Parents with special needs children must learn a variety of coping strategies and assist their children in developing stronger coping mechanisms.
Physical therapy can be an important part of learning these coping skills, and working with a physical therapist can benefit you as well as your special needs kid.
In today’s blog, we’ll look at some of the most effective ways to help your child improve his or her coping skills. You may also reach out to our physical therapy team for immediate assistance.
Reassure your child that help is always available to them
Physical exercise — or even the idea of physical activity — is difficult for many special needs children. This may give your child enough distress that it appears to be a major and frightening problem.
If your child expresses concern, worry, or frustration about not being able to perform those physical activities as well as they’d like, remind them that a physical therapist will help.
You can tell your child, “Let’s talk about what you learned in your last physical therapy session.” This helps your child remember their progress and it helps them cope when they’re feeling overwhelmed.
Remind your child that they grow stronger and more capable with each visit to their physical therapist, too. It can turn the situation from scary to hopeful very quickly.
Calming techniques that can help your child cope easier
Make a list of your child’s favorite things to do. What are the things that tend to smooth out the kinks and calm people down, even though they’re agitated?
Remind your child that they can make themselves feel better the next time they feel overwhelmed or out of control. Suggest one of the relaxing exercises and, if necessary, assist them with it.
Your physical therapist will assist you in compiling a list of activities that are both soothing and beneficial to your child. If you’re away from home, try to participate in at least one of these events.
For example, if your child colors to calm down, make sure that you always have coloring supplies with you. It may help you avoid some major meltdowns.
Identifying triggering situations
Many special needs children in physical therapy programs are exposed to triggering conditions or events. Your child can show out-of-control behavior or other problematic behavior as a result of these triggers.
Fortunately, knowing the causes will help you avoid having a meltdown. If you’re having trouble identifying causes, your physical therapist might be able to assist you.
When your child is having behavioral issues, make a note of all that is going on around them. You’ll probably see trends if you do this for a few weeks.
For example, maybe your child’s worst behavior issues occur when they leave school for physical therapy. This is a normal occurrence, and many special needs children struggle with changes. In this case, you can solve the problem by introducing a downtime window.
Use physical therapy strategies and skills to help your child relax during this downtime between activities. Deep breathing, reading a story to pass the time, or simply talking about the upcoming activity are all options.
Talk to your physical therapist about your child’s specific triggers to find customized solutions for both of you.
Evidence supporting pediatric physical therapy for coping skills
You may be wondering, “How can physical therapy help my child with coping skills? Isn’t physical therapy just that – physical therapy?”
While this is a valid point, many physical therapists (especially those with expertise in pediatrics) are trained in helping children not only understand what they can accomplish physically, but also what they can accomplish emotionally.
According to the results of a study published by Oxford Academic,
“This study demonstrated that a systematic approach to training and accrediting physical therapists to deliver a standardized pain coping skills program can result in high and sustained levels of adherence to the program. Training fidelity was achieved in this group of motivated clinicians, but the supervision provided was time intensive. The data provide a promising indicator of greater potential for psychologically informed practice to be a feature of effective health care.”
Physical therapy can be an immensely beneficial method for special needs children, not only in terms of assisting them in reaching their physical potential, but also in terms of assisting them in understanding and effectively coping with their emotional reactions to their environments.
Our practice can help; contact us today
If you are on the lookout for an expert physical therapy provider for your special needs child, your search can end now. Contact our clinic today for an appointment. Our skilled therapists are here for support; we want to help your child to cope easier at home, school, and during play.
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Tags: healthytips, achesandpains, healthandwellness, pediatrictherapy, pediatrictherapist, Health, wellness, pt, naturalpainrelief
