A first word. A first step. A first hug. Seeing your child hit developmental milestones is one of the many joys of parenthood. But what happens if a child doesn’t reach an expected milestone? Your first inclination may be to panic, but that’s unnecessary. Mark Their Words Therapy Services offers therapeutic activities for developmental delays that can help your child thrive.
Every kid develops at their own pace. However, experts have created a series of milestones that indicate the general point at which a child should demonstrate certain key skills, such as rolling over on their own, understanding basic words, and more. If your child is significantly behind in meeting these milestones, it can indicate a developmental delay.
Sometimes these delays stem from an underlying condition, such as autism or cerebral palsy, but they don’t always. Either way, early intervention is crucial in addressing these problems –the earlier you recognize them and begin therapy, the more likely your child will have a positive outcome.
At Mark Their Words Therapy Services, we address developmental delays through play-based pediatric therapy. Play is how children learn—whether learning how to move or learning how to interact with their peers. Our therapists harness the play’s potential to guide your child toward a bright future.
Ready to learn more about the therapeutic activities for developmental delays we offer at our Clarksville, TN clinic? Keep reading!
What Developmental Delays Should I Watch Out For?
In the first few years of their life, your child is learning to do all the things adults take for granted. We usually group these skills into five broad areas:
- Movement, including both large, whole-body movements and smaller, more precise hand movements
- Cognitive ability
- Social and emotional ability
- Speech, language, and communication
- Day-to-day tasks like eating, getting dressed, and bathing
Pediatric experts have created milestone charts for all five skill areas, providing a rough outline of your child’s overall development. For example, at two months, your child should be able to smile when they see you, make babbling sounds, and hold their head up when they’re on their tummy. At two years, your child should be able to notice when others are upset, speak in two-word sentences, and run.
It’s essential to familiarize yourself with these developmental milestones–not only to look out for potential issues but also to know when to expect important moments in your child’s life, such as their first word.
It’s also important not to panic if your child is a little late in development: these milestones are rough guidelines. It’s only a concern if a child is severely delayed compared to their peers.
That said, if you do suspect your child is not meeting developmental milestones as they should, schedule an appointment with Mark Their Words Therapy Services. Our pediatric therapists can conduct a comprehensive evaluation, including a full health history and various standardized tests, to determine if your child may need additional help.
How Pediatric Therapy Helps Address Developmental Delays
Our clinic encompasses three types of therapy that, together, can help address all five of the skill areas:
- Speech therapy can help children learn to communicate more effectively. We can help your child learn to both speak and listen, which will help them better navigate social situations and make friends.
- Physical therapy can help your child move. We can work with them to improve their gross motor skills and ensure they can run, dance, play, and stay active throughout their life.
- Occupational therapy can help your child navigate everyday tasks, set goals, and become an advocate for their personal needs. We can help them learn fine motor skills and provide strategies to allow them to groom themselves, prepare their own food, and manage behavioral or emotional issues.
Every child has different needs, interests, and ability levels. Our team will work closely with you, your child, and your child’s care team to create a customized program to address the skills your child is struggling with. We emphasize a child’s strengths over their limitations, encouraging them to find approaches that work for them in a fun, playful way.
In addition to your child’s in-clinic sessions, we’ll provide you with approaches and activities you and other caregivers can use at home, school, or in everyday life. That way, your child is constantly learning–and not just when they’re in pediatric therapy.
Therapeutic Activities That Can Help Address Developmental Delays
At Mark Their Words Therapy Services, we believe in the power of play. We’ll design your child’s sessions to feel as much like playtime as possible. This approach allows them to learn in the way that’s most natural to kids (and to have fun, too).
Here are a few examples of the different therapeutic activities for development delay we might suggest:
- Movement Activities: We might create a fun, simple obstacle course for your child to complete. Or we might incorporate singing and dancing into our therapy session. To help with fine motor skills, we can provide blocks, clay, or coloring books to help them learn how to use their hands.
- Communication Activities: We might model good communication skills to your child through conversations about their favorite topics, then encourage them to practice as they share their thoughts back to us. We can also provide therapist-guided opportunities where children of similar ability levels can talk with each other, practicing their social skills.
- Activities for Everyday Skills: Our therapists can explicitly guide your child through any daily activities they might struggle with by modeling behaviors or using illustrated examples. We can also work with your child to adapt and adjust using strategies and modifications for tasks they find too difficult.
What Therapeutic Activities Might Work for Your Child’s Development Delays?
The team at Mark Their Words Therapy Services is here to help your child thrive. If you’re ready to get started with a customized pediatric therapy treatment plan, Call and schedule an appointment with us today. We can’t wait to get to know you and your child!
Sources:
- https://do2learn.com/disabilities/CharacteristicsAndStrategies/DevelopmentalDelay_Strategies.html
- https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/milestones/index.html
- https://www.choosept.com/guide/physical-therapy-guide-developmental-delay
Tags: developmental delays, therapeutic activities, Physical Therapy, pediatric treatment, physical activity, natural treatments
