Sensory Regulation Explained
What is sensory regulation? It might be a term that you hear your child’s therapist use often. In simple terms, sensory regulation is how our body processes and regulates all the different sensory stimuli it encounters. Our body is constantly taking in different sensations both outside and inside our body, and our body needs to regulate how it reacts to those other sensations.
Flat Foot and Orthotics Treatment
Flat foot is a common condition treated by physical therapists in the pediatric field.
There are two types of flat feet: rigid and flexible flatfoot. A flexible flat foot appears when a child stands; otherwise, the arch is intact. Rigid flatfoot is a much more serious condition with no arches in the foot, regardless of whether the child is sitting or standing.
What You Need to Know About Orthotics for Your Child
In some instances, your child’s physical therapist may recommend orthotics for your child. If that’s the case, you may be curious about what exactly goes into providing your child with the proper orthosis.
The Family Ecosystem and its Influence On Sensory Sensitivity
Sensory integration and sensory processing disorders are commonly addressed in occupational therapy. Sensory disorders can vary from over-responsive, under-responsive, or sensory seeking. This can lead to trouble with motor skills and coordination, behaviors, and relationships, and overall prevent the child from being able to participate in their lives actively.
Occupational Therapy for Sensory Integration
Occupational therapy can help with sensory sensitivities or trouble processing different sensory inputs. This is also known as sensory integration. Although everyone reacts differently to different sensory inputs, sometimes these sensations can be overwhelming to the point that it affects a child’s ability to participate in their daily activities, and this is where an occupational therapist may be able to help.
Incorporating Assistive Technology in Occupational Therapy
Assistive technology (AT) is anything that helps a person function in their daily lives. Perhaps technology isn’t immediately associated with occupational therapy, but it is in fact a core part of helping people, both young and old, live their most functional lives.
What is Assistive Technology and How Can You Use It?
Assistive technology (AT) is anything that helps a person function in their daily lives. Perhaps technology isn’t immediately associated with therapies such as occupational, physical, and speech therapy, but it is in fact a core part of helping people, both young and old, live their most functional lives.
Treatment of Idiopathic Toe Walking in Children
Idiopathic Toe Walking (ITW) is when a child has a consistent toe-walking gait. It is considered idiopathic because the cause is unknown, meaning that other factors are excluded such as comorbidities, and their muscle tone and reflexes are typical.
Toe Walking in Children: When Should You Be Concerned?
Toe walking is exactly as it sounds, it is when a child walks on their toes instead of the normal heel-toe gait (a gait is a way a person walks). Toe walking can be normal, especially when a child is first learning to walk. Some children grow out of it once they gain more balance and stability, and get a general sense of walking. However, if toe walking persists past the age of 3, it should be addressed because it can have long-term effects on your child’s quality of life.
A Physical Therapist’s Role in Treating Autism
Autism is classified as a developmental disorder that occurs on a spectrum. Each child will be affected differently and some cases will be more severe than others. However, in many cases, a child with ASD has some level of motor skill delay.
A PT's job is to treat a child with autism to improve their motor function, such as coordination and balance, and to advocate for those children
Autism and Physical Therapy
Autism is a developmental disorder that occurs on a spectrum. This just means that each child will be affected differently. Common signs and symptoms of autism include trouble with social and communication skills. However, in many cases, a child with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) has some level of motor skill delay.
Executive Function Deficits in Children and Why It’s Crucial to Treat Them
Executive functions (EFs) are cognitive skills that allow for self-regulation, attention, problem-solving, working memory, multitasking, planning (including motor planning), flexible thinking, and time management. It’s all the skills used daily to be able to complete tasks. When executive functioning is impaired or isn’t implicitly learned, it has to be explicitly taught, otherwise, daily occupations can become difficult to complete.
What is Executive Functioning?
Executive functions (EFs) are all the cognitive, or brain, skills used to complete a task. This can range from things like problem-solving to organization. In simple terms, EFs are the functions we need to be able to properly manage life.
Most Effective Treatments for Apraxia
Childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) is a motor planning and programming disorder that affects oral motor movement, meaning there is a problem with communication between the brain and mouth.
This disorder can sometimes be referred to as developmental apraxia of speech, or developmental verbal dyspraxia. However, apraxia is not developmental because children do not grow out of it. This is a lifelong condition that needs treatment in order to improve.
What is Childhood Apraxia of Speech?
Childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) is classified as a motor speech disorder, meaning there is a problem with communication between the brain and mouth.
This disorder can sometimes be referred to as developmental apraxia of speech, or developmental verbal dyspraxia. However, apraxia is not developmental because children do not grow out of it. This is a lifelong condition that needs treatment in order to improve.
Using Peer-Mediated Intervention to Increase Social Participation
Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) often have trouble with social interactions, like reading social cues, taking turns, making friends, and playing with others. Due to this, children with ASD have a more difficult time making and maintaining friends and being involved in social activities in school. To overcome this, it is important to increase social participation in authentic environments through programs such as peer groups.
Why Occupational Therapy By Itself Isn’t Enough to Build Social Skills
Social development is a crucial part of childhood. A lot of children that aren’t typically developing (and even many children who are typically developing) struggle with social cues and understanding different social interactions. Unfortunately, this is something that is difficult to address in one-on-one therapy.
Occupational therapy is important, and therapy itself should not be neglected. However, if the principles aren’t put into practice outside of therapy, improvement in behavior and social growth can be limited. It is very important for children to be involved in peer groups to build social and behavioral skills and to apply the skills learned during therapy.
Treating Torticollis
The cause of CMT is still relatively unknown but could be due to trauma during birth, positioning throughout the day or at night, positioning in the womb, or a problem with blood supply to the womb. CMT is treated mainly through stretching and repositioning. In the most serious cases, it can require botulinum or surgery. However, most cases of CMT, when addressed before the age of six months to a year, are treatable with little to no long-term effects.
What is Torticollis?
Congenital Muscular Torticollis is the twisting of the neck causing tightness on one side and resulting in a limited range of motion. Particularly, it is tightness in the sternocleidomastoid muscle (SCM) of the neck.
Teaching Reading Comprehension to Students with Language Deficits
Reading comprehension skills are a critical component of being able to succeed in school, yet the strategies put in place do not always help those children that have language deficits, making them fall further behind in their reading comprehension abilities.
Reading comprehension itself is formed of many different skills, each one mastered with time. However, those children with language deficits may have difficulty due to deficits in reading ability, lexical development, and syntactic development. If these underlying issues aren’t addressed, poor comprehension of text will result.