Navigating Challenges With Pediatric Therapy Services

As a parent or caregiver, you want the best for your child. When you need science-backed strategies to help identify where your child needs guidance and in which areas they can thrive, it’s best to take a holistic approach to provide you with the best assistance. Each area of pediatric therapy services has its unique path, affording you peace of mind that you and your child will gain unparalleled results.

What Are Pediatric Therapy Services?

As the name suggests, these services focus on the child and provide research-based treatment for certain unique behaviors. As your child grows and discovers new things about themselves, a caring and calm approach can help you give them the proper guidance they need.

The various forms of therapy take a holistic view of your child’s development and aim to help your child grow, learn and play in an appropriate and healthy manner:

• Speech therapy: Focusing on various communication methods, speech therapy helps your child express themselves verbally and non-verbally.
• Physical therapy: With physical therapy, trained specialists help your child improve mobility, balance and physical strength.
• Occupational therapy: An occupational therapist assists your child in carrying out their everyday tasks at home and school.
• ABA therapy: Applied Behavior Analysis Therapy (ABA) helps diagnose autism. ABA therapy also focuses on communication, social activities and daily living skills.

Challenges of Pediatric Therapy Services

Some developmental challenges present themselves at school and on the home front. These often signify that your child will benefit from pediatric therapy.

Mood and Emotions

The following emotional experiences may mean your child could use some professional intervention:

• Separation anxiety: This can be linked to a divorce or a death in the family. When suddenly separated from a loved one, toddlers often have separation challenges. A specialist can develop a therapy plan to help your child be more self-confident and encourage appropriate levels of independence.
• Depression: Signs include irritability, sadness and mood swings. Empathize with your child and give praise when needed. Therapeutic guidance can help your child identify these feelings and replace them with more constructive methods, such as communicating their feelings.
• Anxiety: This is common when parents lead pressured lifestyles, and your child may have physical symptoms such as a chronic upset tummy. Your child may worry and be fearful a lot. Behavioral therapy can provide tools to you and your child to help them manage their feelings and communicate what’s bothering them.

Challenges in the Home

The following challenges might be present in the home:

• Adjusting to family changes: If there are significant changes taking place, especially in the nuclear family, your child may show anxiety or confusion about this. Age-appropriate, honest communication is best, and pediatric therapy can help build adaptation and resiliency skills in your child.
• Child-parent discord: As children grow older and seek their independence, you may find your child conflicting with you one too many times. Though some fighting and disagreements are expected, when it becomes a divisive issue in the home, it’s best to get therapeutic help. This will help your child identify any emotions or fears they are suppressing and guide them on expressing this in a healthy manner.
• Tantrums and defiance: If your child is constantly at odds with you and fights you on what you say or when you give instructions, it can be because your child doesn’t know how to regulate their emotions. One of the many benefits of pediatric therapy is that it improves communication between you and your child, allowing you to bridge any emotional gaps that are causing the upset.

Behavioral Signs

These behavioral signs could indicate a need for therapy:

• Aggressive or violent behavior: Usually, displays of aggressive behaviors are an inability to control impulses, anger or deep feelings. There may be an underlying issue in the household that you don’t feel equipped to handle alone. Pediatric therapy unearths the reasons for violent behavior by emphasizing building resilience to changes and fostering social and coping skills.
• Eating disorders: With an unhealthy fixation on weight and food, children with an eating disorder will either not want to eat enough or overeat. Let your child see you eat in healthy moderation and be the model for them. This type of disorder is best left to professionals, as pediatric therapy will significantly benefit your child in their emotional regulation. Talking to a therapist allows your child to vent any underlying feelings and fears.

Challenges at School

If your child experiences these challenges at school, a professional could help:

• Bullying: When your child often feels down after school, it can be a sign of bullying. Name-calling, teasing, threatening and taunting are all signs of bullying. It would be best to contact a teacher or a guidance counselor in such a situation. Pediatric therapy gives your child the guidance of a professional therapist to help them navigate their feelings. Therapy provides tools and coping mechanisms for children who bully others to encourage healthy social interactions.
• Stress at school: Children often face pressure due to social and friendship reasons, academic performance, anxiety surrounding a stutter and expectations from others. Help your child cope by having them follow a routine. Child therapy boosts your child’s self-esteem and resilience so that they can cope with school-related pressures.

Why Choose Pediatric Therapy?

Numerous benefits to therapy help your child lead a balanced and healthy upbringing, and pediatric therapy often demands a nuanced, personalized approach. Pediatric therapy helps children from birth to 21 years of age with behavioral challenges and delays. Its comprehensive system lets you take home the tools your child learns with their therapist:

• Improved behavioral skills: ABA therapy aids your child in their social and communication skills, enabling them to live a more independent and quality life. Your child will have more confidence interacting with others. At Kids SPOT, we used a play-based approach to ABA therapy, which helps children learn to express themselves and engage in real-time problem-solving.
• Improvements in speech and language: A speech-language pathologist can guide your child in vocalizing their words and feelings more clearly. They will be confident to communicate with you, their teachers and friends.
• Enhanced balance and overall mobility: Physical therapy will aid in the general physical movement of your child, relieve pain and restore some lost function. This is especially helpful after an injury, surgery or eating disorder.
• Support in daily living: Occupational therapy helps your child lead a balanced and healthy life by improving their cognitive, social and physical skills.

Invest in Quality Pediatric Services From Kids SPOT

Your child deserves the opportunity to flourish and get the best care and attention for a healthy, balanced life. At Kids SPOT, you can rest assured our Board-Certified Behavior Analysts and therapists will work together using science-backed methods to give your child the best pediatric therapy. If you have any questions or want to contact us, we’ll gladly help you through our process.

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