Services
OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY
- helps children with developmental delays learn basic tasks, such as bathing, dressing, brushing their teeth, and feeding themselves
- helps children with behavioral issues learn to manage their anger (i.e., instead of hitting others and becoming aggressive, the children would learn positive ways to deal with anger by writing about feelings or participating in a physical activity)
- teaches children coordination skills required to feed themselves and other fine motor skills
- evaluates each child’s needs for specialized equipment, such as wheelchairs, splints, bathing equipment, dressing devices, or communication aids
- works with children who have sensory and attention issues to improve focus and social skills
Signs that your child could benefit from an Occupational Therapy evaluation and/or treatment:
- Poor fine motor skills
- Decreased motor control
- Decreased eye hand coordination
- Overly sensitive to sensory input and under responsive to sensory input
- Touches people or objects constantly (seeking sensory input)
- Crashes and/or bangs into people or objects
- Poor attention/difficulties in sitting still
- Difficulty in calming self
- Behavior issues
- Emotional reactivity
- Reactive to feel of clothing, baths, haircuts, nail cutting, or tooth brushing
- Limited play skills
- Poor social development
- Lack of independence in self care skills
- Difficulty transitioning or accepting change in environment or routine
PHYSICAL THERAPY
- focuses on helping individuals develop, maintain and restore maximum movement and functional ability throughout life
- experts in human movement who examine, diagnose movement impairments and treat individuals with conditions that limit their ability to move and perform functional activities
- often only perceived as rehabilitation for adults, sports injuries, and broken bones
- Pediatric Physical Therapists play an essential role in the development of children by providing treatment for children who have motor skills problems.
- helps with developmental delay, a birth defect, chronic illness or an injury
- promotes strength and range of motion children need to move through their environment easily and effectively.
- Physical Therapy goals often include help with developmental milestones like sitting, standing, crawling and walking.
Signs that your child could benefit from an Physical Therapy evaluation and/or treatment:
- Developmental delays
- Overall weakness, specific muscle weakness, poor posture, torticollis
- Poor strength of abdominals/back muscles
- Weakness following surgery or casting (broken bones, knee surgery, etc.)
- Generalized strengthening
- Abnormal Muscle Tone
- Cerebral Palsy
- Down Syndrome
- Autism Spectrum Disorder
- Hypotonia-low muscle tone
- Hypertonia-high muscle tone
- Poor Balance
- Difficulty transitioning between different surfaces and maintaining balance on uneven surfaces
- Difficulty maintaining balance to perform skills like hopping, jumping, skipping
SPEECH THERAPY
- focuses on receptive language, the ability to understand words spoken to you, and expressive language, the ability to use words to express yourself
- offers treatment to many speech/language disorders
Signs that your child could benefit from an Speech Therapy evaluation and/or treatment:
- Articulation disorders include difficulties producing sounds in syllables or saying words incorrectly to the point that other people can’t understand what’s being said.
- Fluency disorders include problems such as stuttering, the condition in which the flow of speech is interrupted by abnormal stoppages, repetitions (st-st-stuttering), or prolonging sounds and syllables (ssssstuttering).
- Resonance or voice disorders include problems with the pitch, volume, or quality of the voice that distract listeners from what’s being said. These types of disorders may also cause pain or discomfort for the child when speaking.
- Dysphasia/oral feeding disorders, including difficulties with eating and swallowing.
- Language disorders such as receptive and expressive:
- Receptive disorders refer to difficulties understanding or processing language.
- Expressive disorders include difficulty putting words together, limited vocabulary, or inability to use language in a socially appropriate way
- Articulation/Phonological Processes:
- Problems pronouncing words correctly
- Using incorrect consonants from words
- Receptive/Expressive Language Delay:
- Difficulty following directions to complete a task
- Lack of vocabulary
- Inability to communicate basic wants and needs
- Fluency Issues:
- Repeating words or parts of words
- Twitching and blinking eyes while speaking
- Voice/Augmentative and Alternative Communication:
- Nasal sounding voice
- Lost of voice for days after excessive use
- Unable to use vocal communication
- Pragmatic Delay:
- Inability to make eye contact
- Inability to use greetings
- Inability to respond to questions
- Inability to express emotions
- Inability to interact appropriately with adults or peers
- Oral Motor/ Feeding Issues:
- Vomiting or tearing eyes while eating
- Picky eaters
- Trouble chewing or swallowing certain foods
- Reading Problems:
- Unable to read and spell words at same level as peers
- Dyslexia or learning disability
DEVELOPMENTAL INTERVENTION
- also known as Child Development Specialist
- uses an approach to therapy which encompasses both prevention and intervention
- includes evaluating a child’s developmental status, planning and coordinating an intervention program
- provides counseling for children and their families and collaborates and consults with other child service providers
- creates an environment to foster children’s capacity to explore and learn
Signs that your child could benefit from an Developmental Intervention evaluation and/or treatment:
- Behavioral issues
- Poor attention span and difficulties in focusing
- Difficulties with following directions
- Poor listening skills
- Poor comprehension and cognition
- Delayed language skills
- Problem-solving skills
- Social Skills challenges with communication and interaction
- Difficulties with coordination
- Body awareness and sensory differences
SOCIAL WORK
- provides emotional support for parents
- A social worker is a person to talk to; someone who will listen and give parents an opportunity to talk about their feelings, challenges and life experiences.
- A social worker will listen to concerns and work on a plan for services and assistance.
- A social worker can assist with parenting stress and ways to balance daily family responsibility.
- A social worker can join the Early Intervention team to help seek community resources with a family in order to meet their needs such as food pantries or housing information
- connects parents with resources such as obtaining SNAP benefits (formerly Food Stamps), enrolling in the medical assistance translocation program or assistance with basic needs such as heating, clothing, furniture, diapers, or WIC.
- Early intervention social workers will provide support for a family’s unique needs during the time a child is a part of the Early Intervention program.