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ACQUIREc Therapy

(Pediatric Constraint Induced Therapy)

We've changed our name!

Pediatric CI Therapy is now called ACQUIREc Therapy. Five years of research and clinical application have led us to new findings and directions. The name ACQUIREc Therapy more accurately embodies all of the aspects of this treatment approach, its goals, and the science behind it. The word ACQUIRE exemplifies the overall goal of this treatment, to acquire new skills and function for children participating in this therapy while the subscript 'c' indicates the important component of casting. The acronym ACQUIREc is as follows and provides great meaning for the "whole" concept of treatment which is the:

We hope this acronym gives you and our therapeutic approach a useful label to reflect the science, therapeutic nature, and goals of our work, as well as, our hopes for your child, to ACQUIRE new skills.

Welcome to the UAB Pediatric Neuromotor Research Clinic web site. We are pleased to offer ACQUIREc Therapy, an exciting new therapy to assist children with neuromotor disorders. Dr. Stephanie DeLuca and Dr. Karen Echols, researchers at the UAB Civitan International Research Center and Sparks Clinics have led the way in developing this promising new therapy.

The clinic was founded with initial funding from the Alabama Health Services Foundation to fill a critical gap in the availability of interventions and supports for children with a wide variety of neuromotor disorders.

What is ACQUIREc Therapy?

Our new online brochure describing ACQUIREc Therapy is available in the Adobe Acrobat format. You can view this document online or save it to your hard drive for later viewing or printing. The brochure takes about 3 minutes to open or download on a regular dial-up modem. Click here to open the brochure. If you don't have the free Acrobat Reader software you can download it from the Acrobat Reader web site. The brochure file takes about 80 seconds to fully open or download on a regular telephone line.

About ACQUIREc Therapy

ACQUIREc Therapy consists of 3 major components:

    (1) therapy must be given many hours a day for many consecutive days to produce changes in motor behavior and the brain;
    (2) the weaker upper extremity must be facilitated and trained in many specific tasks, appropriate to the child's stage of development; and
    (3) the stronger upper extremity must be completely restrained for an extended time.

ACQUIREc Therapy begins by casting the child's less-affected arm. A full-length, lightweight fiberglass cast is applied from the upper arm to the tips of the fingers. Then the cast is uninvolved so it can be removed by the staff once a week to check for skin integrity, clean the arm, and offer the child a few minutes of movement. The cast is then immediately placed back on the arm. The reason for applying the cast is to restrain the use of the less-affected arm allowing concentrated facilitation of the more-affected arm.

ACQUIREc Therapy begins the day after casting and includes play-based and functional activities to encourage your child to use the more affected arm. An ACQUIREc trained therapist will establish a close working relationship with your child in his/her typical environment. The therapist will provide intensive treatment for 6 hours a day for 21 days (some weekend days are included) over a 26-day period. The procedures are designed to elicit, facilitate, and refine voluntary control of the upper extremity. We will engage your child in many fun games and activities, with both familiar and new objects. We especially seek to have your child ACQUIRE useful movements and motor skills, and also to develop new confidence and independence in a variety of everyday situations.

What are the eligibility requirements?

A participating child must be diagnosed with a neuromotor disability that results in one upper extremity being significantly weaker than the other, have no serious uncontrolled seizure disorders, and be medically stable at the time of treatment.

ACQUIREc Therapy FAQ

Click here for a full list of frequently asked questions contained in the brochure.

Contacting Us

If you would like to know more, please contact us either by telephone at 205-975-0466 or by sdeluca@uab.edu. You can also ask for information at the toll-free Sparks Clinics number.

DIRECTORS

Stephanie DeLuca, Ph.D.

Dr. Deluca is a developmental psychologist and Co-Director of the Pediatric Neuromotor Research Clinic. She, along with Drs. Karen Echols and Sharon Ramey developed and researched the efficacy of ACQUIREc Therapy. In addition, she was instrumental in developing, administering and supervising the administration of CI Therapy for adults for more than 10 years. Dr(s) Echols, Ramey, and DeLuca were responsible for the development of the first randomized controlled trial (RCT) of Pediatric CI Therapy and continue to work to evolve this approach to maximize it efficacy and clinical implementation as recognized by the new name, ACQUIREc Therapy. Dr. DeLuca's email address is: sdeluca@uab.edu.

Karen Echols, P.T., Ph.D., PCS

Dr. Echols is Director of the Pediatric Neuromotor Research Clinic at the Civitan International Research Center Sparks Clinics. Dr. Echols has over 31 years experience as a physical therapist in which the last 28 have been dedicated to children and their families. She is certified in Neurodevelopmental Treatment, Board Certified in Pediatric Physical Therapy, and has a Ph.D. in developmental psychology. Dr. Echols' e-mail address is: kechols@uab.edu

Clinic Mission Statement

The Pediatric Neuromotor Research Clinic is part of the Civitan International Research Center. Our Clinic's mission is:

    (1) to provide evidence-based, individualized treatment and rehabilitation for children with neuromotor disorders to maximize their functional well-being and independence;
    (2) to train professionals, in the protocols of ACQUIREc Therapy;
    (3) to conduct basic and clinical research to further the development of therapeutic approaches for the effective treatment of children's' neuromotor disorders; and
    (4) to disseminate findings to the scientific and practitioner communities about our work with ACQUIREc Therapy for children with neuromotor disorders.

    Back to Civitan Center main page.


Using this web site effectively
Click anywhere in the text and use your up/down scroll arrows to browse all the content without having to click through several pages. To save the information read about our brochure below.

UAB's ACQUIREc
Therapy Brochure
 (Pediatric CI Therapy)
The best way to save or print the information on this web site is to print or save our online brochure with new information and photos. Click here to go straight to the brochure - you must have the free Acrobat Reader installed to view. The brochure will take about 3 minutes for a regular telephone line modem to fully open.

Contact Us

Direct Phone:
205-975-0466
Toll Free:
1-800-UAB-CIRC
(Select Sparks Clinics Option)

An Interview With UAB's Dr. Stephanie DeLuca About ACQUIREc Therapy

The UAB Neuromotor Research Center web site is the online home for ACQUIREc Therapy (Pediatric Constraint Induced Therapy) program and it has received more than 16,000 visits during it's first 24 months of operation. The program is also attracting the interest of other health oriented web sites and now Dr. Stephanie DeLuca, who played a key role in bringing ACQUIREc Therapy (Constraint Induced Therapy) to children, is featured in an interview about the program at www.Holisticjunction.com. In addition to the interview, the article lists key research papers that paved the way for bringing this innovative therapy to children and their families.

FEEDBACK
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