Does My Child Need Therapy?

All children develop in their own special ways and at different paces, but there are general social milestones to be on the lookout for. As your child grows older, his or her social skills, like processing sensory smells or verbally communicating well with others, should progress naturally. If you or a teacher start to notice concerning patterns in your child’s behaviors it may be time to consider pediatric therapy to help your child maximize their potential! Following are a few behaviors that may help you determine if your child could benefit from therapy.

• 0-3 years old
  • Poor muscle tone
  • Difficulty grasping objects with one or both hands
• 3-5 Years old
  • Poor balance and coordination
  • Clumsy or unable to navigate environment
  • Jumps from one activity to another
• 6-15 Years old
  • Clumsy, trips and falls frequently
  • Fatigued when engaging in fine motor activity or handwriting
  • Poor handwriting

View our comprehensive pediatric occupational therapy checklist to learn more. 

How Does Pediatric Therapy Help Social Skills?

When children struggle to process emotions, verbal cues, or their environment, it can impact their social development. Our pediatric physical therapy and occupational therapy services are an opportunity for children to experience various sensory stimulations in a controlled environment. The specialized therapies help children process their emotions and focus their attention leading to positive social interactions. 

1. Understanding the Environment

A busy playground or loud classroom could overload a child’s sensory input and cause them to act out or respond negatively to their peers. Our sensory gym is a great tool to help them experience stimulations in a controlled environment leading to a better understanding of how to perform positively in real-world environments. 

2. Developing Communication Skills

Our speech pathologist can pinpoint your child’s specific communication disorder and use various books, toys, and games to help with the learning and development of basic motor skills. We often see speech therapy used to correct articulation, fluency and resonance delays.  As they learn communication skills it will help increase their confidence, independence, and school readiness!

3. Restoring Strength, Balance and Mobility

When dealing with a sports injury, rehabilitation, or motor skill disorder, physical therapy can increase the mobility of a struggling child. Children often learn through play, so we can utilize our sensory gym and game activities to help children focus on certain movements to increase healthy development. As children work through physical therapy, they will regain functional skills for their environment leading to reduced social frustrations and increasing their confidence to return to normal activities.