MANILA, Philippines - Parents of children with special needs understand that the key to providing them with a meaningful life is to equip them for the real world. Mary Ann Cua, CEO of Quality Life Discoveries, knew she had to do just that for her son Jared. “My son was born with the odds already stacked against him. He was extremely premature, less than six months old, and underweight,” shares Cua.
Jared was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, a disorder that involves brain and nervous system functions such as movement, learning, hearing, seeing, and thinking.
During an oromotor workshop by Sara Johnson, noted speech therapist known for her work in oral-motor therapy, she met a Filipino-American mother who encouraged her to build a center for differently-abled children. With her family’s help, they converted the warehouse of the family business into a four-story wellness and therapy center, and opened it with a commitment to genuine care providing quality service from skilled therapists who have compassionate hearts.
Quality Life Discoveries (QLD) clients are children with developmental and neurological impairments such as autism, aspergers, attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder, down syndrome, cerebral palsy, persuasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified, infantile stroke patients, and children recovering from brain injuries, and more.
They have a client-centered philosophy. “This is essential to keep our services relevant and be responsive to the needs of our students and their families,” says Cua. “As a parent of a child with special needs, I can empathize well with families of differently-abled individuals.”
Stepping into the center is like being in a first-world childcare center in the United States.
Treatment plans are always with the doctor’s guidance, and are tailored to the clients’ needs. “You have to be mindful that each child is unique, thus intervention has to be personalized,” she stresses.
QLD offers therapy services, some of which are a first in the country. The multi-sensory environment stimulates the senses of sight, smell, hearing, and touch through a variety of lights, aromas, gently stimulating music, and tactile objects. Therasuit, an intensive exercise program, promotes strength and flexibility, and is designed to align the body to as close as normal as possible. Aquatherapy is done in a temperature-controlled environment that is chlorine-free. The gentle motions in warm water suit the child with autism to promote motor and sensory perceptual development.
Water shiatsu therapy, a nurturing and liberating experience for cerebral palsy patients, offers benefits that include increased range motion, muscle relaxation, and decreased pain and spasticity. It benefits other children (and even adults) who have trouble sleeping; improves digestion, healing, and immune system response; and decreases anxiety.
In a neural repair conference in India, Cua learned about hyperbaric oxygen therapy which, according to findings, made significant improvements in the lives of cerebral palsy patients. It’s been offered at the center ever since.
All those involved with QLD have versed themselves with the best practices and approaches through formal training courses, advanced readings, and consultations with experts on the field. “Eighty percent of the parents reported improvements in areas of cognition, communication, fine motor abilities, and play. In Jared’s case, we immediately saw improvements in focus and attention span,” she says, smiling.
Through Therapinoy, the center reaches out to the less fortunate children who need the therapy badly. It provides partially subsidized and free therapy services. Among its beneficiaries are the children of Elsie Gaches, a government facility that gives shelter to orphaned and or abandoned children with disabilities.
“There is always hope always,” Cua says emphatically. “You have to keep the faith that not everything is hopeless. As they say, ‘While I breathe, there’s hope.’”