Riley therapists give Faith room to grow during outpatient sessions.
By Maureen Gilmer, Riley Children’s Health senior writer, mgilmer1@iuhealth.org
Faith Wallace’s laugh can be heard before she even enters the therapy gym at the Riley Children’s Health clinic on East Washington Street.
The 8-year-old positively exudes joy – not just because she loves her therapy sessions with occupational therapist Carolyn Majors, but because she knows she will be in front of a camera today.
Faith has been participating in outpatient therapy at Riley’s Eastside outpatient clinic for several months, including physical, occupational, speech and dance, and she absorbs it all with enthusiasm.
She picked out one of her Riley shirts to wear especially today, positively beaming as her parents, Ricky and Noel Wallace, help her out of her wheelchair to get down on the mat for therapy with Majors.
“You’re not going to be shy today, are you,” her mom asks.
“No!” she shouts, before crawling over to the swing that helps focus her movements. She centers herself on the swing while grasping the attached ropes as Majors gives a gentle push, then a spin.
As Faith squeals with laughter, so too does everyone in the room. It’s contagious.
Faith was diagnosed with cerebral palsy as a baby in Missouri, and the Wallaces finalized their adoption of her in October, a process that has taken three years. Intellectually, she is on par for her age, but CP affects her muscle tone, coordination, body movements, balance and speech. She uses a wheelchair to get around yet longs to be able to walk, her mom said.
She sees multiple specialists at Riley Hospital for Children, including members of the Cerebral Palsy team.
Majors describes Faith as “the happiest child always.”
“And she’s the hardest worker in the room.”
That’s evident when you watch the child move from activity to activity over a 45-minute session, with Majors guiding and supporting her along the way.
“Lots of our therapy is play-based,” the therapist said, but the goals are to strengthen Faith’s daily living skills – think brushing her hair/teeth or eating with a spoon – so she can be functionally independent.
“Her ability to control her movements has improved,” Noel Wallace said, as she and her husband remind their daughter to open her hands rather than curl them closed.
“Our hope is that she becomes more confident in her physical abilities,” she added. “If you ask her what she wants, she wants to walk someday, so that is something we are working toward every day.”
That confidence sometimes wavers at home, outside the safety of the therapy space, Ricky Wallace said, so he and his wife encourage Faith to do the things she’s capable of doing on her own.
“It’s the same idea, the same concept at home as when she’s here,” he said. “We’re helping her think in that way.”
Even as he talks, he’s watching his daughter. “Open those hands, girlie.”
Meanwhile, his wife reminds Faith to slow her movements so she can be more in control of them.
She jokes that she catches herself saying that every few minutes, but she knows her daughter can accomplish more at a less frenetic pace.
“She likes to go, go, go.”
She also loves basketball, particularly the Indiana Pacers, her dad said, which is what inspires her to try a between-the-legs pass during a therapy routine.
Her favorite player is Tyrese Haliburton, and she, along with the rest of Pacers Nation, was crushed when he was injured during Game 7 of the 2025 NBA finals.
The Wallaces want their daughter to feel confident as she grows up, and physical and occupational therapy is one piece of that, they believe. They also encourage her to dream big.
“Right now, she wants to be a police officer,” Noel said. “We just want to help her get ready for whatever life looks like as an adult. For her to live independently, if that’s what she desires, and to accomplish all the things she wants.”
Photos by Mike Dickbernd, IU Health visual journalist, mdickbernd@iuhealth.org
Related Stories
