Most of our therapists are certified and trained in one or more of these areas:
Beckman’s Oral Motor
An assessment, the Beckman’s Oral Motor Protocol, which uses assisted movement and stretch reflexes to quantify response to pressure and movement, range, strength, variety and control of movement for the lips cheeks, jaw, tongue and soft palate. Debra Beckman has, since 1975, worked to develop these specific interventions which provide assisted movement to activate muscle contraction and to provide movement against resistance to build strength.
Brain Gym®
Brain Gym® movements, exercises, or activities refer to the original 26 Brain Gym movements. These activities recall the movements naturally done during the first years of life when learning to coordinate the eyes, ears, hands, and whole body. Clients, teachers, and students have been reporting for over 20 years on the effectiveness of these simple activities.
Cued Speech Instructor
The National Cued Speech Association was formed in 1982 to serve the needs of parents and special educators working with children who are deaf and hard of hearing. The NCSA is primarily an advocacy organization, and focuses on outreach, family and educator support, as well as community-based education in the form of Cue Camps and sponsored workshops. The NCSA also provides instructor certification for teaching Cued Speech classes.
DIR®/Floortime™
Greenspan’s Developmental, Individual Difference, Relationship-based model is a framework that helps clinicians, parents and educators conduct a comprehensive assessment and develop an intervention program tailored to the unique challenges and strengths of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and other developmental challenges. The objectives of the DIR®/Floortime™ Model are to build healthy foundations for social, emotional, and intellectual capacities rather than focusing on skills and isolated behaviors.
Electrical Stimulation Therapy
An Electrical Stimulation Therapy (ESTIM) unit is an electrical device that sends currents through unbroken skin via small electrodes that target muscles. This device has a wide variety of uses within the medical field including muscle toning, muscle spasm relaxation, and pain prevention. Within the field of physical therapy, E-stim is important for rehabilitative purposes and enhancement of the healing process.
Feeding and Swallowing
Feeding disorders include problems gathering food and getting ready to suck, chew, or swallow it. For example, a child who cannot pick up food and get it to their mouth or cannot completely close their lips to keep food from falling out of their mouth may have a feeding disorder.
Swallowing disorders, also called dysphagia (dis-FAY-juh), can occur at different stages in the swallowing process.
Orofacial Myology
Orofacial myology utilizes neuromuscular exercises to retrain the tongue, lips, and facial muscles and teach them the correct posture for chewing, swallowing, speech sounds, and resting. Individuals presenting with mouth breathing, tongue thrust, orthodontic intervention, tongue tie, or poor oral habits (i.e. thumb sucking) can benefit from orofacial myology services.
Handwriting Without Tears®
The Handwriting Without Tears® program (HWT) is an award-winning handwriting curriculum that has helped millions of children develop school readiness skills and succeed in handwriting.
Interactive Metronome®
A neuro-motor therapy leader that has changed clinical expectations by assisting patients in reaching greater functional gains in a shorter period of time. Services utilize patented computer technology based on rhythm and timing to improve children’s attention and coordination.
It Takes Two To Talk®-The Hanen Program®
The It Takes Two to Talk Program® was designed specifically for parents of children ages five and under who have been identified as having a language delay. In a small, personalized group setting, parents learn practical strategies to help their children learn language naturally throughout their day together.
Kinesio Taping®Practitioner
A cotton strip with an acrylic adhesive that is used for treating athletic injuries and a variety of physical disorders.
Lindamood Phoneme Sequencing® (LiPS® )
A Lindamood-Bell program, Lindamood Phoneme Sequencing® (LiPS® ) develops phoneme awareness. Students learn to recognize how their mouths’ produce the sounds of language. This kinesthetic feedback enables reading, spelling, and speech.
Myofascial Release
The John F. Barnes’ Myofascial Release ApproachTM is considered to the ultimate therapy that is safe, gentle and consistently effective in producing results that last. John F. Barnes, PT has trained over 50,000 therapists and physicians, is an international lecturer, author and authority on Myofascial Release.
Nancibell® Seeing Stars® (SI™)
Nancibell® Seeing Stars® (SI™) is a Lindamood-Bell program that develops symbol imagery: the ability to visualize sounds and letters in words for both phonological and orthographic processing. Students move through a series of steps from single consonants/vowels to multisyllabic and contextual reading to develop the imagery-language connection for competency in written language.
Neuro-Developmental Treatment (NDT)
The purpose of the Association is to promote the unique qualities of the Neuro-Developmental Treatment (NDT) approach by providing specialized clinical training to health care professionals; supporting clinical research; supporting client’s and families with education, resources and information.
Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS)
Picture Exchange Communication System, widely known as PECS, was developed in 1985 as a unique augmentative/alternative communication intervention package for individuals with autism spectrum disorder and related developmental disabilities. First used at the Delaware Autistic Program, PECS has received worldwide recognition for focusing on the initiation component of communication. PECS does not require complex or expensive materials. It was created with families, educators, and resident care providers in mind, so is readily used in a range of settings.
PROMPT
The PROMPT Institute, a non-profit organization, is dedicated to investigating and promoting holistic, dynamic, multi-sensory assessment and interventions for children and adults with moderate to severe speech production disorders.
Sara Rosenfeld-Johnson’s Horns
This motivational therapy tool serves as a beneficial adjunct to traditional therapy techniques. The horn kit is designed to normalize oral musculature, correct articulation errors, improve abdominal grading and speech clarity, and also serves as a prerequisite for working on oral-nasal contrasts.
Sara Rosenfeld-Johnson’s Straws
An excellent supplement to traditional therapy techniques, and the best activity available to promote tongue retraction and controlled tongue movements. The hierarchy promotes jaw-lip-tongue dissociation through twelve stages of development. Instructions included.
SCERTS®
SCERTS® is an innovative educational model for working with children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their families. It provides specific guidelines for helping a child become a competent and confident social communicator, while preventing problem behaviors that interfere with learning and the development of relationships. It also is designed to help families, educators and therapists work cooperatively as a team, in a carefully coordinated manner, to maximize progress in supporting a child.
Sensory Integration
Sensory integration (sometimes called “sensory processing”) is a term that refers to the way the nervous system receives messages from the senses and turns them into appropriate motor and behavioral responses. Successful completion of the activity requires processing sensation or “sensory integration”. Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD, formerly known as “sensory integration dysfunction”) is a condition that exists when sensory signals don’t get organized into appropriate responses.
Splinting
Hand splinting is often combined with other treatment techniques such as stretching and strengthening for maximum effectiveness. Splints may be prescribed for wear during the day at night or worn to assist hand function for a particular activity during the day e.g. self-catheterisation.
The Alert Program®
Although the Alert Program® initially was intended for children with attention and learning difficulties, ages 8-12, it has been adapted for preschool through adult and for a variety of disabilities. If children are intellectually challenged or developmentally younger than the age of eight, the program’s concepts can be utilized by staff to develop sensory diets to enhance learning.
Therapeutic Listening™
Sound based stimulation program used to help children challenged by difficulties with movement, auditory perception, language and learning difficulties.
VitalStim®
The VitalStim® Therapy System is an adjunctive modality to traditional exercise that unites the power of electrical stimulation with the benefits of swallowing exercises. Combining VitalStim and traditional therapy allows clinicians to accelerate strengthening, restore function, and help the brain remap the swallow. Research has demonstrated that combining these therapies results in better outcomes than using either one alone.
Whistle
Blowing helps develop tongue, cheek, jaw and lip musculature and respiratory control for speech and feeding skills. Whistles are a pleasurable and reinforcing way to encourage blowing. They also provide motor planning practice for speech sounds.