Month: July 2021

Speech therapy is an intervention service that focuses on improving a child’s speech and abilities to understand and express language, including nonverbal language. Speech therapists, or more appropriately termed a speech-language pathologist (SLP), are professionals educated in the study of human communication, its development, and its disorders. They are professionals who provide these services. Speech and language pathologists not only assess and treat for articulation, language and cognitive difficulties, but some also focus on swallowing and feeding.

Speech therapy includes two components:

1. coordinating the mouth to produce sounds to form words and sentences (to address articulation, fluency, and voice volume regulation)
2. understanding and expressing language (to address the use of language through written, pictorial, body, and sign forms, and the use of language through alternative communication systems such as social media, computers, and iPads).

Occupational therapy interventions include helping children with disabilities to participate fully in school and social situations, helping people recovering from injury to regain skills, and providing supports for older adults experiencing physical and cognitive changes. It is a therapeutic, rehabilitative process that uses purposeful tasks and activities to improve health; prevent further injury or disability; enhance quality of life; and develop, sustain, or restore the highest possible level of independence. It typically includes a comprehensive evaluation of the client’s home and other environments (e.g., workplace, school), assessment of an individual’s functional status, the development and implementation of a customized treatment program, and recommendations for adaptive modifications in home and work environments as well as training in the use of appropriate assistive technology devices.

Occupational therapy practitioners have a holistic perspective, in which the focus is on adapting the environment to fit the person, and the person is an integral part of the therapy team. Patients who benefit from occupational therapy, or OT, include people who have had strokes, people with autism and other developmental disorders, people recovering from certain surgeries (including hip replacements), people who suffer from depression or anxiety.

Occupational therapy services typically include:

1. an individualized evaluation, during which the client/family and occupational therapist determine the person’s goals,
2. customized intervention to improve the person’s ability to perform daily activities and reach the goals, and
3. an outcomes evaluation to ensure that the goals are being met and/or make changes to the intervention plan.

All children encounter situations where they feel worried, nervous and sometimes even scared, as they grow and develop. Some behaviours are not helpful to humans such as aggression and impulsive behaviours. However aggressive and impulsive behaviour are often used by children in response to stress.

What we should do for Coping?
Coping skills are what we think and what we do to help us get through difficult situations.

A child begins to learn and use different coping skills from the time they are born. Through Coping skills training, one can build on the skills they are already using, as well as assist them to learn new ones.

– It includes interventions aimed at increasing an individual’s ability to manage a variety of often uncomfortable or anxiety-provoking situations
– ranging from relatively normal or situational problems (e.g., test taking, divorce) to diagnosed disorders (e.g., phobias).
– It also explores on how to help the child manage strong emotions, promote helpful thinking and assist them to break down tasks into smaller, manageable chunks

The types of skills taught are tailored to the individuals as well as the situation and can involve increasing cognitive, behavioural, and affective proficiencies.

Attention Skills Training refers to a set of techniques and exercises designed to improve an individual’s ability to focus, concentrate, and direct their attention effectively. It is often used in various contexts, including education, therapy, and cognitive training programs. The primary goal of Attention Skills Training is to enhance attentional control and reduce distractions, which can positively impact performance and productivity in various areas of life. This training can be beneficial for individuals with attention difficulties, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or those seeking to improve their overall attentional abilities.

Here are some key components and techniques commonly used in Attention Skills Training:

• Mindfulness Meditation
• Cognitive Exercises
• External Cues and Prompts
• Environmental Modifications
• Time Management Strategies
• Self-Monitoring and Feedback
• Behavioural Interventions

Attention Skills Training is typically tailored to the specific needs and goals of the individual undergoing the training. It is often conducted in a structured manner, either in individual or group sessions, with the guidance of a trained professional, such as a psychologist, therapist, or educational specialist. Additionally, advancements in technology have led to the development of digital platforms and applications that provide interactive attention training programs.

Sensory experiences include touch, movement, body awareness, sight, sound, smell, taste and the pull of gravity. For most Children, Sensory Integration develops in the course of ordinary childhood activities. But, for some children, sensory integration does not develop as efficiently as it should. When this process is disordered, a number of problems in learning, development and behaviour may become evident. Children who might need be in need of multi-sensory integration may include children:

• who are over/under sensitive to touch
• movement
• sights
• smells
• tastes and sounds
• have high/low activity levels
• deficits in motor coordination and/or poor organisation of behaviour

Multi-sensory therapy is an activity which usually takes place in a dedicated room where the client experiences a combination of visual, auditory, olfactory and tactile stimuli. These rooms are designed to create a feeling of comfort and safety, where the individual can relax, explore and enjoy the surroundings.

Multi-sensory therapy offers individuals with cognitive and sensory impairments and other challenging conditions, the opportunity to enjoy and control a variety of sensory experiences. Multi-sensory therapy can open up a whole new world for individuals with cognitive and sensory impairments. It can generate a relaxing and calming effect, but can also provide stimulation.

1. Parental counselling is a type of service that aims to provide the necessary knowledge, tools, guidance, and most especially support to parents without bias or judgment. This way, they become more fully equipped to take care of their children.
2. Parental counselling offers modalities or therapies that help parents gain a better understanding of their parental style, face and eventually conquer their personal issues, and restore their family, bringing back harmony and peace in the household, with the ultimate motive being the improvement in socio-emotional functioning of the child.
3. There are two ways on how someone can undergo Parental First, the parent may be referred by their doctor, psychologist, a prominent member of the community or the child’s school. Second, the parent personally may seek professional help.
4. Either way, a parent counselor meets the parent at the appointed time. He/she conducts a thorough interview to identify the main issue, gain a better understanding of the problem, and assess the current behavior and state of the parent in order to provide maximum benefit.
5. It is a multi-fold approach and multi-step process. Results cannot be expected immediately, although some parents respond to the programs within a few days or weeks.
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What is Paediatric Physiotherapy ?
Paediatric Physiotherapy aims to help and treat children with physical problems as well as provide support to their families and carers. A paediatric therapist works with the child and their family to assist each child to reach their maximum potential to function independently and to promote active participation at home, in school, and in the community.

There are many familiar childhood disorders and diseases that present with movement dysfunction and motor skill issues that impact on physical development, activity and the child’s ability to participate in play, learning and socialising. These include.

– Cerebral Palsy,
– Autism,
– Down Syndrome,
– Muscular Dystrophy and associated disorders,
– Spina Bifida,
– Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis,
– Arthrogryposis,
– Cardio-Pulmonary Disorders,
– Cystic Fibrosis,
– Cancer, and Traumatic Brain Injury.

In addition, many children may have hypotonia and developmental coordination disorder.

The role of the paediatric physical therapist :

• is to evaluate and provide treatment for delays in motor skills by developing the strength and range of motion that children need to move through their environment easily and effectively. In addition to assessment of flexibility, strength, posture, gait, sensory processing, balance, coordination and skill, the paediatric therapist is trained to assess motor development using standardized testing for age equivalents.
• physiotherapy programmes are devised in collaboration with both the child and their family.
• Play, family involvement, and one-on-one care are exclusive to the paediatric therapists’ care of children. Fun and motivational factors are incorporated into functional activities to make therapy enjoyable for the child.
• Advice and training are provided so that the family can help and encourage the child to continue practicing them at home.

Education:

1. Special Education
2. Philosophy of Special Education
3. Goals
4. IEP (Long Term/ Short Term) Aim of Education is gaining knowledge to be aware of
5. Surrounding
6. Become Independent Economically
7. Taking Responsibility
8. Contribute meaningfully to the society A person with special need is no exception

Definition of Special Education:

Special education is a targeted instruction that is specially designed to meet the unique needs of each child who is unable to learn the adaptive behaviour, the natural way – that is by interacting with the environment around him/her.

Concept:

Special Education is designed to teach the child the various aspects of daily living that are required to led an independent life. Average environment treats average person best. Persons at either extremes do not learn from average environment One of the primary goals of training educating developmentally delayed persons is to help them to function adequately in their natural atmosphere.

Goals:

Basic of special education is to teach the child:

1. Activities of daily living (ADL) -These are activities an individual does to keep self-clean/safe/healthy. These activities include self-care, safety and home living.
2. Communication Skills
3. Socialisation Skills – Interpersonal skills, use of community resources, Situational understanding
4. Work Habit is to comprehend the task in demand, initiate the task, follow the process and complete the same.
5. Self-Regulation- Special education is not only about teaching the student all of the above mentioned activities. It is also to ensure that the student has access to all kinds of
   resources and opportunities which will help them to lead their life freely according to their optimum ability.

IEP (Individual Education Programme)

The purpose of IEP is to meet the child’s needs based on child’s ability, developmental pace rather than on predetermined expectations based on grade level. The IEP takes both strength and challenges into consideration using child’s strength to improve his/her challenges. So the goal of IEP is to develop a learning programme for individual students by identifying the present level of performance, identify the ability and requirement of long term goals. It tracks student’s progress against short term SMART( Specific, Measurement, Agreed Relevant, Timely) goals to support achievements of long term goals.

1. Behaviour modification is a treatment approach, based on the principles of operant conditioning, that replaces undesirable behaviours with more desirable ones through positive or negative reinforcement.
2. By using a system of positive or negative consequences, an individual learns the correct set of responses for any given stimulus. The practice has several offshoots that attempt to alter behaviour through different strategies developed through the years.  
3. Behavioural modification seeks to change or shape behaviour through a set of stimuli and response actions. Operant conditioning works under the premise that the best way to understand a person’s behaviour is to look at the reason for action and the consequences of said action.
4. Behaviour modification has been successfully used to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD),attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), phobias, enuresis (bed-wetting), generalized anxiety disorder, and separation anxiety disorder.

Play therapy is a psychotherapeutic approach primarily used to help children ages 3 to 12 years to explore their lives and freely express repressed thoughts and emotions through play. Therapeutic play normally takes place in a safe, comfortable playroom, where very few rules or limits are imposed on the child, encouraging free expression and allowing the therapist to observe the child’s choices, decisions, and play style.

Goals:

1. The goal is to help children learn to express themselves in healthier ways, become more respectful and empathetic, and discover new and more positive ways to solve problems.
2. Therapeutic play is for children undergoing or witnessing stressful events in their lives, such as a serious illness or hospitalization, domestic violence, abuse, trauma, a family crisis, or an upsetting change in their environment.
3. Play therapy can help children with emotional difficulties, anxiety, behavioural disorders, academic and social problems, learning disabilities as well as those with autism spectrum disorder.

There are two approaches to play therapy:

1. Non-directive play therapy where that children are encouraged to resolve their own problems and work toward their own solutions through free play with limited instruction and supervision being given to the child.
2. Directive play therapy ensures that games are generally chosen for the child, and children are given themes and character profiles when engaging in doll or puppet activities. This therapy still leaves room for free expression by the child, but it is more structured than non directive play therapy.

Play therapists use both approaches, depending on the individual child and his/her needs.