Individualized Occupational, Physical, Speech Therapy
Occupational Therapy: An evaluation and occupational therapy sessions may be needed when there is
- Decreased strength or noticeable weakness or fatigues easily
- Problems with balance
- Difficulty drawing, copying, writing (letter formation, spacing between letters or words)
- Difficulty concentrating or attending to directions, stories, or conversation, etc.
- Trouble figuring out how to do new things
- Confusion of left and right
- Difficulty dealing with changes in activities or routines
- Difficulty completing tasks in a reasonable amount of time
- Difficulty organizing his or her space
- Over/undersensative to touch or textures
- Over/undersensitive to noise
- Over/undersensitive to smells
- Over/undersensitive to light
- Over/undersensitive to visual stimuli
- Over/undersensitive to movement
- Mouths or chews objects excessively
- Difficulty getting along with others
Speech Therapy: An evaluation and speech therapy sessions may be needed when a child
- Does not smile or interact with others (birth and older)
- Does not babble (4-7 months)
- Makes only a few sounds or gestures, like pointing (7-12 months)
- Does not understand what others say (7 months-2 years)
- Says only a few words (12-18 months)
- Words are not easily understood (18 months-2 years)
- Does not put words together to make sentences (1.5-3 years)
- Has trouble playing and talking with other children (2-3 years)
- Has trouble with early reading and writing skills* (2.5-3 years)
- Says p, b, m, h, and w incorrectly in words (1-2 years)
- Says k, g, f, t, d, and n incorrectly in words (2-3 years)
- Produces speech that is unclear, even to familiar people (2-3 years)
- Repeats first sounds of words—“b-b-b-ball” for “ball”
- Speech breaks while trying to say a word—“—–boy” for “boy”
- Stretches sounds out—“ffffff-farm” for “farm”
- Shows frustration when trying to get words out
- Loss of voice
- Uses a hoarse or breathy voice
- Speaks with strain and effort
https://identifythesigns.org/signs-of-speech-and-language-disorders/
https://identifythesigns.org/communicating-with-baby-toolkit/
Physical Therapy: An evaluation and physical therapy sessions may be needed when there is
- delays in development and/or hitting milestones:
-By 2-3 years-Walks well, runs, stops, steps up, squats down, jumps down from step, kicks a ball 3-6 feet, throws a ball underhand
-By 3-4 years- Can run around obstacles, stand on one foot for 3-5 seconds, hop on one foot, ride a tricyle
-By 4-5 years- Stands on tiptoes for 8 seconds, walks a line backwards, stands on one foot for 10 seconds, alternating steps up and down stairs, gallops and skips, catches a tennis ball
-By 5-6 years- Maintains balance, jumps rope, walks on a balance beam, jumps sideways back and forth
- genetic disorders, such as Down syndrome
- muscle weakness or imbalances
- poor coordination and/or motor planning – Does your child have difficulty with activities like catching, jumping, running skipping and the ability to think of and carry out a motor act
- nerve/muscle conditions, such as cerebral palsy
- torticollis/plagiocephaly- difficulty turning his/her head or turning to one side more often
- growth plate injuries
- hypotonia (low muscle tone)
- toe walking or any abnormal gait patterns, difficulty walking long distances without rest
- a variety of other musculoskeletal conditions like spina bifida, TBI, or similar diagnosis.