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Aquatic therapy is offered at Cincinnati Children’s Drake Center. This therapy combines the benefits of physical therapy and occupational therapy with the advantages of warm-water exercise. Warm water lessens the effects of gravity and reduces body weight up to 90 percent, encouraging relaxation and reducing the dangers of overexertion. Aquatic therapy, in individual or group sessions, can be provided as the sole treatment option, or can be combined with other therapy approaches.
Read more about the Aquatic Therapy Program.
The Division of Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy (OT/PT) at Cincinnati Children's offers extensive specialized services to maximize the best functional outcome for children with Cerebral Palsy.
Children with Cerebral Palsy will be evaluated using standardized testing tools developed specifically for use with Cerebral Palsy patients. During treatment, an occupational or physical therapist will develop a customized program based on your child’s comprehensive evaluation. The therapist works with you, your family and specialists from our team to plan a rehabilitation program that addresses your child’s specific needs. Throughout therapy, we re-examine and adjust the plan to meet the unique challenges each patient encounters.
Read more about our Cerebral Palsy Care.
This treatment is used for children who have hemiplegia, brachial plexus injury or other disabilities affecting one arm. It helps them improve the use of their affected arm. CIMT limits the use of the better-functioning arm while providing intensive therapy with the affected arm.
A wide range of diseases, congenital conditions and injuries can affect your child’s hands, arms and shoulders. When appropriate, we collaborate with experts from the Hand and Upper Extremity Center at Cincinnati Children’s. The rehabilitation and treatment plan we develop together will provide a comprehensive approach to ensuring your child is able to enjoy her life to the greatest possible extent.
The Division of Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy offers intensive therapy programs that involve more, and sometimes longer, visits in a shorter period of time than in traditional therapy
Current research suggests that “bursts” of intensive therapy followed by a period of observation, without traditional therapy services, helps children better learn or relearn movements. It also gives them a chance to practice these new skills at home before going back to therapy. Intensive therapy is often used for children with autism, cerebral palsy and movement disorders. If your child enters an intensive therapy program, your commitment will include participation in therapy one to three hours a day, several times a week, for six to 12 weeks.
The Division of Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy offers the following intensive therapy programs:
- Autism Intensive
- Constraint Induced Movement Therapy (CIMT)
- Outpatient Neurorehabilitation Therapy (ONRT)
- Strengthening Program of Intensive Developmental Exercises and Activities for Reaching Maximal Potential (SPIDER)
- Interactive Metronome (IM)
- Partial Body-Weight Supported Treadmill Training (PBWSTT) and the robotic program for PBWSTT known as RoboDOG (robotically driven orthosis for gait)
These programs are offered at several, but not all, Cincinnati Children’s locations. For additional information, call the Division of Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy at 513-636-4651.
In this progressive neurological assessment and treatment program, the therapist uses headphones and a computer screen to encourage your child to move his hands and feet to a rhythmic beat. The program aims to improve your child’s ability to focus and attend, to improve physical endurance and stamina, and to improve your child’s ability to plan, sequence and process information in a flexible manner. Each training session is personalized for your child and targets specific problem areas.
An orthosis is an orthopaedic device that supports or corrects the function of a limb. Orthoses may help improve your child’s lower extremity range of motion, balance, strength and ability to walk. Following a thorough evaluation of your child’s lower extremity function, the therapist will recommend an appropriate orthosis. The therapist may also create a personalized therapy and exercise program that maximizes the benefits of orthotic use.
Our outpatient neurorehabilitation program provides comprehensive treatment to children and young adults with a wide range of neurological diagnoses including traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injury. Many of our staff members have obtained specialty certification in managing patients with traumatic brain injury. For all of our patients, we utilize several therapeutic approaches to help improve overall function.
Listen to patients' share their experiences through our Tell Me a Story video series:
Sensory integration is the ability to take in information through the senses, combine it with previous experiences and make a meaningful response. When treating children with sensory integration disorders, our therapists guide your child through activities that challenge his ability to appropriately respond to sensory stimuli. Therapy does not provide a cure, but instead provides conditions in your child’s environment where change is most likely to occur.
Unlike casts applied to bone fractures, serial casting uses casts to stretch muscles for an extended period of time. A series of specially designed casts are applied over a period of weeks to gradually improve your child’s range of motion.
A splint is applied when there is a need to improve or maintain range of motion, prevent a deformity, provide external support, or position or immobilize a joint. Your child’s therapist will provide a schedule for wearing and caring for the splint, and may teach your child exercises to perform while wearing it.
Our Sports Medicine Center is the first of its kind for young athletes in Cincinnati. Our sports physical therapists have expertise in sports medicine and understand the unique needs of growing athletes. Our therapists work with physicians and other specialists to help young athletes return to sports activities as quickly and safely as possible following an injury, and to educate them about how to prevent recurring injury.
Therapeutic listening uses sound to determine how the body organizes information. Treatment is customized to your child’s needs, and consists of the child listening to special CDs. We have therapists who are specially trained in the use of therapeutic listening to address your child’s specific needs.
Vestibular problems, such as balance difficulties, dizziness and nausea, can result after certain illnesses, use of certain medications, or from injuries. Children with vestibular processing problems may also demonstrate delayed developmental skills. Vestibular rehabilitation therapy (VRT) retrains the brain to recognize and process signals from the inner ear along with information from the eyes, muscles and joints, improving balance and decreasing or eliminating feelings of dizziness during daily activities. If your child needs VRT, a physical therapist will perform an evaluation, and will develop a treatment plan that includes exercises to be performed both in therapy and at home. Additionally, our therapists work closely with the staff of the Pediatric Balance Center.
Our Wheelchair and Adaptive Seating Clinic helps you select wheelchair and seating technology that best fits your child’s needs. The clinic will help parents determine the best time for a wheelchair team evaluation, how a wheelchair and adaptive seating assessment can help, what to expect during their visit and how to make an appointment.
Read more about the Wheelchair and Adaptive Seating Clinic.
