An initial evaluation is considered your first visit as a patient of our clinic and is a detailed visit with your physical therapist to determine a plan of care to best treat your child’s condition. Often this includes a conversation about your child’s condition, health history and goals. These visits often include stretches and exercises. Following the initial evaluation, we will work with you to schedule your child’s next visits.
This depends on your child’s individual needs. Your child’s physical therapist will work with you to develop a treatment plan together. This usually consists of one to three visits per week depending on your child’s condition.
Physical therapy, for some conditions, has been found to be as effective as surgery. Consider physical therapy before undergoing expensive and invasive surgeries.
Physical therapy can help with a wide variety of symptoms and conditions including but not limited to developmental delays, walking abnormalities such as toe-walking, cerebral palsy, spina bifida, down syndrome, genetic abnormalities, hypotonia, hypertonia, torticollis, coordination disorders, balance disorders, post-surgical and NICU graduates.
Dress comfortably so your child is free to move. Typically, loose-fitting clothing that allows for movement. Shorts are appreciated for gait assessments. Shoes, if necessary, should be supportive, such as a good-fitting pair of walking or running shoes.
You can expect to be talking with your child’s physical therapist about their overall health, the specific condition they are being seen for, their home environment, their health habits and activity level and their leisure and recreational interests. Your child’s physical therapist will complete an examination, which might include evaluating your child’s strength, flexibility, balance, coordination and posture. Your child’s physical therapist wants to help them to be as active and independent as possible. Together, you and your child’s physical therapist will determine goals for physical therapy.
If you have any questions for your child’s physical therapist, write them down and bring them with. Please fill out the new patient paperwork or arrive early enough to complete it prior to your child’s appointment.
For your child’s first appointment, please bring your photo ID, your insurance card, a list of your child’s current medications and completed paperwork that you received prior to the appointment.
We have many appointment times to fit your schedule. We are open Monday through Friday and start seeing patients as early as 7 a.m. We can see patients over the lunch hour and have our last appointment scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Give us a call and we can usually schedule your child within the next 24 to 48 hours.
While insurance policies may require you to visit a primary care provider first or limit your access to preferred providers only, all 50 states and the District of Columbia allow you to contact a physical therapist without a physician’s referral. You have the right to choose your child’s own physical therapist. Your child is not obligated to receive physical therapy in any specific facility.
