Our Areas of Focus
Focus on your child
Children with the following diagnoses benefit from our services:
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
Developmental Delay
Cerebral Palsy
Phonological Disorder
Genetic Disorders
Down Syndrome
Sensory Processing Disorder
Torticollis
Lack of Coordination
Articulation Disorder
Fragile X
Spina Bifida
Attention Deficit Disorder
Plagiocephaly
Apraxia
Neurological Disorders
Breast Feeding Difficulties
Expressive and Receptive Language Disorder
Phonological Disorder
A phonological disorder occurs when kiddos utilize patterns of sound errors beyond the age in which they are eliminated by typically developing children. Children with a phonological disorder are able to produce target speech sounds correctly, but in the wrong place. At Therapy Kinections, we help the kiddos figure out where to put the speech sounds correctly and in a fun manner!
Articulation Disorder
An articulation disorder occurs when a child demonstrates errors in production of individual speech sounds. The formation of correct sounds involves the coordinated movements of the oral motor skills (i.e. lips, tongue, teeth, palate, respiratory system). Examples of an articulation disorder include a lisp and difficulty in the production of the letter “r”. At Therapy Kinections, we can help improve articulation skills through play.
Receptive/Expressive Language Disorder
Children can be diagnosed with a receptive language disorder, expressive language disorder, or a mixed receptive and expressive language disorder. Receptive language refers to the understanding of language, while expressive language refers to verbal output. A child with a receptive language disorder can experience difficulty with following directions, answering questions, understanding of age-appropriate concepts, and understanding what is said to them. A child with an expressive language disorder may present with a limited expressive vocabulary, unable to make requests/ask questions, and difficulty utilizing age-appropriate grammatical concepts. At Therapy Kinections, we are happy to assist with helping out with these skills.
Developmental Delay
A developmental delay occurs when a child’s ability to reach developmental milestones slows, stops, or reverses. This can include the child’s motor, social, cognitive, and emotional skills. Examples of a developmental delay include not rolling over/sitting up/crawling/walking, difficulty communicating/socializing, or difficulty with fine motor skills. At Therapy Kinections, we love to help kiddos that may have difficulty with developmental delay, to get them through to the next level!
Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD/ADHD)
Attention deficit disorder is considered a neurodevelopmental disorder and is typically diagnosed in childhood. Common symptoms of attention deficit disorder include disorganization, trouble focusing, poor time management skills, and difficulty with multitasking. We have great activities that help to improve these skills.
Cerebral Palsy
Cerebral palsy (often abbreviated CP) can be a common motor movement disorder among children. Most commonly it is caused by damage to the brain either before or shortly after birth. It can be characterized by abnormal muscle tone (either stiff or floppy), delayed motor milestones, asymmetrical movements, and increased extension of the body. At Therapy Kinections, we believe in early intervention and therapy to help facilitate functional movement patterns, fulfill equipment needs, enhance motor skill development, and train the family.
Torticollis
Torticollis can be present at birth or shortly thereafter secondary to positioning in the uterus. It can also develop after birth secondary to use of preferred movement patterns or positioning. Sometimes along with torticollis, there can be asymmetry in head shape that develops called plagiocephaly. Symptoms include decreased head and neck movement. Asymmetrical movement patterns can be noted as milestones develop, including rolling or reaching to one side more than the other or crawling primarily with only one leg. At Therapy Kinections we like to provide physical and occupational therapy at an early age to help lengthen and strengthen muscles in appropriate alignment, facilitate symmetrical movement patterns, assist with interventions for plagiocephaly, and train parents and caregivers in positioning strategies, exercises, and assist with active range of motion and passive range of motion exercises.
Lack of Coordination
Children who exhibit lack of coordination may demonstrate delayed milestones, frequent falls, “clumsy” movements, difficulty with fine motor skills, and impaired locomotor skills like jumping, skipping, etc. More significant cases may be diagnosed with developmental coordination disorder (DCD). This is usually diagnosed after the child reaches school age. Kiddos benefit from PT and OT to build core strength and develop the proximal stability needed to perform distal skills like writing and reaching. At Therapy Kinections we start helping out by breaking down motor movement into segmented parts in order to first build on small successes which lead to overall success.
Spina Bifida
Spina bifida is a spinal condition resulting from a lack of closure of the neural tube over the spinal cord. The range of severity depends on where and how large the opening of the spine is as well as the nerves and vertebrae involved. More severe forms can be diagnosed during pregnancy or right after. Milder forms may not be found until childhood or later. In cases where there is no involvement of the spinal nerves, there may be a dimple or tuft of hair present on the back which can be discussed with the pediatrician. At Therapy Kinections, we provide physical therapy to enhance functional mobility, assist with equipment needs, and develop exercise and positioning programs for the family.
Apraxia
Children with apraxia can have difficulty performing fine and gross motor movements. Delays and difficulties with speech are common. Kiddos with apraxia may have trouble coordinating large and small muscle movements even though the muscle strength is adequate. They may drop things often, have difficulty with ball skills and hand/eye coordination, trip, and run into things. These children can benefit from speech, physical and occupational therapy to build core strength and develop proximal stability to support speech and fine motor movements. At Therapy Kinections we enjoy making activities that develop and enhance reciprocal movement patterns as well as teach complex motor skills in parts that can help a child to develop more successful and independent movement.
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
Autism spectrum disorder, or ASD, is a neurological and developmental disorder that affects how people interact with others, communicate, learn, and behave. People with ASD often have difficulty communicating and interacting with other people and they may have restricted interests and demonstrate repetitive behaviors. Symptoms of ASD can impact function during everyday activities including at school and out in the community. Autism is known as a “spectrum” disorder because there is wide variation in the type and severity of symptoms people experience. At Therapy Kinections we work with children and their families to foster independence and improve their overall quality of life.
Sensory Processing Disorder
Sensory processing disorder is when the sensory information that a child receives is misinterpreted, causing him/her to overreact or underreact to stimuli. Our senses include tactile, auditory, visual, movement, body position/awareness and oral input. When a child has a sensory processing disorder, he/she has difficulty with many daily activities. At Therapy Kinections, we strive to help the child’s responsiveness to stimuli be regulated to have fun on a daily basis!
Genetic Disorders
Genetic disorders include certain types of birth defects, such as cleft lip or palate, congenital heart disease, cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy, fragile x, down syndrome, trisomy 13 and trisomy 18, and spina bifida. At Therapy Kinections, we strive to support the child and family related to all of the above disorders and more.
Breast Feeding Difficulties
Breast feeding difficulties can often occur due to difficulties that the mother is having such as too much milk, or too little milk production, but they can also often occur due to difficulties the baby is having. Some examples include having difficulty latching onto the nipple, frequent pulling off the nipple, and a poor strong suck/swallow breath pattern. At Therapy Kinections we provide many different strategies that can be utilized to help with breast feeding, and the earlier these areas of difficulty are addressed, the easier nursing can become for the baby and mother.
Plagiocephaly
Plagiocephaly is when a baby develops a flat spot on one side of their head, and/or across the entire back of their head. This is often due to the baby having tight neck muscles that often cause them to keep their head in a preferred position when they are on their backs, sleeping or in a carrier. If plagiocephaly and the tight neck muscles go untreated, you can often see that the baby’s facial features such as their eyes, ears, forehead, can shift and/or become uneven. At Therapy Kinections, we treat plagiocephaly with craniosacral therapy.
Neurological Disorders
Neurological disorders are conditions that are a result of the brain and/or nervous system not working correctly. Since there is a wide range of these disorders and causes for these disorders, children can present with cognitive, physical, psychological, emotional and or behavioral difficulties. Children can be diagnosed at birth, but some present later in childhood. Some of the disorders include: seizures/epilepsy, ADHD, autism, cerebral palsy, tic disorder, neuromuscular disorder, learning/developmental disorders. We treat children of all abilities at Therapy Kinections and help them improve their daily living.
Fragile X Syndrome
Fragile-x syndrome, or “FXS” is a genetic disorder that is caused by changes in a gene that scientists called the FMR1 gene when it was first discovered. Children who have FXS do not make the protein needed for brain development, causing developmental delays. At Therapy Kinections, we work with children that have fragile-x to help them improve their fine motor, gross motor, and speech and language skills.
Down Syndrome
Down syndrome occurs when a child has a full or partial extra copy of chromosome 21. Some common characteristics of down syndrome are: intellectual disability, low muscle tone or loose joints, a single line across the palm of the hand (palmar crease), small pinky fingers that sometimes curve toward the thumb, microcephaly, short stature, as well as small hands and feet. We love to work with kiddos with down syndrome and help them to succeed!
