SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - There's been a life changing experience taking place in Santa Barbara for children with disabilities over the last three weeks.
The NAPA center specializes in pediatric intensive therapy that is hyper-focused for the individual child. The closest location is Los Angeles, but this program has come to the Grace Fisher Foundation Club House at the La Cumbre Plaza with some of the costs offset through community grants and donations.
Kalle Faruki watched her child Dilyn progress significantly. "The skills she's learned in three weeks, we knew NAPA was big, but this has been huge. She is learning to walk without devices. She's not walking without hands on her, but she's learned to initiate steps here, which is something that she hasn't been able to do"
Bryan LaScala with the NAPA Center said, "for us pop-ups reach families that were just too far out of the distance to reach us."
Some of the children attending the Santa Barbara sessions were from the local area, but also Ventura and Lompoc. 16 families were chosen for this session. A much larger number applied.
Dilyn Faruki was working with her therapist and overheard saying, "I was born ready" as she took on her next task. She has cerebral palsy.
Her learning skills in therapy and at school for this nine-year old are strong. "She knows exactly what she's learning," said Kalle Faruki. "Her brain needs to put it to the nerves and muscles. And so she knows she's doing well and her self esteem has just soared."
Some of the parents have traveled to Los Angeles for the three five day sessions but this is now far more manageable. Lascala said, "they need to pack up their entire family. Take time off work and there's a significant cost."
For this pop-up, they can stay close to a normal schedule. "They can still go back to school for a half of the day or go back to their jobs or things like that," said LaScala.
Parents coming here say often times in the weeks ahead they see some improvements they would not normally have seen.
"In a month after they call us and say 'my child just took their first step,' said LaScala. "So we continue celebrating them after they left."
Jana Brody is with the Grace Fisher Foundation and Inclusive Arts Clubhouse at La Cumbre Plaza.
"To bring in the NAPA group it's been really amazing because these families would not get this service otherwise. So therapy is a huge piece of our core. And so we felt, this collaboration was ideal."
With the community donations and grants for the therapy costs, comes a drop in costs and other options.
Faruki said, "we're going to put it towards getting her an electric scooter."
The NAPA sessions are in a setting where Santa Barbara's Grace Fisher leads the inspirational effort for an all inclusive space for physical and mental therapy and the arts which she has been thriving on since her challenge began at age 17.
Specialized Pediatric Intensive Therapy comes to Santa Barbara for children with disabilities News Channel 3-12.
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