It is 9 a.m. on a sun-drenched, anything-but-lazy Monday.
A whirling dervish of energy, enthusiasm and self-assuredness has just burst through the door to Rock Valley Physical Therapy’s Kids’ clinic gymnasium (1008 W 35th, Davenport, Iowa).
It is “Maggie’’ Monday and Shelby Seifert has announced her presence with authority. Boasting recently pedicure-painted blue toenails, Shelby has declared it time to get down to work.
A loveable dynamo on all fronts, Shelby lives with Down Syndrome and Apraxia (impacts her motor planning of speech). Limited verbally, Shelby is anything but limited in expression, energy, and warmth for those around her. She knows Mondays are for Maggie and there is work – and the positive rewards that come with it – ahead.
Though Maggie and Shelby have an amazing bond, Shelby Seifert’s life is bettered by more than just Maggie, who is Margaret Bohnert, MOT, OTR/L, Clinic Manager at Rock Valley Kids. Shelby has great affection for a team of gifted therapists providing compassionate, one-on-one care to better her life.
Jean Schmidt, M.S., CCC-SLP, plays a tremendous role in improving Shelby’s speech and communication skills, while Katie Finch, PT, DPT, CMT, Katie Haasser, PT, DPT, Ashley Ackerman, OTD, OTR/L, and Kylie Lucas, M.S., CCC-SLP, all have taken on important roles in developing – in a positive manner –Shelby’s speech and physical skills, respectively.
Yet there is but one Maggie. And Mondays are made for Maggie.
“She (Shelby) adores Maggie,’’ said Shelby’s mother, Jennifer Seifert, a sturdy, positive ray of optimism and realism when it comes to the obstacles Shelby faces in life.
A noted area health and fitness professional, Jennifer Seifert, her husband, Mic, a decorated and longtime physical education teacher in the Davenport, Iowa public school system, and their son, Alec, a star track athlete and graduate of St. Ambrose University is a tremendous everyday support system for Shelby.
“She loves everyone here, but she and Maggie have really hit it off,’’ Jennifer Seifert added.
Jennifer Seifert is quick to share that Bohnert and her staff at Rock Valley Kids have made a positive and uplifting impact on Shelby’s life.
“The changes in Shelby since coming to Rock Valley (summer of 2024) are incredible,’’ Jennifer Seifert said, noting Shelby is a huge fan of Cinderella, the holidays, and the film “A Christmas Story,’’ and knows and understands Bohnert is a fan of Ariel from the Disney classic “Little Mermaid.’’
“And yes, she adores Maggie, but the rest of the team here is exceptional, and I can’t say enough great things about them. Strides made? Just as a human they are amazing (with Shelby). Life skills, speech, and physical therapy have led to great change in Shelby. She was in a shell before she got here and now is a totally different person.’’
Jennifer Seifert says a recent event honoring her husband as SHAPE Iowa Teacher of the year, showed the strides that have been made.
“That night, when her dad was honored, would have been hard for her before here,’’ Jennifer Seifert said. “Just all that was going on around her, but she did great. And her bowling and her baseball, things that we can communicate with her now never would have happened before here. The difference they (The Rock Valley Kids team) have made in Shelby’s life is amazing. We love it here. Shelby loves it here.’’
When Shelby bursts into the Rock Valley Kids’ gymnasium she knows what stands before her.
Work…And reward.
She heads to an adult trike, works to buckle her helmet, secures – on her own – a safety buckle at her waist – and begins her ride around the gym. Though the bike belongs to Shelby, the Seiferts have generously keep it at Rock Valley for others to use and benefit from.
“It’s a great start to what we do with Shelby,’’ Bohnert said of the three-wheeler. “But the Seiferts have allowed us to use it with others. It’s so generous of them and it makes a difference not only with Shelby but with the others we serve.’’
With Shelby, Bohnert focuses on developing independence in daily life skills by improving motor skills, self-care, sensory processing, and social interaction through play-based activities and adaptive techniques.
Together – in an orange-painted room Shelby is comfortable with and Bohnert likes because Shelby likes it – patient and therapist perform roles that have helped Shelby in dressing, feeding herself, and improved her motor and communication skills.
Mixing wonderfully a firm, compassionate and humorous tone, Bohnert challenges Shelby with a bevy of life-skills tests, including an appointment-ending cut of an apple, to which Shelby excels.
There is a reward – the shooting of mini foam balls about the room for a successful completed task.
“We want to make sure she crosses that midline,’’ Bohnert says to St. Ambrose University student Carolina Pacheco Diaz, who is doing a 12-week clinical under Bohnert’s compassionate eye.
The task forced Shelby – with both feet planted on the ground – to reach across her body to retrieve an object.
“It’s there with Shelby,’’ Bohnert said. “We get those hemispheres talking to each other. She can do so many things. She will test you and she is independent, but she works hard. The improvement – the strides dressing herself and showing her personality – have been amazing. I cannot say enough about her and her family. Jen and her dad (Mic) are engaged and are there for her at every turn. That plays a huge role in Shelby’s progress.’’
While Mondays are saved for Maggie, Wednesdays are for Jean (Schmidt) and speech therapy. Every other Thursday is for physical therapy. For someone who is non-verbal, Schmidt says, Shelby has made great strides in her communication skills.
“Shelby is amazing,’’ said the ever-compassionate, dedicated, and knowledgeable Schmidt.
As a limited communicator, Schmidt says Shelby uses mostly single words, all impacted by her Apraxia, which impedes her motor planning for the speech movements.
“She lights up the clinic whenever she is here,’’ added Schmidt. “Even when she is in a bad mood. Her mom reported that Shelby is completing the ends of words more and more. She has better production of the early speech sounds (b, p, m), which has increased her intelligibility to others. Mom reported that she always says ‘Scooby’ but has recently been saying ‘Scooby -Doo’ at home. This is an improvement.’’
Schmidt also knows there must be a work-play balance with Shelby, that there is always a reward for her hard work.
“A typical speech session with Shelby is work then play,’’ Schmidt said. “We spend time working directly on her word productions. Then we spend time bowling. Shelby will say a few words while bowling, telling whose turn it is, telling them to ‘bowl.’ Shelby loves it when you miss. The more you miss, the happier she is. Shelby’s biggest supporters are her parents. They are great at following through on what we are doing here to help Shelby improve.’’
The future for Shelby is partly cloudy but with continual rays of dedicated parents/family and Rock Valley Physical Therapy Kids’ sunshine popping through. There is tremendous support at home, and her overall improvement will continue as she works with the Rock Valley Kids’ team.
“It’s been amazing, all that has gone into helping Shelby,’’ Jennifer Seifert said. “She always had short hair, never wanted anything else. She noticed that everyone here – the therapists – all have longer hair. And because of them, Shelby has longer hair. It’s simply amazing all that has gone on here to better her life. We love it. We love the fact that they provide student enrichment (with the St. Ambrose student on hand). As parents, we are grateful and encouraged.’’
For Bohnert, “Maggie’’ Mondays are a bonus.
“I look forward to Mondays where some people might not,’’ Bohnert said. “Shelby is a big reason for that. She is wonderful on so many fronts, her family is amazing, and I love that we get a chance to make a difference in her life. And she has made a difference in ours.’’
Rock Valley Physical Therapy’s Kids’ clinic, 1008 W 35th Street, Davenport, Iowa, will host a Trunk-or-Treat event on Friday, Oct. 17, from 5-7 p.m.
The night will offer a bevy of fun-and-treat-filled trunks from Rock Valley Physical Therapy’s Northwest Boulevard (Davenport) clinic, Rock Valley’s Davenport-based Five Points clinic, St. Ambrose University’s Student of Occupational Therapy Organization, Rock Valley’s Muscatine, Iowa’s Kids’ clinic and the Ken and Kaelene Kragenbrink-Voorhees family.
The night also offers:
- Pumpkin painting
- Face painting
- Hot chocolate/apple cider
By: Johnny Marx, Storyteller