The SOMC Neuro Rehab Department offers a comprehensive, interdisciplinary rehabilitation program for the pediatric client who may be dealing with any one of several different diagnoses. Some of the common pediatric conditions that we treat are Cerebral Palsy, Down’s Syndrome, developmental delay, torticollis, traumatic brain injury, autism, and gross/fine motor development. The pediatric rehabilitation program focuses on increasing the client’s functional level and independence. Our interdisciplinary approach is comprised of Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Speech Pathology and Audiology services. Our program encourages involvement of family members and caretakers so that a patient and their family can be more confident and comfortable with that client’s needs at home.

Treatment principles center on facilitating achievement of normal, age-appropriate development. Appropriateness of referral to other specialists and agencies are evaluated; these may include REACH, early intervention programs, orthotists and pediatric physiatry.

• Pediatric Physical Therapy: Licensed professionals work with the patient to improve, as needed, the lower body’s movement and strength, coordination of large joints and muscles, balance and mobility skills such as crawling, rolling, sitting and walking. If necessary, the patient can be assessed for equipment to aid in everyday movement, such as specialized walkers and wheelchairs. Education is provided to establish positive positioning techniques.
• Pediatric Occupational Therapy: Licensed professionals work with the patient on components such as upper body movement and strengthening, fine motor dexterity skills and balance. Goals center around improving independence with personal care tasks including feeding, bathing, dressing and toileting, as well as preparation for school activities such as cutting, writing and identification of numbers, shapes, colors and letters. Other specialized treatment modalities may include splinting to improve joint mobility and recommendations for proper seating and feeding interventions. Occupational therapy staff may address concerns with attention span, direction following and memory.
• Pediatric Speech Therapy: Licensed professionals address limitations in understanding speech, expressing language, rate and rhythm of speech, grammatical sentence structure, social communication skills, voice production, swallowing, memory, attention span, sequencing concepts and maintaining concentration. Goals are to improve independence with daily cognition, eating, reading, writing and communication.
• Audiology