Our pediatric physical therapists are health care professionals who are movement specialists addressing medical problems, developmental delays, or other health-related conditions that affect a child's ability to move and perform functional activities in their daily lives. Our physical therapists use treatment activities and techniques that promote the ability to achieve gross motor milestones, coordinate movement, balance, strengthen, reduce pain, restore function, and prevent disability. Our physical therapists also work with individuals to prevent the loss of mobility by developing fitness and wellness-oriented programs for healthier and more active lifestyles. Our pediatric physical therapists use play and fun activities to entice children while they work hard and exercise to promote the highest level of independent function.

Our pediatric speech language pathologists serve children and their families to address typical and atypical communication. Areas of focus include language acquisition and development, use of social language, sound production, oral motor skills, and Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC). Social conversation skills are taught through natural interactions and during play activities. Our speech language pathologists work with caregivers to provide practical activities that can help maintain and enhance gains made during treatment sessions.

Our pediatric occupational therapists specialize in fostering and developing children’s play skills, fine motor skills, self-care skills, feeding and swallowing skills, and sensory processing. They collaborate closely with the child and their families to assess and promote function and engagement in meaningful occupations, remediate disability, and provide education and support. Our pediatric occupational therapists focus on upper extremity strength and coordination, trunk strength and stability, motor planning, specific self-care tasks, oral sensory, oral motor development, swallowing safety, and sensory modulation and discrimination. Through these interventions, they contribute significantly to the child's overall well-being, utilizing the primary occupation of play, to encourage active participation in therapy sessions.

Constraint Induced Movement Therapy (CIMT) is an innovative, evidence-based rehabilitation approach developed by Dr. Edward Taub at the University of Alabama, Birmingham. Some children who have neuromotor conditions will often use their stronger hand and neglect to use their weaker hand. This is called developmental or learned non-use. CIMT encourages neuroplasticity, or the “re-wiring” of the brain, to improve arm and hand function. It is an intensive therapy program where children are seen for 3 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 3 weeks. UP’s CIMT program is aimed at improving the use of affected arm, hand, and fingers, skills to care for self (dressing, feeding, etc.), upper extremity strength and coordination.UP’s CIMT program is aimed at improving the use of affected arm, hand, and fingers, skills to care for self (dressing, feeding, etc.), upper extremity strength and coordination.

Our pediatric feeding therapists work with children and their families impacted by poor feeding, decreased oral motor and/or impaired swallowing skills. They are rigorously trained and mentored to address: food/liquid refusals or selectiveness (picky eating), oral sensitivities, difficulties with eating and/or drinking appropriate volumes, oral-motor dysfunction, negative mealtime behaviors, poor texture progression, disordered feeding regimens, infant feeding, and medically complex risk factors impacting feeding (i.e. prematurity, structural anomalies, physiological limitations, and gastrointestinal issues). Our pediatric feeding therapists also specialize in dysphagia, with certifications in VitalStim Therapy. A comprehensive approach to address feeding and swallowing is utilized by our therapists to promote the skills learned by the child in sessions are safely generalized to the home and family.

Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is a systematic and evidence-based approach to understanding and improving behavior. It is often used to help individuals, especially children with developmental disorders like autism, acquire new skills and reduce problematic behaviors. By providing a structured framework for behavior modification, enhancing communication skills, and fostering positive social interactions, ABA therapy is an integral part of our holistic approach to pediatric care, ensuring that all children receive the comprehensive and individualized support they need to thrive.