Pediatric Physical and Occupational Therapy

Our physical therapists and occupational therapists work closely together to help children with disabling injuries or diseases to have as much independence as possible.

Physical therapy and occupational therapy each focus on different developmental skills. Your child is likely to work with therapists from both fields at some point during rehabilitation.

These are the primary areas of focus for each field:

Physical Therapy

• Strength training
• Muscular development and function
• Mobility training
• Balance and coordination

Occupational Therapy

• Daily living activities
• Fine motor skills
• Eye-hand coordination
• Reasoning and thinking skills
• Acquiring developmental skills
  

Our physical and occupational therapy services include:

• Wheelchair and adaptive seating evaluations to determine if children are sitting correctly and comfortably in their mobility equipment. The evaluations also assess whether the devices best meet the child’s needs and offer as much independence as possible.
• Cognitive rehabilitation, helping patients with brain injuries restore or improve thinking, reasoning, judgment and expression abilities.
• Sensory motor therapy for children whose senses (such as touch, hearing, sight and taste) are over-sensitive or under-sensitive to stimuli in the environment.
• Neurodevelopmental treatment to improve movement in children with acquired brain injury or diseases that affect brain function.
• Constraint-induced therapy for children with weakness or total loss of motor skills on one side of the body. The unaffected side of the body is restrained to force greater use and strengthening of the affected side.
• Fitness programs to improve mobility, muscle tone and strength.