‘Good vibes only:’ Robotic arm helps young medical therapy client live out his dreams

Published Sept. 19, 2024

Like any skilled photographer, 18-year-old Noah arrives at an assignment loaded with equipment from his camera to his tripod. Unlike most, though, the Sierra College student has one more tool in tow: a Jaco robotic arm, new technology designed to assist people with upper-body disabilities.

Diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy at just 18 months old, Noah has been a client of Placer County's Medical Therapy Unit since he was two. The MTU serves children and young people up to the age of 21 with particular diagnoses, mostly neuromuscular or neurologic in nature, as a subset of the statewide California Children's Services (CCS) program.

Noah began receiving physical and occupational therapy twice a week at the MTU in Newcastle at that young age, and was able to get his first power wheelchair after a year - the first of many milestones to come. Spinal muscular atrophy is a progressive disease, and while treatments in recent years have helped slow its advance, maintaining his existing strength remains a goal of Noah's therapy. Physical therapy sessions are focused on body movement and strength, while occupational therapy sessions are focused on life skills, such as cooking, that allow him to become more independent.

"I really believe, I would not be who I am and where I am today if I did not have these services," Noah said. "Especially the people over at the Newcastle office are very sweet and very helpful."

He first heard of the robotic arm at a summer camp for medically complex children when he was just eight years old, and brought the idea back to his therapists.

Though an initial evaluation for the arm when he was younger was unsuccessful, his team at the MTU restarted the process as he began his senior year at Roseville High School. By then, his interests had expanded and deepened his drive for independence: He had started taking media production classes remotely during the pandemic, and something had clicked. He took over the entertainment department of the high school's news team, and later began doing social media for the school itself, focusing on photography and videography.

"I was thriving there," he said. At the time, Noah relied on friends to help him with equipment, yet the arm would give him a new level of autonomy.

Noah's second application for the arm was approved by insurance (it would otherwise cost over $50,000) and he received it at the end of 2023, crossing the graduation stage with it in May.

"[The] arm has given me a lot of things that I'm able to do by myself, that may seem small to an able-bodied person -- like drinking from a glass of water or opening a door -- but those are huge for people in wheelchairs and with serious disabilities," he said, adding that he will never forget the first time he tried out the device and how in tune he felt with it almost immediately.

Today, Noah is a media production student at Sierra College working towards an associate's degree in film and media production, with aspirations of transferring to UC Davis to pursue a master's degree. His dreams don't stop there. "Right now, my biggest goal is to figure out if I'm going to be able to drive," he says, looking forward to gaining even more independence.

Noah credits much of his progress to the support system he's had through CCS and the Medical Therapy Unit. He still attends therapy with an OT and PT.

"We do see the kids from birth all the way to being 21," said PT Ila Suplizio. "So we get to be a part of their story, and we just really appreciate the families trusting us with their kids and kind of letting us be part of the village of raising the children."

Suplizio notes that the Jaco arm is one of many technological advancements in recent years that have helped her young clients, including power mobility that helps kids drive a wheelchair using their eyes. "To be able to be more included in the classroom and the community, being able to be more included in job searches -- it's rapidly changing, and it's really exciting to get to see how this is changing kids' lives and their childhoods," she said.

As Noah continues to set and crush goals, he hopes he can encourage others to persevere.

"There's a lot of times in my life where the health issues or mental health issues that I've had, I had every right to give up," he admits. "I kind of just said whatever happens, happens. We'll deal with it. Let's just get through it - and good vibes only."

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