Liam - on freedom through Rebound Therapy

‘Higher!  Higher! Yes! Woohooooo!’

As you can tell, Liam just loves his Rebound Therapy sessions!  We joined him on one of his block of six sessions to find out just what it is about it he enjoys so much.

Liam uses a wheelchair so he brings his own sling to the session and Jane, Mike and Liam help him up onto the trampoline, where they’ve got a parachute already spread out over a mat.  Liam lies on it with his head supported, while the edges are gathered up and the team start to bounce, gently at first and then Jane says…

‘Tell us when you’re ready!’

‘Now!’

‘Higher?’

‘Higher! Higher!’

Liam bounces so high that he lifts completely off the trampoline; his gleeful shouts proving just how much fun he’s having.

As the session progresses, the parachute comes off and Liam does a bit of ‘around the world’, moving himself around in a circle on the surface of the trampoline as he’s bounced around.

‘The best thing about it is it’s good to get out of the chair – freedom!’ He beams. ‘I like the big bounces best – I’d recommend it to anybody! I feel happier coming here, I feel tired after – knackered – but I reckon these lot are too! (as he gestures to staff). I feel good after a session and I’ll feel this good for the rest of the week – I can never wait for the next session!’

Liam jokes that he’s always on hand to take up a cancellation – in fact he’s so passionate, he wants everyone to know how much fun it is - 'I'll tell anyone!' he quips.

And lucky for the team, they enjoy it almost as much as he does!  Not only do they get a workout, but they take very obvious pleasure in Liam’s enjoyment of the trampoline, and the ribbing carries on throughout the session , punctuated by his wicked laughs and one liners, such as -  ‘come on, you’re slacking!’ when the pace slows.

Rebound Therapy is open to customers throughout the Learning Disability Day Service; ten members of staff are qualified and it’s obvious that it makes a positive difference.

‘Everybody loves it – you do, don’t you Liam?’ Jane says ‘We get you out of your chair and you bounce around! You just love to get on and be ‘thrown about’ and have your time out of your chair!’

‘It’s totally person-centred’ she continues, ‘it’s about what Liam wants to do with his session; not what we want’.  ‘And why do we do it? It’s fun, that’s why we do it; we have fun!’ Liam agrees – ‘it’s good, very good’.

To find out more, have a look at our ‘Days’ section or to find out more about Rebound Therapy and its benefits, visit their website here.

Read more of our case studies - click here.