Campus Connection

UWL education helped Cassidy Sanchez turn a clinical challenge into an innovative solution

When Cassidy (Coggon) Sanchez arrived at UW-La Crosse, she knew she wanted to work with children. 

As a teenager, Sanchez had babysat a child with cerebral palsy and had the opportunity to observe home physical therapy sessions. The experience inspired her to pursue pediatric physical therapy, and UWL helped turn that passion into a career. 

More than 25 years later, that passion led Sanchez, ’00, to do something she never imagined: help invent a new adaptive mobility device for her patients. 

Now a pediatric physical therapist at Emplify Health by Gundersen Hillsboro Hospital, Sanchez recently observed that her young patients required more head support that commercially available crawlers could provide.

She enlisted the expertise of engineering students at UW-Madison, and together, they developed the “Coggon Crawler.” This adaptive mobility device helps children with complex medical needs develop the coordinated crawling patterns essential to early brain and motor development.  

Built primarily with 3D-printed parts, the device costs less than $100 to produce, making it significantly less expensive than comparable commercial products and more accessible to families and clinics.  

Looking back, Sanchez sees a clear connection between her education at UWL and the patient-centered mindset that made the project possible. 

"When I was in the PT program, we were educated as generalist PTs but given the opportunity to choose a specialty track," she says. "I was able to go into a clinical setting and a school-based setting while I was still learning, and also had a pediatric internship in Kentucky." 

Those experiences, along with mentorship from faculty member Kim Harbst and clinical instructor Dawn Waddell, helped lay the foundation for her career in pediatric physical therapy. 

Sanchez also says UWL encouraged students to think beyond traditional clinical practice and consider how they could meet the needs of communities with limited access to care. 

"While at UWL in the late '90s, there was a focus on producing PTs who could serve rural and underserved areas," she says. "Part of that likely contributed to my finding more patient-centered, creative solutions." 

That creative mindset has become a defining feature of her career. 

Beyond treating patients, Sanchez has helped assess children for adaptive tricycles, building more than 100 customized bikes and modifying adaptive equipment for clients. Those experiences gave her firsthand knowledge of what existing equipment did well, and where it could be improved. 

"I would never have thought of myself as an inventor," she says. "But I knew what I liked and didn't like about the available equipment. I put together a list of must-have and would-be-nice attributes and let the UW engineering student team figure out how to make it." 

Working alongside engineers reinforced something Sanchez hopes current students remember — meaningful innovation often begins by identifying an unmet need. 

"I love that there's been so much interest in my little idea," she says. 

For students considering a career in physical therapy, Sanchez encourages them to embrace a variety of clinical experiences and remain open to finding new solutions. 

"Use your time in clinical observations and internships to see a variety of settings. Don't limit yourself to just one type of clinical setting," she says. "Familiarize yourself with resources available for your population, and if a solution doesn't exist, seek out someone who can help."

Learn more about the Coggon Crawler and access the open-source design here.