Leaps &Bounds In just six months of telehealth physical therapy sessions, Joaquin went from barely standing to running—thanks to the dedicated, collaborative work of his care team and family. When Joaquin, 4, is excited about something, he jumps up and down, laughing. “If he wants you to get him something out of his reach, he’ll pull at you until you understand what he wants,” his mom, Nancy, says. “When he tries to walk or run, he’ll start to skip and jump at the same time.” What’s so extraordinary about Joaquin is that he’s only been walking for about a year. Joaquin has CoffinSiris syndrome, a genetic condition that often causes developmental delays. He was also born with a cleft palate, which was repaired through surgery, and was tube-fed for much of the first few years of his life. Joaquin was referred to Kennedy Krieger Institute when he was about a year and a half old. His initial therapy sessions were challenging—Kennedy Krieger was a new setting for him, and he really just wanted to stay in his mom’s lap and arms. After a few months, Nancy and his care team decided to pause his therapies until he was better able to participate. In April 2020, when Joaquin was almost 3, Nancy reached back out to try again, as he still wasn’t standing or walking independently. This time, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, his therapies were offered via telehealth, meaning that Nancy and Joaquin met with Joaquin’s therapists virtually, on the computer. Nancy wasn’t sure how her son would do with virtual appointments, but to her and Joaquin’s therapists’ surprise, the virtual visits were incredibly successful!
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