Children’s Assistive Technology Services (C.A.T.S.): How Local Leaders Provide Life-Changing Assistive Technology for Children
Partner Spotlights are a platform for Robins Foundation grantees to highlight their important work and for Robins Foundation to recognize the incredible efforts and successes of our partners. This month, our Administrative and Operations Coordinator, Annaliese Santana, interviewed Morton “Timp” Hecht, President and CEO, and Melissa Rose, Clinical Director, of Children’s Assistive Technology Services (C.A.T.S.). Since 2014, C.A.T.S. has connected children with neuromuscular disabilities with free assistive technology to enhance their development. In 2024 alone, C.A.T.S. provided over 1,300 children with access to assistive technology. Throughout their interview, Timp and Melissa provided poignant insights on the importance of assistive technology and empowering children with neuromuscular disabilities.
Can you please describe, at a high level, what Children’s Assistive Technology Services does?
Timp Hecht
We provide assistive technology–mobility communication, and positioning devices such as wheelchairs, walking aids, and braces for children birth to 21 with neuromuscular disabilities. For many families, access to assistive technology can be challenging and expensive, with restrictive insurance constraints on payment for assistive technology. Removing cost as a barrier is central to our mission. On average, C.A.T.S. delivers each assistive device at a cost of $200, yet its depreciated value is approximately $1,500. Importantly, families are never billed for the equipment they receive from C.A.T.S. The window of opportunity to achieve optimal benefit from assistive technology is small. Timely access to adaptive equipment can mean the difference between achieving optimal health and facing long-term developmental challenges. Matching children with the proper devices at the appropriate time reduces health risks, enhances school participation, and improves quality of life.
Can you elaborate more on the health benefits of assistive technology?
Timp Hecht
The health benefits of assistive technology are poorly understood by the public. Most people believe that assistive technology is only a mobility device. While enhanced mobility is crucial, adaptive equipment positively impacts all aspects of a child’s life. It enables children to reach critical developmental milestones and achieve optimal health and comfort. For many children with communication disorders and their families, assistive technology is their sole means of communication.
Melissa Rose
I’ll share an example of a patient with spina bifida. Spina bifida is a birth defect where a baby’s spine and spinal cord do not develop properly in the womb, causing a gap in the spine. This results in weakness and, in some cases, paralysis of the legs. Initially, my patient needed help to stand with a stationary stander. He then progressed to a gait trainer, enabling him to stand and control his legs. Now, he can walk short distances without the use of any assistive device. This past Christmas, he could decorate the tree with his family.
We also offer a variety of assistive recreational equipment, such as adaptive bikes and all-terrain wheelchairs. I worked with a little girl and her non-disabled twin sister. The little girl couldn’t walk independently, but we gave her an adaptive bike to ride alongside her sister. So, C.A.T.S. doesn’t just enable children to improve their health; we also help them play and have fun, which are also important for development.
How does C.A.T.S. acquire this kind of technology and how can families request assistive technology?
Timp Hecht
Families donate equipment to us when they no longer need it. We also have relationships with major healthcare systems throughout Virginia. The Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters (CHKD) thrift stores in Norfolk, Chesapeake, Virginia Beach, and Richmond pick up and accept donated equipment. We encourage our families to return the equipment when their child outgrows it or no longer has a clinical need for it. That way, our services can be ongoing. We refurbish all equipment to be safe and fully functional.
Families can request equipment from our online inventory. The child must be in therapy with a Virginia healthcare professional to receive equipment. Melissa [Rose] consults with the child’s therapist to ensure that the equipment is appropriate for the child’s specific needs and recommends alternative equipment if applicable. C.A.T.S. is also a resource for those who want to understand when and how to use pediatric assistive technology.
Melissa Rose
I work with children from birth to three years old. This is a critical age for developing wired connections and reaching essential developmental milestones. To understand what “wired connections” means, it’s important to explain neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity is the rewiring of connections in our brain. Our brain is plastic, meaning we can teach and rewire the brain. The younger a person is, the more plastic their brain is, and the easier it is to rewire. By rewiring brains, we can use different brain regions to compensate or correct for the dysfunctional areas. When working with children with neuromuscular disabilities, we do this through repetition and assistive technology.
Part of your mission is also to educate pediatric clinicians, teachers, and caregivers. Can you walk me through how you go about that education portion?
Melissa Rose
Much of our education focuses on using assistive technology. It’s vital that pediatric clinicians, teachers, and caregivers understand the importance of assistive technology and that we’re an available resource. We also help therapists decide what equipment would or would not be appropriate for certain patients.
Timp Hecht
We also provide continuing education for healthcare professionals focused on various aspects of pediatric assistive technology. The last session was presented by Ginny Paleg PT, MPT, DScPT in Richmond on treating children with Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS ) Level IV and V through supported standing and stepping. Dr. Paleg is an internationally renowned researcher on power mobility, supported stepping and standing, hypotonia, and hip health.
You all also accept volunteers at C.A.T.S. Can you walk me through some of your volunteer opportunities and how people can become a volunteer?
Melissa Rose
Volunteers are essential to the C.A.T./S mission. Our volunteers refurbish and transport equipment. While many of our volunteers are retired healthcare professionals, we have volunteers from varied backgrounds, including the military, business, students, and parents. Regardless of their backgrounds, all our volunteers share our commitment to inclusion and opportunity.
What motivates you all to do this work?
Melissa Rose
Personally, I love seeing kids be kids and seeing their families’ joy when their kids improve and be kids. There’s nothing better than seeing a kid’s confidence grow and feel the joys of exploration and play. That’s important to me.
Timp Hecht
Throughout my career, I’ve been in pediatric healthcare, primarily behavioral and primary healthcare. Before C.A.T.S., I had little experience with assistive technology and working with children with neuromuscular disabilities. This population is significantly overlooked. It’s rewarding to know that we’re playing a role in ensuring that a child’s potential can be realized. Without advocacy and without the services that we provide, these kids are going to be left behind. To be able to play a role in helping families and children achieve their dreams and live a more rewarding and dignified life is what motivates us all.
What do you wish more people understood about the community that you serve?
Timp Hecht
We all have some level of disability. I want people to understand that these kids also have abilities. They’re not any different. They have the same dreams, the same interests, the same aspirations as all children. And they deserve the same love and support as all children. Also, it typically costs 10 times more to raise a child with a disability than a more typically developing child. Finances shouldn’t constrain a child’s dreams.
How has Robins Foundation’s support helped you all advance your mission?
Timp Hecht
Our ability to expand our operations in the Richmond area is a direct consequence of the support from the Robins Foundation. We are reaching more children, reaching more families, and establishing more important and productive relationships with the area’s healthcare systems. Largely because of the support of the Robins Foundation, we have been able to enhance our transportation efforts.
Our only source of revenue is fundraising and grants. We have no fee for service revenue, which is not typical in a healthcare environment. But as I mentioned earlier, the financial burden on a family, regardless of their means, is enormous. We don’t want families to weigh whether children have access to the services they need with other financial needs. So that’s why we don’t charge any families regardless of their economic status. And we could not do that if it weren’t for the support of the Robins Foundation and our other donors and supporters.
Is there anything that you wanted to promote in this interview, in this partner spotlight that I can include in an article later?
Melissa Rose
In October, we have our annual Hallowheels event. We invite families to dress up their children and decorate their assistive devices for Halloween. This extraordinary event celebrates the strength, resilience, and creativity of our children and families and showcases the transformative power of assistive technology. We post pictures of the children on our Hallowheels website. For a dollar a vote, individuals
can vote on their favorite costume. This is one of our important fundraisers. In 2024, families from over 40 states participated, with kids ranging from infants to teens.
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To learn more about C.A.T.S. please visit https://atdevicesforkids.org/
