THERAPY

Physical Therapy (PT), Occupational Therapy (OT) and Speech Pathology (SP) as 3 positions on a professional football team: quarterback, linebacker and kicker. At some point a quarterback will work on throwing, a linebacker will work on tackling and a kicker will obviously work on kicking. All three positions being in the same sport consist of common principles until you start working on the specificity of each position, much like working the specifics of fine motor, speech, and gross motor. Just like each football position, there are common shared movements, so is the case with a child with disabilities, all three disciplines of PT, OT and SP, share a common developing approach of head to toe and proximal to distal with each movement building on the previous one, until the specificity of speech, fine motor, and gross motor need their specialties.

The Movement School provides the frequency, duration and time of the shared common areas of PT, OT and SP. For example, posture is the most shared, central and basic movement or action that begets all other actions. All actions are nested within other actions, for example, grasping with the hands and fingers is nested within reaching with the arms, which in turn is nested within the trunk, etc., ending with the shared action being the stable posture. Infants and adults need to maintain various postures to set up the necessary conditions for looking around, handling objects, holding conversations, or going somewhere.The Movement School works diligently to make sure these nested actions are sequentially obtained as occurs within the typically developing peers.

PHYSICAL THERAPY

Strength, like posture, is a fundamental building block to function thus leading to an improved quality of life. Reports to date consistently show that strengthening programs predictably increase the ability to produce force, and that training programs can improve gait and other aspects of motor performance.

TMS utilizes many techniques and equipment, such as the Therasuit and Univeral Exercise Unit, NDT techniques, E-Stim and other modalities etc., all of which are utilized to suit the specific needs of the individual child. TMS delivers the therapy within the school day for the entire school year thus therapy is no longer needed as an extra-curricular activity at the end of the child’s school day.

OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY

We have designed periodization programs that are tailored to work within the therapy world. In 3-4 weeks a child can gain a 20% increase in strength so once we specialize in PT for 3-4 weeks, we will move on to Occupational Therapy for 3-4 weeks.

During OT, students will take part in the day to day practices occurring in school including sitting at a table or desk, interacting with teachers and peers, holding books and supplies, completing homework assignments, reading aloud the daily announcements, etc.

SPEECH THERAPY

Speech Pathologists will work with students on word formation, pronunciation, listening, word comprehension and meaning, mouth and throat muscle coordination and strength as well as engaging in direct conversations.

For those students who are non-verbal, our therapists will work with the students to find an alternative way to communicate be it through gestures, symbols, signing or picture boards. Every chosen exercise or activity is specifically designed for the child so we will always find which method works best for the individual rather than the group.