If you feel your child might benefit from pediatric therapy services here in Northern Colorado, you’re in luck. There are many such services available for your child to benefit from. These include:
- Pediatric Physical Therapy: Individualized care to treat a range of disorders, delays, and impairments.
- Pediatric Occupational Therapy: Using age-appropriate, play-based therapy to address challenges in the physical, visual, cognitive, sensory, or behavioral areas.
- Early Intervention: Working with children from birth to age three to address and remedy issues during these key early years.
Let’s look at each of these therapy services more closely.
Pediatric Physical Therapy
Physical therapy services are extremely valuable for treating any musculoskeletal issues, whether they’ve been present a long time (even since birth), or they’ve developed more recently due to illness, injury, or unknown reasons. These treatments can increase mobility and optimize the function of groups of bones and muscles.
In the case of pediatric physical therapy, the therapist uses age-appropriate modalities to treat children who are experiencing any issues with their muscles, bones, or connective tissues. Working with children requires a somewhat different approach; children tend to respond and heal quickly, but their attention spans are often shorter. A therapist who specializes in pediatrics will know how to hold a child’s attention during exercises designed to improve functionality.
Children respond well to games and anything that’s fun! That’s why it’s the job of a pediatric physical therapist to turn the important work of therapy into a fun game. The therapist also needs to know how to use encouraging words to motivate kids. While this applies to adults, too (who doesn’t want to hear encouragement?), it’s especially true of children.
Pediatric physical therapy can treat a number of conditions. It can strengthen muscles after a sports injury or any type of fall. It can strengthen bones that are experiencing any issues during and after critical growth periods. And it can address any type of musculoskeletal problems that have been present since birth. If you feel that your child could benefit from pediatric physical therapy here in Northern Colorado, give us a call today to make an appointment.
Pediatric Occupational Therapy
While physical therapy treats problems related to muscles, bones, ligaments, tendons, cartilage, and related systems and tissues, occupational therapy addresses rehabilitation to help with daily activities. For adults, this could be therapy that helps a person re-learn tasks important to work, getting from place to place, doing household chores, or even basic grooming following injury or illness.
For children, occupational therapy can help with school activities, walking, interacting with others, writing tasks, feeling comfortable with playground equipment, and so much more related to their world. Pediatric occupational therapy addresses the whole child, ensuring that he or she can get by comfortably in their daily tasks.
An occupational therapist may work with a child in the following areas:
- Foster school success
- Build confidence on the playground or with peers
- Equip with skills for daily activities
- Improve physical and motor skills
- Teach skills that compensate for visual issues
- Provide emotional and behavioral coping mechanisms
- Assist with any cognitive or sensory challenges
- And so much more!
Every child is unique. It could be that your child’s developmental delays are normal, and they’ll catch up over time. But regardless of whether or not there’s an underlying issue causing a challenge or a delay, pediatric occupational therapy can assist with tasks a child finds frustrating, enabling them to more fully engage in everyday activities.
Early Intervention
While many pediatric occupational and physical therapists work with school-age children, here at Colorado In Motion we also offer an early intervention program designed for children from birth to three years of age. If you believe your young child is struggling with certain tasks, reach out to us. We can do an evaluation, and our compassionate, knowledgeable therapists can work to help your child grow in skills and self-confidence.
Reach Out To Colorado In Motion Today
As a parent, it’s natural that you want what’s best for your child. If you feel that your child is suffering in some way or feeling left out from school activities and extracurricular activities because of an issue that could be remedied through pediatric physical or occupational therapy, please reach out to us. We have ample experience working with kids to improve their physical, cognitive, musculoskeletal, behavioral, motor, and sensory skills. The best part is that we know how to make therapy fun for kids of all ages and personality types!
Especially if your child has been involved in a major injury, or is recovering from a prolonged or debilitating illness, it’s important to give them a helping hand through physical and occupational therapy. Reach out to us today; we are poised to help your children reach new levels of wellness and be all that they can be!