I have sat down to write this blog post more times than I can count, but I end up deleting it and moving on. However, I feel that it is my job as a parent, an advocator and ultimately a good human to share what I am about to share.
If you are following Conner on instagram, chances are you have seen me talk about MEDEK, post videos, share pictures, therapists, etc. I am strictly writing this from a PARENT’S perspective. I want to address some of the politics you may see on Instagram about Cuevas MEDEK Exercises, CME, MEDEK, whatever. I will start off with this - I refer to the therapy Conner does as MEDEK. Why? Frankly, it is easiest to say and type. Therefore, for the remainder of this blog post, I will refer to it as MEDEK.
I heard about MEDEK from another mom on instagram and through NAPA Center. MEDEK has been around since 1972. If my math is correct, that is 47 years. 47 YEARS this therapy has been around. I didn’t find out about it until Conner was over 2 years old. My own mom has been a physical therapist for 45+ years and she looked at me sideways when I asked her if she has heard of this type of therapy. None of Conner’s therapists had ever heard of it. There was very little on the internet about it when I started researching. If it wasn’t for another mom sharing, finding the NAPA Center and finding a podcast interview that Jo-Anne Weltman did, I would have never tried MEDEK. Finding MEDEK and seeing real results from Conner’s first session has taught me to continue searching for new ways to help him even if they are outside our city, state or even country.
So, WHY after 47 years was MEDEK still unknown? According to the creator, Ramon Cuevas, only three people in the WORLD (1 of which is the creator, Ramon, and one of which speaks strictly Portuguese) are “certified” to train other therapists. According to him, there are many levels of MEDEK training and you must be a Level IV in order to train other therapists. So, why aren’t there more level IV therapists? Over the years, many therapists have made multiple attempts to obtain their Level IV certificate in order to teach. This has been denied multiple times by the creator.
As a parent, this frustrates me beyond words. Hundreds of parents have reached out to me on instagram over the last year asking how they can get their child to see a MEDEK therapist. Sadly, it isn’t as easy as accessing PT, OT, SLP, etc. because there are only 3 therapists with “permission” to train others, MEDEK is not growing as much as it should among therapists. It will never be able to keep up with the demand from parents with only three therapists able to train other therapists. This is just one of the barriers - I won’t go into details on the cost of training, travel, requirements, time commitment, no CEUs, etc.
Why is there demand for MEDEK? There is demand for it because parents see the progress of other kids. They see that this therapy (along with many other therapies) works for kiddos with motor delays of all kinds. So, how would you feel if you knew of a therapy that could help your child, but you could not access it because there weren’t enough therapists trained, it was too far away from you, too expensive or the dozens of other barriers that families of special needs kids face each day?
You may have noticed that I said MEDEK helps kids along with many other therapies. There is not one therapy that fits all. I wish there was - life would be a lot easier for everyone if that were true. From our personal experience, many different therapies in addition to MEDEK have helped Conner get to where he is today. Conner does PT, OT, feeding therapy, riding therapy, spider cage, aquatic therapy, theratogs, stander, corner chair, e-stim, intensives, vestibular/sensory work - the list goes on. We try everything we possibly can because you don’t know what your child will respond to until you try. You don’t know what combination of therapies your child will respond to (i.e. theratogs while doing MEDEK) until you TRY.
At the end of the day, as a parent seeking therapy for my child, I could care less what level you are, who trained you, what certificate you have on your wall, etc. What I care about is how you work with my child, how my child responds to you, do I see progress, are you seeking professional training and growth opportunities, do you know about other therapy techniques that can help my child, etc.
I say all of this to set the record straight from a parent’s perspective. We are all doing our best with what we are given and I think that through sharing this there is an opportunity to help more kids have a better quality of life. My goal has always and will always be to advocate for Conner and share what we have learned during our 3.5 year journey in hopes of helping others.
MEDEK Resources for FAMILIES :
List of MEDEK therapists around the world. This list is comprised of therapists that have registered on their own through Our Life After NICU.
MEDEK Intensive near me - complete the form and we will connect you to other families in your area. Once there are enough families committed, we can work on matching a therapist to the group and dates that works for the majority.