Our mission is to support children and their families by providing lifelong knowledge and skills with enthusiasm, passion, and creativity.
SenseAbilities is proud to offer:
Speech/Language Therapy
Speech Therapy focuses on receptive language, or the ability to understand words spoken to you, and expressive language, or the ability to use words to express yourself. It also addresses the mechanics of producing words, such as articulation, pitch fluency, and volume.
Occupational Therapy
A child’s main job is playing and learning. An occupational therapist can evaluate a child’s skills for play activities, school performance, and activities of daily living and compare them with what is developmentally appropriate for that age group. According to the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), in addition to dealing with an individual’s physical well-being OT therapists address psychological, social, and environmental factors that may hinder an individual’s functioning in diverse ways. This unique approach makes occupational therapy a vital part of health care for many children.
Physical Therapy
Physical therapy helps children learn to perform gross motor skills successfully and independently (running, jumping, hopping, etc.) and functional mobility skills (ambulation, stair climbing, wheelchair mobility, transfers). Physical therapy also helps young athletes prevent injury by addressing any muscle imbalance or weakness as well as helping them to return to play after injury. A variety of treatment interventions are used including developmental activities, therapeutic exercise, balance and coordination activities, adaptive play activities, mobility training, safety and prevention programs, and activities to promote overall wellness.
Feeding Therapy
What is Feeding and Swallowing Therapy?
Think about how you eat. You first have to get the food or drink to your mouth. You may use a fork, spoon, straw, or your hands. You have to open your mouth and take the food in. You close your lips to keep the food in your mouth. You then chew the food or move the liquid to get ready to swallow.
Children have to learn this process. They start by sucking and learn how to eat solid foods and drink from a cup. Children will have some trouble at first. This is normal and should go away. A child with a feeding disorder will keep having trouble. Some children will eat only certain foods, or they may take a long time to eat. These children may also have a feeding disorder.”
ASHA. Feeding and Swallowing Disorders in Children. https://www.asha.org/public/speech/swallowing/feeding-and-swallowing-disorders-in-children/.
Diagnosis and conditions, we commonly treat for feeding and swallowing disorders:
- airway disorders
- autism spectrum disorders (ASD)
- cerebral palsy
- complex medical diagnoses
- craniofacial anomalies (birth defects of the face and head, like cleft lip and palate)
- failure to thrive (when kids don’t gain weight or grow as expected)
- gastrointestinal (digestive) problems
- need tube feedings (NG tube, G tube, etc.) for nutrition
- heart disease
- oral-motor delays and deficits
- swallowing disorders (like dysphagia including aspiration)
- prematurity or having a low birth weight in infants
- behavior problems
- sensory issues
Services offered and/or recommended for feeding and swallowing disorders:
Speech and language therapists are the first line of specialists to see children for problems with feeding and/or swallowing. However, occupational therapists (OTs) can treat, too. Services for diagnosis and treatment may include:
- comprehensive clinical evaluation, including a review of your child’s medical, developmental, and feeding history
- family education, and training
- individualized treatment planning, including but not limited to:
- oral motor exercises
- neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES)
- SOS approach to feeding
- meal observation and consistency recommendations
- referral for additional assessment, if needed (MBSS, FEES)
Hippotherapy
Hippotherapy is a form of physical, occupational, and speech therapy in which the therapist uses the natural gait and movement of a horse to provide graded motor, and sensory input. A foundation is established to improve neurological functions, and sensory processing that can be generalized into daily activities.