Pediatric Therapy

The St. Joseph Health Pediatric Therapy team is made up of skilled occupational therapists, physical therapists and speech therapists. It’s our mission to improve the quality of life of our young patients and promote age-appropriate development for children with special needs and developmental delays.

Our pediatric therapists work as a team to make your child comfortable and help your child achieve his/her full potential. Our pediatric therapy facility includes two interactive pediatric gyms to provide our young patients with a fun and friendly environment that will motivate and engage your child.

Pediatric Physical Therapy

Our physical therapy program helps children with movement disorders or injuries move more independently in their environment. Through play and integration of special equipment, our team promotes gross motor skills and development that include but are not limited to:

• Promoting achievement of developmental milestones such as rolling, sitting, crawling, and walking for infants and toddlers
• Improving gait, balance and coordination skills through play
• Providing stretching and strengthening exercises
• Assisting families in obtaining specialized equipment including custom wheelchairs, assistive devices, and orthotics
• Educating on home exercise programs for torticollis

Pediatric Occupational Therapy

Occupational therapy involves the therapeutic use of play to increase independent function, enhance development and prevent disability. It may include the adjustment of tasks or a child’s environment to achieve maximum independence and enhance your child’s quality of life.

Through the use of play, our occupational therapists help children acquire developmental skills for the job of living. These include, but are not limited to:

• Promoting independence in daily living skills, including dressing, grooming, and feeding
• Facilitating developmental play skills
• Improving fine motor and eye/hand coordination skills
• Improving sensory processing skills such as organization, self-regulation, and behavioral state
• Improving visual motor/visual perceptual skills including coloring and writing
• Addressing orthopedic complications and helping to increase function through the use of splinting or casting

Pediatric Speech Therapy

Our team of speech-language pathologists will work with you and your child to develop an individualized plan of care specifically tailored to his/her needs. We’ll strive to provide your child with the skills he/she needs for successful communication by utilizing a fun and innovative approach. Our dedicated staff provides therapy in the areas of speech, language, fluency, voice, cognition, feeding and swallowing.

Our facility is equipped to offer pediatric modified barium swallow studies, assessments and treatments including VitalStim (Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation) and Beckman Oral Motor techniques. We have certified and trained therapists for complex feeding and swallowing needs.

Getting Treatment

The first step is to talk with your child’s pediatrician about concerns you are having with his/her development. You will need a referral from your child’s primary care physician or specialty doctor, such as a pediatric surgeon, neurologist, neurosurgeon, or pediatric orthopedist.

Contact us today to learn more:
therapy@st-joseph.org