Rather than offering a single exercise class, InMotion offers a system of programs designed to complement one another. Our program is comprised of physical exercise that is amplitude-based and symptom-focused, healing arts, expressive movement, education, and support.
Every six months, we ask our clients to participate in physical and quality-of-life assessments. This information ensures that they are on the appropriate path toward success and gives them an opportunity to gauge their progress. Information from assessments allows our clients to start a constructive conversation with their neurologist/movement disorder specialist and allows them to track their progress.
Assessments allow us to create a specialized program for our clients, focusing on the specific areas that will help them move and feel better. As they participate in classes over the next six months, clients will experience changes in:
- Stability
- Power
- Strength
- Balance
- Mobility
- Gait
- Posture
- Flexibility, and
- Mental focus
Using information from client assessments, we have created four levels of ability:
- YELLOW is for clients who require the use of a wheelchair, walker or require a care partner for chair-based programming.
- GREEN is for clients who are unable to get on and off the floor without assistance, but do not require a chair or walker and can workout without a care partner.
- ORANGE is for clients who can get on and off the floor without assistance.
- BLUE is for clients who can workout without limitations and are capable of pushing to the max.
Since opening our doors in 2015, we have been committed to implementing a rigorous data collection and analysis program using validated measures. To date, our results show that motor performance and quality of life were stable or improved over a 12-month period in the group we studied, illustrating the power of a holistic community-based approach to wellness for people with Parkinson’s disease and their families.
As a 100 percent donor-supported organization, aggregate assessment results provide support for our approach and drive our conversations with funders, the key to keeping our services free of charge.