Bismarck Office Coming Soon

As residents of the Fargo-Moorhead area have seen, our Fargo facility is currently undergoing a major expansion.  This project should be completed in late fall and will better allow us to serve clients with expanded treatment areas.  Our sister company, Early Intervention Partners, will be moved on site as well. 

Along with the changes in Fargo, we are also excited to announce that we will be opening a facility in Bismarck in August, 2013.  Pediatric Therapy Partners will be located at 4501 Coleman Street North - Suite #103 Bismarck, North Dakota 58503.  The telephone number for this location is 701-751-6336. Our facility will provide Occupational, Physical, and Speech-Language Therapy for the pediatric population.  Services will be provided in our facility, home environments and daycares.  Therapy offered outside of a clinical setting is something that will be new to the Bismarck-Mandan area and we hope this will make therapy decisions much easier for families. 

Pediatric Therapy Partners has over 30 therapists in physical, occupational and speech therapy who work with infants and children through adolescents. We provide therapy services both in the home and in our pediatric therapy clinic located in south Fargo. Our therapists have experience in numerous areas of pediatric care, including inpatient/outpatient care, PICU, NICU, Early Intervention, and school settings.  Our therapists believe in providing services in the child’s most natural environment whenever possible.

Pediatric Therapy Partners was founded in 2005 to fill a need in the community for quality, coordinated, home-based therapy services for special needs children in the Fargo-Moorhead area. While keeping an emphasis on high quality care, Pediatric Therapy Partners has grown to become the largest provider of pediatric therapy services in the region. As well as providing outpatient therapy services, other programming is available to meet more specific needs that your child may have.

With these expansions, Pediatric Therapy Partners continues to reach further to help your child laugh, love, and live life to its fullest!

Cleft & Craniofacial Awareness Month

Join others this July in spreading the word about National Cleft and Craniofacial Awareness Month.

 Children born with cleft lip, cleft palate or craniofacial disorders encounter health conditions that affect both structure and function of a their head and face (CDC). Each year, numerous infants are born with a cleft lip.  Many are born with a cleft palate as well. 

 According to the Cleft Palate Foundation, a cleft lip is a separation of the two sides of a lip, whereas a cleft palate is an opening in the roof of the mouth in which two sides did not fuse during development. These congenital defects occur very early in pregnancy, often due to genetics and environmental factors.

Treatments vary depending on the severity of the defect. Frequently, a team of medical, surgical, dental and other health professionals work to ensure all developmental and medical needs are met. Additional support services such as speech therapy may be beneficial.  Speech therapists at Pediatric Therapy Partners, for example, may practice oral-motor skills, feeding, language skills, and other rehabilitation services that can help support a child’s plan for short-term or long-term goals.  

 Janette Venaas-Gilbraith, Speech Coordinator and owner at Pediatric Therapy Partners, explains how therapy can improve skills throughout a child’s life.

 “It is essential for children with repaired clefts to initiate direct speech and language services to increase the child's sensation where the clefts have been repaired to increase blood flow, feeling, and movement. The earlier the child initiates therapy for the repaired cleft areas and for craniofacial anomalies the better the outcomes for the child has to improve his speech, language, and feeding skills,” Janette said.

The Speech-Language staff at Pediatric Therapy Partners has been trained in specific strategies to better the child's outcomes with clefts and craniofacial anomalies.  If you have concerns about your child, please call or visit our website at www.pediatrictherapypartners.com for more information.

RESOURCES:

http://www.acpa-cpf.org/

http://www.nccapm.org

http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/features/craniofacialdefects.html

 

 

 

Aquatic Therapy

Hoping to take the family to the lake or pool this summer?  Water can be a great medium for therapy.

Aquatic or Pool Therapy can be a great alternative for children to perform activities that they may not be able to on land.  When the correct combination of land and water therapy is used, it can be incorporated into all therapy disciplines, including Occupational, Physical, and Speech-Language Therapy.  We are proud to offer an Aquatic Therapy Program here at PTP, led by Shannon Buckmier, PT.  According to Shannon, the potential benefits of aquatic therapy are many.

“Aquatic Therapy provides great sensory input as the water provides gentle movement and pressure.  It can provide a great supplement to traditional “land based” therapies.” Shannon also states that “children can gain strength and range of motion as children may be able to move in the pool in ways they could not on land.”  

The pool is a great place to work on language skills, social skills, behavior issues, play skills and cognitive skills.  Working in the water helps to improve endurance and respiratory function.  Plus it is just plain fun!

Children that have gross motor delays, Autism Spectrum Disorders, sensory processing disorders, Down Syndrome, Celebral Palsy, and any other phsyical, sensory, or developmental delays are great candidates for Aquatic Therapy.  Aquatic Therapy also provides a great environment for post-surgical rehabilitation as it can help increase range of motion and decrease pain associated with movement after surgical events.

If you feel Aquatic Therapy is right for your child, or if you have more questions, please visit our website or call today to set up an evaluation.  

RESOURCES:
http://angelfishtherapy.com/aquatic-therapy 
http://www.aquatictherapyinfo.com/
http://www.aquaticnet.com/index.htm
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org

National Safety Month

It may not feel like it but summer is here!

June is a great month to enjoy the outdoors and is a good time to encourage safe behaviors during National Safety Month.  Whether planning a vacation or playing in the front yard, it is important to stay safe. 

The National Safety Council (NSC) provides some valuable safety measures families can take to prevent injuries. 

If siblings or neighborhood kids are running around the house or in the yard, help prevent tripping or falling by moving obstacles or securing rugs. In the home, find storage for the hazardous materials and locate all danger zones to avoid poisoning, burns, and choking. Help encourage your family, friends and neighbors to get involved by setting examples in their own home.

Going for a dip in the swimming pool or spending a day at the lake? The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) offers some tips on how to keep your family safe near water. To prevent sunburn, have lightweight pants & shirts as well as hats within reach to provide shade. Sunscreen should be applied throughout the day if exposed to the sun for long periods of time and reapplied if swimming. Avoid overexposure to the sun during the peak hours, approximately 10am-4pm.

Whether it’s swimming at a pool or in open water, always have an adult nearby.  Inform your family of water safety, including knowing where to find rescue equipment and practicing the buddy system. Taking the family boating? Test life jackets for the proper fit, based on the child’s weight.

Jumping on the trampoline? Although this can be a fun activity for the neighborhood, the AAP states that there is a great risk of head and neck injuries, sprains or strains, fractures, scrapes and bruises. To help ensure safety, designate an adult to supervise at all times. Check equipment often and repair or replace as needed.

If your child is exercising or spending long hours outdoors, be aware of the signs of heat stroke, heat exhaustion and heat cramps and know where to seek medical attention. These symptoms can include headaches, dizziness, nausea, and behavioral changes such as confusion, disorientation, or staggering.

With these resources in mind, you can keep your kids safe while still enjoying the summer.

 

 

RESOURCES:

http://www.nsc.org/safety_home/HomeandRecreationalSafety/Pages/HomeandRecreationalSafety.aspx
http://www.healthychildren.org

Mental Health

There are many things we try to do to lead long, healthy lives but often times addressing mental health wellness is not one of them.

The month of May is recognized as Mental Health Month to help raise awareness of mental health issues and continue to help individuals live healthy lifestyles. Although it can be more difficult to recognize signs of poor mental health, it is just as significant and important as physical health. 

According to the American Psychological Association, biology, genetics, and other factors can lead to different levels of risk for developing a mental health disorder. Poor mental health can often times become a hindrance in a child’s development. For example, anxiety, depression, hyperactivity and stress can become roadblocks in daily activities and make it very difficult to learn new skills and participate in age appropriate activities.

Signs of poor mental health can include behavior issues at school or home; change in appetite; difference in sleep pattern; withdrawal; signs of sadness or self-destructive behavior.  If your child is showing any of these signs, there are options that you can take including talking about it with health care professionals. 

At Pediatric Therapy Partners, we have a team of Occupational Therapists that can help treat such concerns.  In addition to the typical mental health training that Occupational Therapists receive, our staff has additional training and certifications that help us better serve children with mental health concerns.

If you have any concerns regarding the mental health of your child please call or visit our website to schedule a free screening.  Don’t wait and see.  Find out and know.

RESOURCES:

http://www.apa.org/pi/families/children-mental-health.aspx  

http://www.kidsmentalhealth.org/behavioral-therapy-for-children-with-emotional-disorders/

http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/child-and-adolescent-mental-health/index.shtml

May is Better Hearing and Speech Month

Help us celebrate with the Speech-Language Pathologists at PTP during Better Hearing and Speech Month!

Pediatric Therapy Partners’ Speech-Language Pathologists enjoy working with children and their families to help improve their child’s skills in the areas of communication, feeding, articulation, social, cognitive, and voice that are needed for a child to participate in everyday activities.

Speech-Language Pathologists help children with both verbal and non-verbal means of communication, both receptively (what they hear) and expressively (what they say). They also teach others language skills which include what words mean, how to make new words, and how to put words together to put into sentences. They show how speech sounds are made and demonstrate the use of voice and breathe to produce different sounds. The therapists provide interventions for phonological disorders, oral motor skills, swallowing and feeding disorders, clarity of speech, fluency, hearing and language disorders, cognitive and voice deficits, auditory processing disorders, reading delays, and autism spectrum disorders.

At Pediatric Therapy Partners there are several speech-language therapists who have received certification and extensive training in the Fast ForWord Programs, Beckman Massage, Talk Tools Oral Motor Program, Sequential Oral Sensory (S.O.S.) Approach to feeding, intervention and strategies for children with autism and/or on the spectrum and cochlear implants.   To better the services at Pediatric Therapy Partners, the Speech–Language Pathologists have developed “Teams” to provide education and support to their colleagues and families that they serve.  Such teams include: Hearing Impaired, Autism/Children on the Spectrum, Feeding, and Assistive Technology.  

Speech therapists use a variety of treatment techniques to achieve predetermined goals and outcomes.  Speech-Language Pathologist, Tiffany Voigt, shares with us that the best activities for speech are games and tasks that children do every day.  She explained how they can work on direction following, making requests, labeling objects/toys, and answering questions during daily routines. 

“Now that it is warming up outside, you can have kids sequence what they need to do before going outside and what they are going to do when they get outside or on the playground,” she said.

Thank your Speech-Language therapists today for playing such an important part in helping children communicate every day!

Pediatric Therapy Partners offers a free screening that reviews overall developmental as well as specific concerns including speech and hearing. If you have concerns about your child, please call or visit our website at www.pediatrictherapypartners.com for more information.

 

RESOURCES:

http://www.asha.org/bhsm/

http://www.speakingofspeech.com/

April is OT Month

Help us celebrate OT Month!

April Honors Occupational Therapists.  Here at Pediatric Therapy Partners, we have an amazing group of OTs that work to improve a child's physical development, social and emotional development, cognition, and sensory processing skills to assist the child to maximize their functional potential in all areas of daily living.

Our therapist have certifications or extensive training in many different areas including Sequential Oral Sensory Approach to feeding (SOS Program); Torticollis; Neuro-Developmental Treatment (NDT); Handwriting Without Tears; Beckman Massage for oral motor deficits and feeding issues; and assistive technology/adaptive equipment.

Are meal times frustrating? OTs can introduce feeding therapy to help identify specific concerns and improve feeding skills.

Is your child oversensitive to sound or often bumping into objects or other people? Do they have a hard time “keeping still”?  Sensory Integration therapy can address these areas and concerns and at PTP we have one of the regions only SIPT (Sensory Integration and Praxis Test) certified therapists.  Therapeutic Listening is another treatment tool we can use to address concerns in these areas.

If your child is struggling with day-to-day interactions and overall social skills, Social Group can be a great way to address some of these issues. Turn taking, self-awareness, communication, safety, following directions, boundaries, and expressions of wants and needs are some the things we address in this group.

The OTs at PTP play a vital role in the treatment of many different conditions and do so in many different ways.  If you would like more information on occupational therapy, please visit our website at www.pediatrictherapypartners.com.

RESOURCES:

http://www.aota.org/otmonth

http://www.pediatrictherapypartners.com/