Families living with cerebral palsy gather for Neuromotor Resource Expo in Calgary

Children with cerebral palsy and their families got to learn more about the supports and new technology available to them to improve their lives.

Families living with cerebral palsy and other neuromotor conditions gathered Saturday for the Neuromotor Resource Expo, a one-day event that mixed cutting-edge technology with hands-on community support.

Hosted by Cerebral Palsy Kids and Families as part of its 75th-anniversary celebration, the event brought together more than 50 local organizations, from clinicians and adaptive recreation specialists to robotics researchers.

Executive director Sheralee Stelter said the expo was designed to connect parents and caregivers with services that can be difficult to find on their own.

“We wanted to bring together vendors and people from the hospital and robotics labs and brain-computer interface and resources that we supply to our families,” she said. “It’s truly incredible how technology is changing the lives of our kids, living it for the better.”

The expo featured demonstrations of robotic walking devices and brain-computer interface systems that allow users to move toys or devices with their thoughts, all innovations that once seemed in the realm of science fiction.

University of Calgary researcher Elizabeth Condliffe, who leads the Pediatric Onset Neuromotor Impairment Lab, said the pace of change has been remarkable.

“There are now ways to facilitate walking for people who cannot walk,” she said. “All of these devices have hit the market in the last 10 years, and two of them in the last five years.”

Near-normal lifespans

Condliffe said adults with cerebral palsy now live near-normal lifespans but still face barriers to full participation.

“We need to do a better job of making sure that people have the supports they need to live the lives they want (like) competitive employment, living independently and preventing preventable secondary health conditions,” she said. “Community support is the key.”

Among those showing what’s possible was Alex Mertens, 26, who uses a Trexo robotic walking device .

“It has taken away all my chronic knee pain,” she said. “I’m able to go ride my bike, go rock climbing — I’m able to do a whole bunch of things now that my knee is better.”

Mertens said walking upright has changed how others see her.

“When they just see me walking and the wheelchair is not there, they don’t question, ‘Are you in a wheelchair?’ It makes me feel like a regular person that can walk — just with the help of a device.”

Now a kinesiology student at Mount Royal University, as well as working with Condliffe’s lab, Mertens said she hopes to help other people with disabilities get active.

“All kids should have this freedom to walk,” she said.

For Stelter, whose own son has cerebral palsy and is now 30 years old and living independently, the event was proof of how far the community has come.

“Robotics didn’t exist when he was little,” she said. “As you can see around here today, there are kids in these devices walking around — it’s incredible.”