Intensive Paediatric Therapy – helping Amelia reach her goals

Amelia comes to Therapies for Kids and participates in regular Intensive Paediatric Therapy to work on a number of goals:

  • to develop her sitting ability so that she can hold her head and trunk up for longer periods so she can play and engage with her peers at preschool.
  • to improve core stability and trunk strength so she can hold her body upright for longer periods when standing (with hips held) so she can better engage with her sister and friends.
  • to be more consistent in taking steps in supported walking (i.e. in frame or harness) so she can better explore her environment.
Amelia recently participated in a 3 week intensive at our Sydney Clinic. This show what we got up to when Debbie joined the session including:
Walking in the harness:

Squatting exercise in the harness:

Rolling practice:

Foot and ankle taping for improved positioning and alignment – Deb’s modification:

Amelia is wearing a postural support garment which assists with her postural alignment and gives her trunk stability in upright positions; and Amelia’s orthopedic shoes provide increased foot and ankle stability which Debbie also modified to improve alignment in weight-bearing.

Intensive therapy allows Amelia and other children to practice skills with increased repetition over a short period of time, helping them build a skill much faster than otherwise. It follows the rules of neuroplasticity, which allow the nerve cells in the brain to make up for injury and disease and to change their activities in response to new situations or to changes in the environment.

Regular blocks of intensive therapy combined with regular ongoing therapy enables faster gross motor accomplishment.

Intensive paediatric therapy is ideal for infants through to adolescents with neuromuscular disorders and a variety of diagnoses, or anyone looking to accelerate their progress in functional and developmental skills.

Intensive therapy is delivered by experienced Physiotherapists, Occupational Therapists, and Speech Pathologists, under the guidance of our Clinical Director Debbie Evans. Each program is individualised to the client’s needs. The program will challenge your child, helping them to maximise gains in strength and function in a short period of time.