Intensive Strength Clinic

A Physical Therapist with red hair smiling while holding a young boy lying on a Treatment Table. The boy is reaching up with one arm, smiling. They are in a room with a Universal Exercise Unit and various therapy equipment hanging nearby.

The Intensive Strength Clinic offers a patient-specific program consisting of occupational and physical therapy sessions to promote functional skills and strength building. With the use of pulleys and weights, as well as the Universal Exercise Unit (UEU), clients can improve their balance, coordination, and sensory/body awareness.

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UEU: Universal Exercise Unit

A young child with short dark hair and a brown bandana smiles while kneeling on a padded blue mat in the Reach for Speech PT Gym. Occupational Therapist is using exercise bands to support the child's alignment.
An Intensive Strength Clinic patient at Reach for Speech is practicing pushing up to kneel at a table. Two occupational therapists support him and help keep him focused using toy cars.
A young boy is playing on a large blue inflatable balance cushion inside the Universal Exercise Unit and holding onto colorful ropes. The Robinson Township PT Gym has large windows, allowing natural light to fill the space.

What is it?

The UEU is a wire device that uses a belt and bungee cords to enable the child to perform balance and strengthening exercises with proper positioning and alignment. It allows the therapist to isolate particular muscle groups, add weight for an exercise, or provide exercises in a gravity-eliminated plane. Research from Elsharkawy et al. (2025) shows that the UEU is an effective form of therapy to build muscle strength. Patients that come to Reach for Speech for the UEU typically have neurological or developmental disorders like Cerebral Palsy, spina bifida, autism, or Down Syndrome. 

What to expect?

Reach for Speech’s intensive program is a customized program for children who need to build strength and improve functional skills.  It consists of:  

  1. An intensive burst of physical therapy (PT) and occupational therapy (OT) 

  2. Use of pulleys and weights to strengthen muscles 

  3. Use of a dynamic suspension/bungee system called the Universal Exercise Unit (UEU) to focus on improving balance, coordination, and sensory/body awareness 

  4. Daily focus on individualized functional goal areas that are developed in collaboration with the family.   

The UEU Intensive Program provides the push a child needs to move to the next level in their development. Three weeks of intensive therapy can bring about progress in a child’s motor skills that may normally take six to twelve months with traditional outpatient therapy. Our program focuses on a child’s individual abilities and works on building their strength and skills to enhance their motor development and take them to the next level and beyond.   

The program focuses on repetition of gross motor movements and trains the child’s brain to make these movements automatic.  Furthermore, it provides a child with a means of proximal stabilization that allows him or her to improve with fine motor precision and strength  Once a child has mastered a movement, they can use it in their everyday activities of sitting, rolling, crawling, transitioning, walking, and playing.  

Program Schedule

The UEU Intensive Strength Program is a 3-week program held 5 days a week, Monday through Friday. Sessions are currently available at 2 of our convenient locations:

Robinson Township: Monday & Thursday

Center Township: Tuesday, Wednesday, & Friday

Sessions run from 8:30 AM - 11:00 AM and runs according to the schedule below:

8:30 - 9:00 --> Muscle preparation completed by parent/caregiver

9:00 - 10:00 --> Session with physical therapist

10:00 - 11:00 --> Session with occupational therapist

Primary one-on-one sessions with the therapist focus on several key areas, all of which may be targeted with or without the UEU. These include: 

  • Strengthening

  • Balance

  • Coordination

  • Proprioception

  • Functional Activities

  • Gait Training​

Young boy sitting on a small blue chair, smiling, with colorful balloons behind him, in a room decorated for a graduation celebration with a large banner that reads 'CONGRATULATIONS GRADUATE!! REACH FOR SPEECH' and a whiteboard with handwritten message.

Video Libraries

A woman assists a young boy lying on a padded mat in a therapy or physical activity room with colorful soft blocks, balls, and a corkboard with educational posters about child development on the wall.

Muscle Prep

Home Exercise

A man and a young boy are practicing a fitness exercise together in a cozy living room. The boy is sitting with his legs extended and arms supporting his body, while the man kneels beside him holding his son's foot up for a one legged bridge.