How pediatric therapy can change lives - New Day NW

Multi-disciplinary pediatric therapy can support kids with completing everyday tasks, improving speech and learning to crawl and walk. One area of pediatric therapy at Providence Swedish is occupational therapy.
“An occupational therapist, when it comes to the pediatric population, essentially just helps kids do what they need to do in their everyday lives,” said Ashley Lankford, occupational therapist at Swedish. “That can look like playing, eating, interacting with peers, going to school, whatever it might be.”
Physical therapists support kids with crawling, walking and, later on in childhood, running, jumping and climbing. Speech therapists help children with communication challenges.
“We really try to support parents and the whole family unit,” Lankford said. “It’s kids. We have to include the caregivers to have a successful therapeutic relationship.”
The team at Providence Swedish works with a wide variety of infants and young children and wants to make therapy fun. Their facility is equipped with motor and sensory gyms and a ball pit.
Therapists use the Baylay standardized assessment for NICU graduates to check for visual tracking, range of motion, fine motor skills and more.
“When a child transitions from the NICU to home, we follow them for the first 24 months of life to see that they’re meeting developmental milestones,” Lankford said. “And if they’re not, we get in there right away.”
The therapists at Swedish have a variety of tools to help kids in their development and use various methods to both assess and aid growth, including books, balls and toys.
If you have concerns about your child’s development, start with your pediatrician. You can then move on to an evaluation to understand if and how therapy could help.
Visit the Providence Swedish website to learn more about the pediatric therapy available.
Sponsored by Providence Swedish.
Segment Producer Suzie Wiley. Watch New Day Northwest at 11 a.m. weekdays on KING 5 and streaming live on KING5.com. Contact New Day.