Research in Motion: Cody Norman’s Study of Activity-Based Therapy

STEP Certified Paralysis Recovery Specialist, Cody Norman, instructs client, Arthur Martinot, through a balance and core strengthening workout routine

Cody Norman joined The Perfect Step as a Paralysis Recovery Assistant in 2021. Norman’s extensive educational background includes a completed Bachelor's degree in Kinesiology from the University of La Verne and a Master's degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Leadership and Management, also completed at the University of La Verne.

Through his hard work and dedication to his clients and The Perfect Step organization, Norman eventually got promoted to a Level II STEP Certified Paralysis Recovery Specialist. Norman has shown the capability to help his clients reach their goals. Through this success, he took it upon himself to conduct in-depth research on the activity-based therapy method.

Norman's work with people who have spinal cord injuries and his work at an activity-based therapy center inspired him to pursue the research portion of activity-based therapy. He also felt there was untapped potential for research at The Perfect Step.

“It’s super hard in research to get a population of individuals with a neurological injury, such as spinal cord injury, stroke, or cerebral palsy, in a large group setting, and see the daily progress,” Norman said.

The fact that he has access to this population of people who deal with these injuries daily gave him even more motivation to conduct research and explore the true potential that activity-based therapy can have on these clients.

Specialist, Cody Norman, provides assistance to client, Adam Fritz, in an upper body strength training sequence.

Through his research findings, the first conclusion he made was that exercise is beneficial for everyone, but it is especially crucial for people living a sedentary lifestyle.

“We try to get that individual or all of our clientele out of the wheelchair as much as possible, and as close to that anatomical position as possible, and get them to exercise,” Norman said.

Norman also pointed out that exercise is the key piece to activity-based therapy. It’s the formula for success when it comes to clients reaching their independent goals and the evaluation goals they set up with their specialists. Without daily exercise, clients would feel less motivated and, ultimately, lose hope for a better future.

One of the most compelling research findings Norman discovered was through working with post-injury clients and noticing how common the narrative was that after two years post-injury, recovery tends to plateau.

Norman thought otherwise when he heard this. He took it upon himself to implement the activity-based therapy method used daily at The Perfect Step with his regular clients. Through this creative risk, compelling results followed.

“We’ve found that clients who have been injured 14, 15 years ago are still seeing some gains with their recovery, and the method for this success is just through facilitated exercise,” Norman said.

The main outlier to these results was how the clients responded to activity-based therapy, which ultimately comes back to the basic function of exercise and how it strengthens the human body over time, allowing progress to continue.

Once Norman began to see this consistent pattern, he started asking for client feedback, which helped guide the direction of his research and the specific studies he wanted to incorporate into the activity-based therapy method.

“We rely heavily on their feedback to know what types of things we do in those short sessions that are going to help them, or that are going to be beneficial for them in the long run,” Norman said.

Receiving this client feedback allows Norman and other specialists to be more meticulous and specific when implementing certain exercises that will get the most out of each client’s body function. This leads to a beneficial training package, in other words, a personalized daily workout routine. It also allows clients to track their progress outside of sessions and keeps them accountable for doing their workouts at home when they are not at The Perfect Step facility.

This training package is also designed with an individualized approach because each client responds differently to activity-based therapy.

“Everybody’s very individualistic, so we have to train in an individualistic manner to give them the best possible training that they can ultimately receive,” Norman said.

This personalized approach also opens the door for different research methods. Norman has seen that there are many tools and strategies that can help various clients. He emphasizes that there isn’t one specific method that solves every client’s problem.

Specialist, Cody Norman, does balance and stability work with client, Jeffrey Ma.

Seeing the consistent progress in his clients has made Norman even more grateful to be part of The Perfect Step, an organization that not only prioritizes client care but also values the importance of research. He knows that having the support to explore and expand activity-based therapy methods is what truly sets the facility apart.

“Luckily, I’m in a good spot that prioritizes research compared to other activity-based therapy centers that simply don’t research at all,” Norman said.

He is also grateful to The Perfect Step for setting boundaries on how many hours specialists can train clients. This helps prevent burnout and allows staff to stay connected to other parts of their lives. Norman emphasizes that this type of training is very demanding on the body and can wear down not only clients, but specialists as well, very quickly.

Norman knows the work is not easy for the clients or the specialists, but he believes it is worth it. Whether it is through small progress over time or a breakthrough after years of effort, he has seen how activity-based therapy can change lives. Supported by a facility that values research and puts people first, Norman is committed to continuing the work that brought him here in the first place. He wants to help others move forward, one step at a time.

By: Zachary Grech - Student, University of La Verne, Class of 2025

Journalist Intern at The Perfect Step