner will want to change it up.

#4. ‘The force of gravity’ will be used to help with posture.

Your child will be doing different exercises working against gravity to help with their posture, holding up their head, sitting, and standing and will not rely on devices to lift them.

By doing so, it forces them to gain muscle and strength in their trunk region.

#5. They will provide distal support.

Let me explain in more detail … our pelvic area is our center of gravity.

If we were always supported at our pelvic area, then we wouldn’t experience what it is like to move freely on our own as it would make us work those posture muscles, right?

Well what happens is the practitioner will slowly move away from your child’s center of gravity to force them to gain posture.

For instance let’s say their standing improves, the practitioner will support your child at their thighs, below their knees, by their ankles, and then by their heels, with each point of contact moving gradually away from their center of gravity.

#6. Strengthening exercises will be incorporated.

Exercises will work on lengthening and stretching the muscles in absent milestone areas to work on improving those movements.

#7. If your child has high muscle tone in their legs, this will be a focus.

The practitioner will have your child work on standing exercises to focus on aligning their joints and strengthening their trunk area.

==> Recommended by CME therapists, click here for one of the top tools to help with a child’s posture (which is used often during intensive therapy sessions). <==

How Health Insurance Works with CME

Your health insurance (private or state) will control the number of therapy sessions your child is able to receive in physical, occupational, or speech therapy. You may already be going through the motions of this right now.

For instance, based upon your health insurance coverage, they may be able to have one to two hours per week of therapy (on average) and the therapy will end once their number of sessions have been maxed out for the year or month.

When it comes to your child going to an intensive therapy program, health insurance may or may not recognize coverage. Which can be a bummer, I know!

Intensive therapy is an uncovered service (most of the time) so families will have to pay all or some of the cost out-of-pocket.

That is one of the main downfalls parents express when it comes to being able to have their child go to an intensive program. On average, CME therapy can cost a family out-of-pocket anywhere between $2,000 to $8,000 per child (if going to a facility) and around $1,000 to $2,000 (if having a home intensive program set up).

If you do go to a facility, individualized sessions will normally last one to four hours per day five days a week for as long as the program goes (usually one to three week intervals).

You choose the number of hours your child will receive and of course, an initial evaluation will be done to help you out and see what your child’s best options are.

Final Thoughts

As I mentioned before, your warrior’s muscles be worked in repetitious movements daily in a short period can allow them the opportunity to reach amazing results in their development.

As an intensive therapist once explained, if a child tried learning the alphabet for one hour per week vs. learning the alphabet a couple hours per day, which method would achieve faster results?

That’s exactly how intensive therapy can benefit your precious one by achieving faster results in a shorter period because they will be hammering movement over and over again.

CME is not mean to be easy but it is meant to challenge your child’s muscles and strength in new ways to help them perform movements on their own or with minimal support.

The results speak loudly. Here are a couple more success stories I want to share with you.

Overall, CME therapy is meant to give your child that extra boost in confidence and independence they need to live an all out better quality of life. <3

If your child has attended an intensive therapy program I’d love to hear your experience or if there is any feedback, thoughts you’d like to share, questions you may, or anything you’d like to know that’s not covered in this post please share your comments below and I will get back with you as quickly as possible. 🙂

I really do strive to make the content I create as helpful as possible for you…as a fellow parent looking out for their most precious gift. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for stopping by today!

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