Physical Therapy Services will assess concerns you may have about your child in any of the following areas...
Developmental Milestones
Developmental problems are unique in that within any single diagnosis or disorder, more than one body system may be involved. In addition to social, language, and cognitive skills, your child’s fine and gross motor functions are critical to their ongoing development. Have you ever been concerned about your child’s ability to perform typically whether rolling, sitting, crawling, walking, running, or jumping when compared to their peers? We can assess any concerns you might have.
Balance and Coordination
Ears, eyes, joints, and muscles work together to keep us steady and upright. When one or more of these systems is out of whack, it can be hard to get around and just function, day to day. The simplest things — like walking, jumping rope, succeeding in P.E., even playing — can become difficult and frustrating. If your child appears clumsy or frequently trips and falls, we can definitely help to overcome these delays before they become even more limiting.
Range of Motion
Your child’s range of motion describes the amount of movement they can move or have moved in their joints. This can be affected by issues with your child’s muscles, tendons, ligaments, and bones. Left untreated, range of motion issues create problems with most all movement activities, affecting endurance, and eventually causing chronic pain. If you suspect your child may have stiffness or laxity in their joints or muscles, we can diagnose the root cause and offer many treatment methods to help.
Mobility
If your child has issues such as cerebral palsy, spina bifida, seizure disorders, developmental delays or brain tumors... you know how this can create mobility issues that make it difficult for them to get around. This can seriously impact the quality of their lives. Thankfully, physical therapy and rehab can often help your child to manage their conditions and improve their mobility. If you feel your child is not reaching their full mobility potential, we can assess your child’s situation and pinpoint any particular mobility issues that may be improved.
Orthotics
It really is crucial to give attention towards the development of your children’s feet as it can dramatically impact the rest of their lives. Long term flat footedness that is left untreated can result in back pain, leg pain and numerous other conditions. Does your child stroll oddly or clumsily, perhaps walking on the outer edges of their feet? Do they ever limp a little for no apparent reason? After a long walk around the zoo or similar, do they seem over fatigued or complain about discomfort in their feet? We can evaluate and supply your child with custom-fit orthotics to allow them the opportunity to develop proper arches and build the support they need in their feet and ankles to carry them into adulthood.
Post Surgery Recovery
If your child has had surgery in the past, they may have difficulty in regaining normal skills. It may be hard for them to move around, sit, stand, or walk like they did before the surgery. We can help by evaluating your child’s strength, endurance, and flexibility... looking for delays. If delays are present, we can develop a customized treatment plan to work on skills that will specifically help your child’s body remember how to move again. This not only helps your child recover physically, but will also help them feel better about themselves as they regain confidence.
Associative Behaviors
If your child's development seems delayed in any of the areas above, are they also exhibiting any of the following behaviors? Sometimes one or more delays occur along with these associative behaviors.
- Doesn't cuddle like other children.
- Doesn't return a happy smile back to you.
- Doesn't seem to notice if you are in the room.
- Doesn't seem to notice certain noises (for example, seems to hear a car horn or a cat's meow but not when you call his or her name).
- Acts as if he or she is in his or her own world.
- Prefers to play alone; seems to "tune others out".
- Doesn't seem interested in or play with toys but likes to play with objects in the house.
- Has intense interest in objects young children are not usually interested in (for example, would rather carry around a flashlight or ballpoint pen than a stuffed animal or favorite blanket).
- Can say the ABCs, numbers, or words to TV jingles but can't use words to ask for things he or she wants.
- Doesn't seem to be afraid of anything.
- Doesn't seem to feel pain in a typical fashion.
- Uses words or phrases that are unusual for the situation or repeats scripts from TV.
We can help!
Remember that all children are different and develop these skill sets at their own pace. However, if you think your child may be struggling with adopting some of the skill areas described above, don't worry, we can help you! If you have concerns about other areas not described above... see below.
Speech Therapy Concerns?
Do you or other people have difficulty understanding your child? Do people think your child is younger than they are because of the way they speak? Are they using fewer words than other children their age?
Our Speech Therapy services will help your children overcome potential feeding, speech, and language development issues like those outlined here... see more
Our Speech Therapy services will help your children overcome potential feeding, speech, and language development issues like those outlined here... see more
Occupational Therapy Concerns?
Do you notice your child having difficulties with day-to-day activities at home, school, or in the community? Do they experience challenges that do not affect most typically developing children?
Our Occupational Therapy services support your family when you experience difficulties in these areas and more as outlined here... see more
Our Occupational Therapy services support your family when you experience difficulties in these areas and more as outlined here... see more