What to Expect...

Therapists

The 2007 camp in Livermore, California was a fast-paced, exciting experiential learning process. Therapist and practitioners came from Poland, Russia, Sweden, Hong Kong and from all across North America to participate. We shared accommodations, swapped stories and came to know one another very well in a short period. Our days were extremely long. In the evening, we practiced on each other into the late hours. There was little time for site-seeing in the Bay area. Although a few people commuted, most took advantage of sharing rooms or sleeping on someone's couch or floor as the days were long enough without an additional commute. We often did therapy on the children after they are asleep. Come well rested, as this often demands long hours.

It is strongly recommended to book a room at a hotel nearby in Surrey or let us arrange your accommodations at the Pacific Life Bible College (NOTE: Please do not contact the College regarding accommodations, as they will be arranged upon admittance to the Workshop & Clinic.) unless you are able to find other accommodations within a 20 minute commute.

Families

by Dawn Burnell-Powers

The 2007 Clinic was life changing for my family. Our youngest daughter attended. She was accompanied by my husband as I was a therapist at the Clinic. It was tricky, though possible, to juggle being both a parent and a therapist. However, it would have been virtually impossible had my husband not been with my daughter. It was up to me to keep track of her schedule and make myself available at critical moments in her week. She has a very restricted diet so we brought her own snacks. Water was readily available. She is very mobile and needed to swim during the lunch break to get some of her energy out. Other children napped at lunch time. The children typically start to sleep very deeply after the third day of therapy and this was true for her. She and others started having difficulty getting to the clinic on time in the morning.

Our daughter enjoyed the other children and developed deep attachments to many of the therapists. My husband had to take care of himself as the days were long, demanding and filled with information. The children spend a great deal of time on therapy tables, so bring lots and lots of things to entertain them as well as special blankets or stuffed animals. Some children listened to their parents read, listened to music or watch their parents dangle lots of interesting toys over them. There was a break on day 7 for families to get out and see the area. I would recommend saving any big excursions for before or after the Clinic.

Special food will be catered for our Clinic and we will do our best to accommodate most dietary restrictions. Unless you can find accommodation within 15-20 minutes of the Clinic, I would stay at the Pacific Life Bible College. If your child needs to nap during the two-hour break, this is particularly important. Parents will also find that they need a quiet retreat during the day. Many children cannot be worked on while they are awake and require therapy after they are asleep. This is only possible for those staying at the Bible College. Also most importantly, Dr. Masgutova gives her informational talk in the evenings. These are essential for parents.

We also found having our own video camera along extremely helpful to record the educational presentations and the specific movement techniques Dr. Masgutova recommends.