Growing Strong: The Vital Role of Pediatric Physical Therapy
Have you ever heard of pediatric physical therapy? Check out this story:
Zoey is a 3 month old baby who has Down Syndrome. Zoey and her family work with a pediatric physical therapist for the first 3 years of her life. As Zoey is growing, she progresses through motor milestones to sitting and crawling within her first year. Her parents feel confident and comfortable helping Zoey learn to crawl because their pediatric PT has shown them how to utilize their own space and their own toys to make crawling fun and motivating for Zoey. Her parents say that their favorite technique they learned to help Zoey crawl was helping her get in hands and knees and push her sparkly pink ball across the living room and then helping her crawl to get it. Once Zoey is crawling, she is very happy about being independent and starts to interact more with peers at her daycare. This improves her social and communication skills. As they continue to work regularly with Zoey’s pediatric PT, she is walking by the time she turns 2. Because Zoey was walking by the age of 2, she was able to move up to the next class in her daycare and learn more words sooner since she was spending her day with similar aged peers. Zoey and her family worked with her PT intermittently until she turned 3 to help her learn playground skills, like running, jumping, and stairs, so she could continue to keep up with her friends and have as much fun as possible. When Zoey was discharged from PT, her parents said that they attribute Zoey’s confidence in playing on the playground and her quick attainment of social skills to her starting PT so early as a baby. They felt that her progress with motor skills gave her the foundation to progress more quickly through her other areas of development.
Keep reading to learn more about how Zoey progressed as she grew into a young adult!
October is PT Awareness Month!
We take time every October to not only celebrate the profession of physical therapy, but also to raise awareness of all the ways that physical therapy can be beneficial for you and/or your child. The above story about Zoey is just one example of how a pediatric physical therapist can positively impact a child’s life.
Physical therapists are often known for treating injuries, pain, and disabilities. But, did you know that physical therapists are actually our movement system experts? They help children and adults of all ages, from birth to elderly, participate in movement that is meaningful to them, thus improving the child or adult’s ability to do activities that they love and enjoy, such as walking the dog, playing a sport, or keeping up on the playground.
About Pediatric Physical Therapy
In pediatrics, this can look like helping a child, like Zoey, learn to roll, sit, crawl, or walk, or it can entail improving coordination in a school-aged child so that they can play on the playground or soccer field with their friends. A pediatric physical therapist can help a child go from falling all the time to confidently navigating their classroom without tripping, or go from being behind their peers on the playground to instead being one of the first kids to race to the stairs and the slide.
Many children that have neurological or developmental diagnoses will require physical therapy to achieve their mobility goals; As physical therapists are experts in movement, they will be a crucial part of the team for helping children born with disabilities grow and develop. This is important because we know that intervening early to address delays associated with disabilities promotes both faster progress and less risk of further delay as the child ages. For example, if a baby who is born with a developmental delay receives physical therapy within the first few months of their life, like Zoey in the opening story, they are more likely to be walking sooner and playing with friends earlier than if they did not receive physical therapy services as a baby. Additionally, research supports early physical therapy services for babies who are born with a disability and links this early intervention to improved social and emotional skills later on in life, meaning that children who receive therapy services early are better able to interact with their peers and environment as they age.
Some of the most common diagnoses we can help with include (but are not limited to):
Down Syndrome (link to this resource page on our website) Early Mobility in Down Syndrome — All Together Wellness
Autism Spectrum Disorder
Cerebral Palsy
Spina Bifida
Genetic and chromosomal conditions
Developmental Delay
Developmental Coordination Disorder
Prematurity
Medical Complexities
If a child has a lifelong diagnosis, they can receive physical therapy throughout different phases of growth and development, as needs may change with their growing bodies. Zoey in our opening story worked with her pediatric PT again when she was 8 to improve her coordination for her to participate in a soccer club with her friends.
Additionally, if a young adult with one of these conditions wants to maintain independent mobility skills to participate in a job or community activity, like volunteering, the physical therapist will set them up for success with those goals. As movement system experts, the physical therapist will also play a role in promoting healthy growth and aging by meeting appropriate physical activity guidelines for overall health and wellness (link to PA guidelines page) Local Active Adaptive Sports — All Together Wellness. Today, Zoey’s parents are grateful to her pediatric PT for creating an appropriate exercise program for Zoey, who is now a young adult. This has allowed her to stay active in both recreational dancing and keep up her job at their local grocery store.
It is common for pediatric physical therapists to specialize in helping children with diagnoses, but did you know that pediatric PTs can also help children and families with these conditions or concerns?:
Coordination difficulties
Balance and falls
Gait training
Navigating new medical equipment, such as strollers, wheelchairs, or walkers
Flat Head Syndrome or Plagiocephaly
Toe Walking
Flat Feet
Bone Density
Vestibular impairments
Posture
Post-surgery rehabilitation
Sports Injuries
Pain
Putting the FUN in Function
While we know that receiving regular physical therapy will improve a child’s motor and mobility skills, it also vastly improves a child’s independence and confidence, thus allowing them to get back to what matters most- having fun, playing, and spending time with family and friends. What a wonderful added bonus! Our movements and our minds are very connected. Progress in a child’s self-esteem as their coordination, balance, and functional mobility improve is a natural secondary benefit. Zoey and her family were certainly primary witnesses to this throughout her experience with physical therapy.
The pediatric physical therapist will not only specialize in treating the above conditions and optimizing movement for children of all ages and diagnoses, but they will also specialize in making treatment and movement FUN. If your child is struggling to participate or make progress in therapy, that means it likely is not fun enough to truly provide the opportunity for them to learn.
Play is the work of a child and naturally enhances learning of skills. Thus, many of our interventions may look like play, (which is part of the goal), but these interventions are actually sneakily helping the child reach their full potential and movement goals. When Zoey was a baby, her physical therapist often motivated Zoey to work on movements that felt challenging by keeping her motivated by her favorite toys, like her light up rattle, her sparkly pink ball, and her shape sorter.
At All Together Wellness, we are experts at keeping the FUN in FUNctional play. With our model of care, your child’s therapy sessions will be the best blend of challenging and engaging for your child to meet their goals and keep them happy along the way. We know that parents and caregivers are a crucial part of a child’s success, and we love to involve and educate our caregivers throughout our therapy sessions and process to ensure that progress is being carried over in a way that works best for each child and family’s unique lifestyles.
Our approach allows you access to physical therapy services quicker, thus allowing your child to reach goals sooner so that you and your family can get back to what matters most!
If you have questions about if pediatric physical therapy is needed or right for your child, you can book a call with us here. Our pediatric physical therapists at All Together Wellness look forward to meeting you and helping your child flourish. Check out our team and availability now!
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