Magic camp helps treat children with hemiplegia, that causes paralysis on one side of body

Updated

A boot camp for budding magicians aims to make rehabilitation fun for children with hemiplegia.

Hemiplegia is a form of paralysis on one side of the body. In most children under two, it is a form of cerebral palsy but it can also be caused by stroke or some other trauma either before, during or shortly after birth.

The condition means a simple task like tying your shoelaces can be tricky for children.

But it no longer seems such an enormous challenge for Ella Korlaki, 8, now that she can magically repair a piece of rope after slicing it in half.

"It's helpful, it's educational and it's fun," Ella said.

Ella is taking part in the first magic camp run by the Arts Health Institute, an Australian charity using the performing arts to help those with health needs.

Some of Australia's best magicians are working alongside occupational therapists, teaching close-up magic tricks to the young participants.

Her family hopes Ella's newly acquired sleight of hand will help her use both hands more effectively, and boost her confidence as well.

"It's wonderful that she has increased confidence and resilience, which will help her later in life," Ella's mother Judy Korlaki said.

Another young illusionist, 10-year-old Richard Moir, plans to perform his own one-man magic show for family and friends at home in Canberra.

"It's been life-changing for him," his mother Alison Moir said.

Like Ella, Richard finds tying his shoelaces and getting dressed a daily challenge.

"On the first day (after magic camp), he was coming home and doing things for himself that he would have asked us to do even a day before," Ms Moir said.

Teaching magic as a form of treatment

Overseas statistics suggest hemiplegia affects about one in every 1,000 births.

Most kids with hemiplegia attend regular schools but can find getting dressed, brushing their teeth or using the toilet difficult.

The idea of teaching magic to kids as a form of treatment is the brainchild of British organisation, Breathe Arts Health Research.

It incorporates scientifically assessed exercises in a range of magic tricks and was first trialled in the United Kingdom six years ago as an alternative form of rehabilitation.

In Britain, children who attended the camp were using both hands for 25 per cent of daily tasks.

After the camp they could use both hands for more than 90 per cent of tasks.

"We thought the very fine motor skills, the hand and arm movement required to do close-up magic would actually be a perfect fit," said the managing director of Breathe Arts Health Research, Yvonne Farquharson.

'Therapy by stealth'

Arts Health Institute magician Bruce Glen says the camp is essentially "therapy by stealth".

"They don't realise how far they're advancing," he said.

Jackson Love, 8, cannot wait to show off some of the magic he has learned, including a trick involving a sleeping genie in a bottle.

"When I started I couldn't use my right hand but now I can," Jackson said.

His mother Tracy Love says aside from impressing his siblings, Jackson is now holding everyday objects with two hands.

"They call it the amazing magic camp and it's amazing for so many different reasons," she said.

As well as the weakness on one side of their bodies, children with hemiplegia often suffer from low self-esteem.

'They realise the impossible is possible'

But learning and performing magic can help that too.

"We see children presenting themselves more clearly, speaking loudly," Ms Farquharson said of the program.

"We had a little boy in the summer in the UK who was the most softly spoken child ever.

These children, a lot of their life, have been told things are impossible. But we shift that mentality because they realise the impossible is possible. Yvonne Farquharson

"He was actually reasonably functional with his hemiplegia but he had extreme confidence issues.

"By the end of the camp he was standing up tall."

For the families of the first Australian children to take part in the program, developing these skills has many benefits.

"These children, a lot of their life, have been told things are impossible. It's impossible to use that hand and arm, it feels impossible to be good at this or be able to do that," Ms Farquharson said.

"But we shift that mentality because they realise the impossible is possible."

For more information contact the Arts Health Institute or Breathe Arts Health Research.

Topics: cerebral-palsy, diseases-and-disorders, health, family-and-children, child-health-and-behaviour, australia

First posted