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5 Major Benefits of Our Fort Myers ABA Therapy
If your child has been referred to Fort Myers ABA therapy, you’re likely learning what a commitment it is and wondering if it will truly be worth it. At FOCUS Therapy, we answer with a resounding “YES!”
It’s not just because it’s our job. It’s because we see the tremendous difference that Fort Myers ABA (short for applied behavior analysis) has on the kids we work with and their families. Our processes are evidence-based, positive, and give kids opportunities to communicate, learn and grow in ways their families at one point that were not possible.
What is Fort Myers ABA Therapy at FOCUS?
ABA therapy is considered “the gold standard” for autism treatment, though it is sometimes used to effectively treat behavior issues of kids with other conditions, such as Down syndrome. It’s a specialized, evidence-based approach that focuses on improving specific behaviors that are (or will be) impediments to a child’s ability to be independent, learn and form healthy relationships.
The impact of what we do in ABA therapy extends far beyond the therapy session – or even the classroom. We teach children skills they will use in life, for life. It’s about setting a strong foundation that empowers your child with the skills they will need to thrive, both now and well into the future.
Key Benefits of ABA for Kids
Some of the most fundamental ways that our Fort Myers ABA therapy services help children include:
“Occupational Therapy for Babies? What Does That Look Like?”
At FOCUS Therapy, we heavily gear many of our occupational therapy efforts toward early intervention. That means for certain conditions and especially those with developmental delays, the sooner we start, the better – because we can more effectively “train” neural pathways the younger the child. But what about babies? What does occupational therapy for babies look like?
How we administer occupational therapy for babies depends heavily on the child’s condition and age. It’s also individualized to the child, addressing the unique needs and abilities of each baby while promoting growth and participation in daily activities.
Occupational Therapy for Babies
A babies’ occupations are:
- Eating.
- Growing.
- Moving their bodies.
- Learning to interact with their environment through their senses.
- Bonding with their caregivers.
- Playing.
As occupational therapists, our job is to assist when there is an issue that may prevent a child from reaching these milestones at an age-appropriate time. There are certain conditions a child may be diagnosed with at birth that are known to be associated with certain developmental delays. For example, a child diagnosed with Down Syndrome is likely going to have delays in balance and motor function. If we start occupational therapy for babies with Down Syndrome, we can often minimize the severity and impact of that delay.
Typically at 0-3 months, we’re going to be focused largely on parent education. Babies at this stage are just starting to visually track objects, begin exploring their own bodies with their hands and start holding their head up. We’re going to work with parents on ways to encourage their baby to meet those milestones with strategies like tummy time. We might also offer up certain toys or activities we know are going to be stimulating for the senses or oral motor exercises to help them improve their control while eating and verbalizing.
Between 3 and 6 months, typically-developing babies are going to be using their hands and eyes together to reach for things they want – their mom and dad, their favorite toy, a pet, etc. They’ll begin to roll from their tummy and back. In providing occupational therapy to babies at this stage, we’re going to be encouraging development of these skills by using especially motivating objects and toys and positioning them in a way that facilitates those movements.
Between 6 and 9 months, babies are going to be rapidly developing key motor skills – sitting up, crawling, moving items from one hand to the next, and picking up small objects. We’ll likely be working to strengthen the earlier skills we discussed, as well as finding ways to help babies promote independent movements with fun games, books, songs, and sensory toys.
From 9 months to 1 year, we start to see babies playing with purpose, understanding concepts like “in” and “out,” “up,” “down,” “behind,” “front,” etc. They are copying you starting to eat independently, and may even be standing and starting to walk. Occupational therapy is going to focus on helping kids develop and strengthen these skills. We’ll play games that exercise certain muscle groups (in the fingers/hands, core muscles, upper body, etc.).
No matter what specific skillsets we’re working on, one of our most important roles in giving occupational therapy for babies is educating parents. This is actually true for every developmental stage. We want to be supporting and empowering parents to work 1:1 with their own child at home. Not only does this help strengthen parent-child bonds, but the more practice the child gets at home, the faster they’re going to acquire the skills we’re trying to teach. OTs are also great at helping parents talk through developmental concerns and problems and formulating solutions that will work for both you and your child.
Aside from specific diagnoses like Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, or traumatic injury, other indicators that your baby might need occupational therapy:
- They tend to only use one side of their body, or one side is much stronger than the other.
- Baby becomes upset in new settings and is very hard to calm.
- Under/overreacts more than other same-age kids to new textures, sounds, touches, temperatures, sights, etc.
- Cannot play with their hands at midline or transfer objects from one hand to the other by 4 months or so.
- Seems to be weaker or have less endurance than other babies their age.
- Cannot grasp or hold small objects for several seconds by 6 months or can’t voluntarily release objects by 9 months.
- Regularly bumps into things without noticing things in their way.
- Is not visually tracking movement of objects or people the way other babies do.
- Isn’t meeting their milestones for gross motor skills.
If your baby has been referred to occupational therapy in Southwest Florida, FOCUS Therapy has OTs who are highly qualified, love children (and their grown-ups!) and are dedicated to providing the highest quality care for you and your infant.
FOCUS offers pediatric occupational therapy in Fort Myers and throughout Southwest Florida. Call (239) 313.5049 or Contact Us online.
Additional Resources:
N/IICU Occupational Therapy, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
More Blog Entries:
Fort Myers Occupational Therapy Helps Kids Acquire Life Skills, Jan. 5, 2024, Fort Myers OT Blog
Speech Therapy Milestones Ages 0-4
Concerned your child may have a speech delay? If your child isn’t meeting these key milestones, our Fort Myers speech therapy team can conduct an assessment and recommend your next steps. Talk to your child’s pediatrician for a speech therapy referral.
Fort Myers Occupational Therapy Helps Kids Acquire Life Skills
When parents first learn their child has been referred to Fort Myers occupational therapy raise an eyebrow. After all, what “occupation” does a child have?
The answer is: Many!
But we have to look beyond the traditional definition of “occupation,” which is generally understood to mean a career, vocation, or job. Within the field of occupational therapy, “occupation” is understood to be life activities. These are the tasks involved in doing everything from bathing and dressing to learning and managing complex tasks.
None of us just magically become independent, successful adults. We had to learn it, starting with the very basics of moving, communicating, and taking care of our basic needs. Human children are born with an intrinsic motivation and ability to engage in learning, control, and mastery. Some kids need more 1:1 help than others to catch up to where they need to be developmentally. That’s where our Fort Myers occupational therapy team can intervene.
Pediatric Speech Therapy Service Needs Have Expanded Post-Pandemic
Demand for Southwest Florida pediatric speech therapy services has long been higher than what providers could comfortably accommodate. That’s why so many clinics have ongoing waiting lists. But you’re not imagining it: Those waitlists have gotten longer than ever.
The American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA) reports this is in part because many clinics are catching up on the backlog of waning referrals during the pandemic.
In a recent survey of pediatric speech-language pathologists and audiologists, ASHA found that there has been a sharp uptick in referrals the last 2 year – a time period marked by significant pandemic-related impacts for kids ages 1-5.
Pediatric speech therapy clinics are reporting seeing more:
- Requests for evaluations.
- Behavioral difficulties.
- Social deficits.
- Speech-language struggles.
The poll was conducted among more than 1,000 ASHA members nationally, the majority of whom are reporting backlogs – mainly from kids who weren’t referred to them during the pandemic. Concerns about the virus reduced access to all kinds of medical care and interventions, and that unfortunately includes speech therapy services.
Some clinics, like FOCUS Therapy in Fort Myers, were ahead of the curve in providing online pediatric speech therapy services. That meant we could more seamlessly transition to a continuation of services for existing patients – even if they couldn’t be in the clinic with us.
But still, there were significant delays during that time in getting a physician’s referral for both audiology and speech-pathology evaluations. That meant delays in securing the diagnoses that open the door to early intervention therapy services.
Other pandemic-related factors exacerbated existing developmental delay issues. Specifically:
Identifying Speech Delays in 2-Year-Olds
Every child develops speech and language skills at their own pace. But if you have a nagging feeling your child is lagging on this front, it’s important not to ignore that inkling. Unaddressed speech delays in 2-year-olds can cause compounding social-emotional-academic-communication problems as they get older.
The first step in addressing speech delays in 2-year-olds (or any child) is to identify it. Our Fort Myers speech therapists recommend starting with milestones. Compare your child’s speech-language skills with those that have been identified for the majority of kids in their age range.
A high-quality resource for comparison are the Communication Milestones established by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). These are broken down by age range. For 2-year-olds, we’re going to look at the skillsets identified for kids from 19-24 months and those 2-3 years.
Communication Milestones 19-24 Months
In general, a child who is between the ages of 19 and 24 months should be able to:
- Use and understand a minimum 50+ words. These are mostly things like food, body parts, animals, toys, etc. The speech they use won’t necessarily be clear. For instance, they may say “ba” for “ball” or “du” for “shoe.”
- Put 2+ words together to form more complete ideas. Examples: “Give ball,” “go bye-bye.”
- Follow simple directions with two steps. Something like, “Get the spoon and bring it to me.”
- Correctly use words like “you, mine, and me.”
- Use their words to get help with something.
- Use possessive terms. Example: “My shoe,” “mommy’s cup.”
If your child isn’t reaching these milestones, it may be time to get the ball rolling on intervention services by talking to your child’s pediatrician about your concerns.
Communication Milestones 2-3 Years
A child who is between 2- and 3-years-old should have the ability to:
Fort Myers OT Explains In-Clinic vs. School-Based
If your child has been referred to pediatric occupational therapy services, you may be wondering what’s the point of getting both in-clinic occupational therapy AND school-based occupational therapy. As a Fort Myers OT can explain, these are often similarly-qualified professionals who can help children develop and improve on key life skills. But their focus is slightly different.
Whereas in-clinic occupational therapists can help kids work on any virtually deficit area within our scope of practice, the school-based occupational therapists are going to be aiming to tackle issues that directly impact a student’s access to and success within education.
In-clinic Fort Myers OT services, like those at FOCUS Therapy, are accessible with a doctor’s referral. This is sometimes done in conjunction with a diagnosis like autism, down syndrome, or cerebral palsy. But sometimes it’s merely a global developmental delay.
School-based OT services, on the other hand, are administered with an IEP, or individualized education program, which is guaranteed to students of different needs under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Having a doctor’s referral to OT services isn’t critical in securing school-based services, but it’s certainly weighed in consideration of whether an IEP is appropriate.
A school-based Fort Myers OT is going to aim at assisting with skills like:
- Visual motor and fine motor skills necessary for tasks like typing, writing, and finishing homework.
- Activities of daily living within a school day. These would include things like eating independently at lunchtime, changing into gym clothes, etc.
- Core strengthening necessary to maintain good posture for focusing on and completing school-related activities.
- Executive functioning skills necessary for organization, planning, attention, time management, and coping with changes in a routine.
- Sensory processing skills needed to help a student actively participate throughout a school day.
They’re going to look carefully at enhancing a student’s ability to learn, participate in class, and engage in daily school routines.
Meanwhile, an in-clinic Fort Myers OT at FOCUS Therapy often helps kids work on these same skills, but does so regardless of whether it’s integral to success solely within a school day. We are interested in their success in ALL settings – from the moment they wake to the moment they fall asleep. That can include school-based skills, but also those that have an impact on their daily routines, extracurricular activities, social skills, etc. We address a broader range of conditions and needs.
Clinic-based OTs can also generally start working with kids at a much younger age than those who receive services from a school-based OT. School-based OT services generally aren’t going to start until a child is at least in preschool. In-clinic Fort Myers OT services can sometimes begin in infancy, with a doctor’s referral. This kind of early intervention is critical to helping kids with certain conditions catch up developmentally to their peers. It reduces the skills gap, putting our patients on track to be as successful as possible – not only at school, but in life.
Ultimately, in-school occupational therapy and in-clinic occupational therapy are services that compliment each other. Kids benefit from these supports in both arenas, especially when they start at a young age.
FOCUS offers pediatric speech therapy in Fort Myers and throughout Southwest Florida. Call (239) 313.5049 or Contact Us online.
Additional Resources:
What is Occupational Therapy? American Occupational Therapy Association
More Blog Entries:
Improving Executive Functioning Skills for Kids is Often a Top Therapy Goal, Sept. 30, 2023, FOCUS Therapy Fort Myers OT Blog
FOCUS POCUS Sensory-Friendly Halloween Party is TODAY!!
Celebrate gourd times! FOCUS Therapy’s 4th annual FOCUS POCUS sensory-friendly Halloween Party – complete with costumes, trick-or-treat, games, and fun prizes – is TODAY!
Our therapists are decorating each room of our clinic with a different theme. Join us at our Fort Myers clinic on Royal Gulf Circle from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Patients, siblings, friends, and local community members welcome!