Canopy Studio and Trapeze Therapy Help Special Needs Kids Soar

For Cory Evans, play can be a lot of work.

Every Tuesday morning, her mother Ann Evans brings her to Canopy Studio.

There, with occupational therapist Carlynn Kenna and assistant Julie Denton, Cory crawls, sits and stands. She tears and crumples paper. Each of these activities works a different set of muscles and stimuli in Cory, who’s on the autism spectrum.

Her reward for completing the exercises is to swing in a silk swing—while holding paper. Like the other activities, sitting in the swing isn’t all fun and games. It helps Cory work on her posture, improves her balance and strengthens her back muscles.

Since she began coming two months ago, 7-year-old Cory has started to vocalize, something she never did before, Ann says. Her legs are stronger from all the standing-and-sitting exercises, her gross motor skills are better and her fine motor skills are improving.

“She’s opened up more, she’s more confident, more vocal,” Ann says. “And she just seems happier.”

Running her Trapeze Therapy LLC business is a dream come true for Kenna. She and Denton--both of whom perform with the high-fliers at Canopy--currently have mostly clients on the autism spectrum. But they are anxious and ready to help special needs children with ADD or ADHD, gross or fine motor delays or spatial integration issues---all of which can be helped with occupational therapy, Kenna says.

"They need to have something that's a medical necessity," she says. "We need a doctor's orders to do an evaluation and then begin to work on helping them."

Denton, who is the business manager for the practice, didn’t know when she started how much she was going to enjoy working with the children. “Once you make a connection with these kids, it’s so gratifying,” she says. “Every little accomplishment is exhilarating.”

Kenna is very familiar with the benefits of trapeze therapy. In 2004, she started a similar program at St. Mary’s, where she was working.  She has since gone to work as an occupational therapist at  a home health agency. In her spare time, she and Denton run Trapeze Therapy. They're hoping to expand it.

The business can accept Medicaid, Blue Cross/Blue Shield and Wellcare healthcare plans. The first thing Kenna and Denton do with a new client is a complete occupational therapy evaluation to determine strengths and weaknesses. The second is to design an individual plan for that child.

"I think children like the context of where we help them," said Kenna. "They like being part of a performing arts center. Of telling their friends they are going to trapeze class."

To contact Carlynn Kenna, click here.