Pediatric Therapy
Our specialists work closely with you, your child, family physician or school to design an individualized program that will benefit your child most. Children are naturally drawn to learning through positive experiences. Physical, occupational and speech therapists create fun, hands - on activities that appeal to kids, and use various play and social techniques to address specific therapy challenges.
Our pediatric therapists provide comprehensive services to children from infancy through early adulthood. Using a collaborative approach, we work closely with the family and other health care providers to maximize each child's potential for functional independence and communication through examinations, evaluations, promotion of health and wellness, assessment of needs for adaptive equipment, feeding intervention, and development of functional skills. We treat a wide variety of diagnoses from minor development delays to significant neurological disorders
Our pediatric therapists work with children who have a wide variety of special needs.
Depending on your location, conditions treated may include:
- Abnormal gait (toe walking, toes turned in/ out, uneven walking pattern)
- Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Autism
- Balance problems (unable to balance on one foot, walking a balance beam, frequent falling)
- Cerebral Palsy
- Chromosomal abnormalities
- Concussion
- Coordination dysfunction/motor planning difficulties (clumsy, running into things, difficulty riding a bike, skipping)
- Developmental delays (delayed rolling, sitting, crawling, walking)
- Down Syndrome
- Feeding and swallowing difficulties
- Intellectual disability
- Sensory processing disorders
- Speech/Language disabilities
- Sports related injuries and rehabilitation (sprains, strains, and fractures)
- Torticollis (abnormal condition where the head leans to one side due to tight neck muscles)
Depending on your location, treatment options may include:
- Astronaut training programs
- Constraint Induced Movement Therapy (CIMT) (constraint-Induced movement therapy encourages the use of the affected side by restraining the unaffected side)
- Hippotherapy (therapy with/ on a horse)
- Integrated listening systems
- Interactive metronome program
- Serial casting (a noninvasive procedure that helps children improve their range of motion so they can perform daily activities with less difficulty)
- TheraTogs and SPIO suit fittings (TheraTogs are an orthotic garment and strapping system used to provide deep pressure, bracing, splinting, and joint alignment)
Types of pediatric therapy
Feeding therapy can assist children who encounter issues gathering food and getting ready to suck, chew or swallow it.
- Difficulty with breast or bottle feedings
- Inability to transition to purees, table foods or cup
- Aversion to certain food textures or nutritional categories
- Food range less than 20 foods
- Poor weight gain or weight loss
Occupational therapists focus on helping children become as independent as they can be in all areas of their lives. A child's "occupations" are playing, taking care of self, learning and interacting with others. Occupational therapists assess the following skills and areas:
- Self care
- Fine motor
- Movement
- Coordination
- Vision
- Oral motor
- Feeding
- Sensory
- Handwriting
- Social
A treatment program is made specifically for each child using fun and educational activities. The child's program may include working one-on-one with a therapist, doing a home program, making a splint for the hand or arm and educating family and other caregivers. Occupational therapists also help with changing physical barriers, adapting equipment for the child's use and working with other therapists and teachers.
Physical therapist help infants, children and teens to develop, regain and improve their ability to move. Depending on the age of the child, or the child's physical limitations, moving may be learning how to roll or to sit on his/her own. Physical therapists assess the following skills and areas:
- Muscle strength
- Range of motion
- Movement
- Balance
- Motor skills
- Comfort
- Pain
- Special equipment
A treatment program is made specifically for each child using fun and educational activities. The child may need one-on-one sessions with a therapist, a home exercise program, special equipment to move, help managing care with other therapists and teachers and splints or casts to hold an arm or leg. Therapists use special equipment made just for children along with toys and play in order to encourage children to do their best in therapy.
Speech therapists help infants, children and teens who have problems with communication, learning, and feeding or swallowing. There are children who are hard to understand, can not understand what is said to them, can not hear well, or have a problem putting words together. Some infants and children have trouble with the movement of their lips, tongue and jaw that cause problems with speech or eating. Speech therapists are able to perform a video swallow and decide how well a child swallows food and liquids. Speech therapists assess the following areas:
- Child's ability to put words together
- How many words the child knows
- How well the child makes certain speech sounds
- What the child's voice sounds like
Speech therapists also test how well the child understands the words used by others, follows directions, remembers things, and solves problems. A treatment program is made specifically for each child to help improve speech and language skills. The child may need sessions with a therapist, do activities at home and use special equipment to communicate.
Insurance/Payment
Health insurance policies may include coverage for pediatric therapy services. If you have questions about your coverage, contact your insurance carrier. Please bring your insurance card with you to your first visit. Financial counselors are available to assist with payment plans.