What is pediatric physical therapy?
Pediatric physical therapy helps children improve their posture, strength, flexibility, balance, coordination, and quality of movements to reach their developmental goals and foster independence at home and in the community. We utilize a variety of hands-on facilitation, positioning techniques, and Dynamic Movement Intervention (DMI) exercises to provide a comprehensive approach and aid in development of motor milestones. Our goal is to educate and empower parents to play with purpose to help their child move effortlessly, play, explore, and become the best version of themselves.
Common concerns seen in pediatric physical therapy:
- You have been told to "wait and see"
- Your child struggles with tummy time
- Your child resists rolling
- Your child has a preferred side
- Your child looks one direction and has a flat spot
- Your child flings backward in sitting or does not use their arms for balance
- Your child crawls with one leg up for scoots on their bottom
- Your child skipped major motor milestones, such as crawling on hands and knees
- Your child takes more than 2-3 months to progress to the next major motor milestone
- Your child does not support themselves in standing
- Your child continues to fall as soon as assistance is released when walking
- Your child frequently W-sits
- Your child is clumsy and frequently trips and/or falls
- Your child has a difficulty time keeping up with their peers on the playground
- You have concerns about your childs gross motor skills, at Milestones At Play all concerns are valid.
Diagnoses we commonly see in pediatric physical therapy:
- Developmental Delay
- Torticollis/Plagiocephaly
- Hypotonia/low tone
- Down's Syndrome
- Cerebral Palsy
- Prematurity
- Toe-walking
- Frequent tripping and/or frequent falls
- Other Orthopedic, Neurological, and Genetic conditions affecting motor development.
In order to keep your child developmentally on track we highly recommend scheduling a pediatric physical therapy evaluation if your child:
- Does not tolerate tummy time by 3 months of age
- Is not rolling by 6 months of age
- Is not sitting by 8 months of age
- Is not crawling by 10 months of age
- Is not standing by 12 months of age
- Is not walking by 16 months of age
We take a team approach, working closely with you, your pediatrician, specialists, orthotists, equipment providers, therapists and teachers to help your child reach their highest potential.
At Milestones At Play we are on your side. It is our goal to address your concerns, prevent gross motor delays, take the guess work out of developmental milestones and to give you the tools necessary to create gross motor confidence in your child.
