By Rebecca Goldfine,Staff Writer

PARIS – A high school teacher will study massage next year to experiment with using touch therapy on disabled students.

Cara Maloney, who teaches students with mental disabilities, plans to take a sabbatical during the 2006-2007 school year to attend The New Hampshire Institute for the Therapeutic Arts, which has a Bridgton campus. During the 10-month program, she will learn different massage techniques, as well as take courses on nutrition and neurology.

“I’m going to see if I can teach or show parents about ways they can help their son or daughter,” Maloney said, sitting in her colorful classroom at Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School on Wednesday.

She cited a study from England in which caregivers were taught simple massage skills to use with disabled children. After eight weeks, she said the children were sleeping and eating better and experienced less anxiety.

In the letter she wrote to the school board requesting permission for her sabbatical, she said relationships between parents and disabled children can sometimes be strained, and that purposeful touch can decrease tension.

“I can see the potential for parents to better their relationship with kids through massage,” she said. She predicted that some parents will be interested. Others might not.

“A lot of people have preconceived notions of massage, and say, That doesn’t have a lot to do with school or my kid,'” she said. If parents of middle school or elementary aged kids are interested, she said she will also be open to working with them.

Depending on how comfortable parents are, Maloney said she could also use massage on her students. Currently, 16 high school students are enrolled in the school’s life skills program.

Some of her students have cerebral palsy. Others have limited motor abilities or movement. She said massage can promote blood circulation, reduce muscle tension and increase flexibility.

“It’s not going to be a lie-on-the-table, typical full-body massage,” she said. Rather, she’ll do shoulder rubs and other small massages.

Maloney, who is 32, grew up in Virginia and graduated from James Madison College with a degree in sociology and special education. She has taught at Oxford Hills high school for 10 years.

During sabbaticals, teachers receive half their salary. SAD 17 has a policy that educators must return to teaching for at least a year after they return. Maloney said she will probably use her massage skills outside of her school job, as well, and right now, she intends to stay at the school.

“I just think the benefit is phenomenal,” she said of massage. “It’s something I’ve always wanted to do, working with my hands, helping people perform better and feel better.”