Services

SPEECH DISORDERS AND LANGUAGE DISORDERS

A speech disorder is a problem with the actual production of sounds, whereas a language disorder refers to a difficulty understanding or putting words together to communicate ideas.

Speech disorders include:

+ Articulation disorders: difficulties producing sounds in syllables or saying words incorrectly to the point that listeners can’t understand what’s being said.

+ Fluency disorders: problems such as stuttering, in which the flow of speech is interrupted by abnormal stoppages, repetitions, or prolonging sounds and syllables.

+ Motor Speech disorders: problems such as Apraxia, make it hard to speak, requiring a lot of work to learn to say sounds and words better.

+ Speech disorders: problems such as Dysarthria, are caused by muscle weakness make it hard for you to talk and people may have trouble understanding what you say.

+ Language  disorders: problems such as stuttering, in which the flow of speech is interrupted by abnormal stoppages, repetitions, or prolonging sounds and syllables.

+ Speech Sound disorders: children can have trouble saying sounds clearly making it difficult to understand what they are saying.

FEEDING DISORDERS

Pediatric feeding disorders are conditions in where a child avoids eating what or how much he/she will eat. These disorders often limit a child’s ability to participate in normal social activities such as eating with others, and disrupt family functions.  Feeding disorders can lead to problems including weight loss, nutritional deficiency, need for nutritional supplements or problems with daily functioning.

Pediatric feeding treatment focuses on strengthening the oral-motor system and its functions, muscular tone, and sensation to make the child functional during mealtimes.

Speech disorders include:

+ Complete Food Refusal

+ Food Selectivity, also known as picky eating, this is when a child will eat a limited number of foods.

+ Low Volume Acceptance when the child will eat, but stop at a certain point at which not enough nutrition has been taken in

+ Texture the child will not eat foods with certain textures

Pediatric occupational therapy is the skilled therapeutic treatment provided to infants, toddlers and children which enables he/she, with their families, to achieve independence in all facets of their lives. Pediatric occupational therapy will assist to establish and maintain health, wellness, and maximum quality of life. Pediatric occupational therapy promotes function, re-mediate disability, provide support and education to families, and collaboration with additional health care providers.

For infants, toddlers, and young children, pediatric occupational therapy encompasses daily functional skills, achievement of age appropriate developmental milestones , and progression to more advanced and challenging skills as he/she matures.

The word ‘occupation’ describes an activity which occupies the majority of an infant/child’s time. Therapeutic intervention may teach the individual skills of daily living necessary for independence and achievement of each individual’s maximal potential. For the pediatric population the primary focus of their occupation is on achievement of age appropriate development and play, and social skills.

Pediatric occupational therapy may represent a slightly different meaning based on the child’s age and diagnosis.

Pediatric physical therapy focuses on facilitating children’s gross motor development and function, in order to promote independent and safe navigation of their surroundings, such as home, school, and community environments. Children are generally referred for physical therapy when they show delay in developmental motor milestones such as rolling, sitting, or crawling, deficits in age-appropriate gross motor skills such walking, running, or negotiating stairs, or if a child sustained an injury that affects his/her level of function.

Physical therapy treatment includes therapeutic activities to improve range of motion, walking and running, patterns, static and dynamic balance, postural control and stability, strength, motor coordination, endurance, and safety. Physical therapy is aimed at assisting a child’s overall gross motor development.

Also, parent/caregiver training is a trivial component of the physical therapy treatment that promotes carryover to a child’s daily routine.

Little Star Therapy provides physical therapy evaluation, treatment, and consultation in the following areas:

+ Gross motor development – Muscle tone and strength
+ Posture and body alignment – Orthotics/bracing
+ Balance and stability – Gross motor coordination
+ Head/neck posture – Neuromuscular function
+ Pre-gait and gait training – Endurance
+ Safety – Locomotion patterns