MOVE trains trainers

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BARC residents Kevin and Maria gave a grateful thumbs up and happy smile when trainees asked how much the MOVE program had helped them.

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MOVE founder Linda Bidabe (back) and special needs teacher Rebecca Dillenbeck helped Jacob Karl into a pacer for his first attempt at walking.

Some would view a young, severely handicapped child rising out of a wheelchair to walk as a miracle. Not those who know about MOVE (Mobility Opportunities Via Education) International. As its name applies, MOVE’s stock in trade, since the 1980s, has been enabling children, and now adults, with severe disabilities to sit, stand and walk independently. It is a curriculum started in Bakersfield by former special education teacher Linda Bidabe that is now in use in schools and physical rehabilitation centers around the world.

Once a year, MOVE welcomes dozens of special education teachers, physical therapists and other caregivers for several days of training to its headquarters at the Kern County Superintendent of Schools (KCSOS) Office in Bakersfield. Some come to learn basic provider skills and techniques so they can implement MOVE’s educational framework in the schools or rehabilitation centers where they work in their home cities. Others take training that will enable them to train others to become basic providers. One seeking to advance the training of trainers was Conchita Garcia, who is with MOVE Europe and came all the way from London, England.

“We have our first major regional agreement with Derbyshire County in the United Kingdom (UK) which has agreed to pay for anyone who can benefit from the MOVE program, and that even includes the cost of the equipment,” Garcia said. “Currently, we have about 2,500 using MOVE in the UK, but there are 110,000 eligible for it. Our main problem is people don’t know about us. We are creating awareness through training more trainers.”

Memorable moments occurred during the MOVE training from June 25-28.

During the first day, it was announced that the Bakersfield Adult Retarded Citizens (BARC) was becoming a MOVE model site on June 30. MOVE’s primary focus over the years has been children, but BARC’s involvement represents an evolution in curriculum which now includes adults. Present were Kevin and Maria, BARC residents who, thanks to MOVE training and mobility devices, are able to walk on their own and participate in occupational activities.

The next day was an emotional one. Early in the day, MOVE trainer Terry Goebel had KCSOS special needs teacher Taleia Larkin and instructional aide Sharon Sheffield learning how to set up a pacer in which student Aleah McKinney would demonstrate her newly learned ability to walk.

More drama came just across the room, where Bidabe and KCSOS teacher Rebecca Dillenbeck were helping young Jacob Karl from Thousand Oaks, Calif., into a pacer for the first time. Karl, who has cerebral palsy, is 4 ½ years old. His school district does not have a MOVE program. The closest is 25 miles away in Reseda. Karl’s parents, Ted and Lynda, found out about MOVE through a therapist at California State University, Northridge. They came to the training to learn how to better care for Jacob.

Once in the pacer, Karl was a little hesitant about what to do, but before long he had put amazed looks on the faces of his parents and the other trainers-in -waiting. Karl began using his legs as Bidabe gently guided him across the floor.

“I’m so very happy,” Ted Karl said. “He is pushing with his own legs and standing up straight. Before, he would always lean. Now, with the restraints holding him in place, the way he should be, he is actually pushing himself. More than ever, this has convinced me we are going to try our hardest to get his school district involved in the MOVE program.”

Dillenbeck has been teaching special needs students in the infant development program at the Claude W. Richardson Child Development Center in Bakersfield for a year. She was also impressed by the way Karl quickly adapted to the pacer.

“I came to the training to help our children who rely on the equipment and to get some insight from Linda (Bidabe).” Dillenbeck said. “She was the one who really helped in the classroom when I first started out. It was awesome seeing how excited Jacob’s parents were. It really shows how the program opens up new worlds for children and what they can conquer.”

Naturally, all of the new activity wore Karl down a little bit, and after awhile he was transferred to an advancement chair, where he could sit upright and still be mobile. Both his parents and the instructors thought it would not be long before fatigue would set in and he would need to rest. To everyone’s surprise, he sat comfortably in the chair for a long time.

“He’s doing better now than when I walked into watch a seminar video over a half hour ago,” said Bidabe who had come out to check on him.

Ted Karl agreed. “It looks like he could do this the rest of the day,” he said.

“If we have our way, he will be able to do this the rest of his life,” added Bidabe.

For more information about MOVE International, check out it Web site, http://www.move-international.org.


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