Our outpatient, pediatric therapy services strive to improve the quality of life and developmental progress of children with special health care needs, ages birth to 18-years-old. Collaboration is our approach. One child may often see multiple therapists and other providers within Children’s Village to optimize their outcomes, grow and thrive. Therapists provide comprehensive evaluations and individualized treatment plans for each child. Therapy services are often in the clinic but may be home or community based for children under the age of three as part of the ESIT Program. For those children over the age of 3, services are intermittent and include home programs so children and families can continue progress after the conclusion of care.
Speech Language Pathology focus areas:
- Pediatric Feeding and Swallowing Disorders, including dysphagia video fluoroscopic studies.
- Cleft Lip Palate clinic (link page)
- Alternative Augmentative Communication (AAC)
- Fluency Disorders
- Executive Dysfunction
- Motor Speech Disorders & Childhood Apraxia of Speech
- Hearing Loss & Aural Rehabilitation
- Language, Articulation & Phonology delays
Occupational Therapy focus areas:
- Motor skills and motor planning
- Fine motor coordination
- Play and social skills
- Self-care skills such as dressing, eating and bathing
- Sensory integration
- Attention and executive functions
- Custom splinting
Physical Therapy focus areas:
- Development of motor skills such as sitting, standing and walking
- Pediatric Durable Medical Equipment
- Lower extremity Orthotics
- Post-surgical therapy following neurological or orthopedic surgery
If you have a concern about your child’s development, talk to your primary care physician about a referral or start by taking this simple online developmental screening. You can also call Children’s Village at 509-574-3200 or 800-745-1077.
Resources
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Occupational and physical therapy home activities
The following are videos providing occupational and/or physical therapy activities you may enjoy watching and then sharing with your child.
Occupational Therapist Ms. Leslie Shows OT Activities for At Home – YouTube
OT activities for at home.
At-Home Sensory and Motor Activities Using Balloons – YouTube
Easy to do at home. These activities target motor planning, visual motor skills, bilateral coordination and gross motor skill development using balloons.
Father Time ?? A Sensory Motor Game for OT Teletherapy and Home Learning – YouTube
Get your child’s attention and engagement with this activity that combines writing skills, creativity, imagination and sensory input.
Simple & mess-free fine motor & motor planning activity for youngsters – YouTube
Put your child’s toys in “jail” by wrapping them in rubber bands or by taping them to different surfaces! Have your child “free” them from “jail” by removing the rubber bands or tape. Quick and easy activity to challenge motor planning, fine motor skills and bilateral coordination!
Easy activities to do at home to help practice fine motor skills.
Quick at home Occupational Therapy Activity, with a focus on visual scanning – YouTube
Easy fine motor skills activities you can do at home with your kids!
Sensory Play at Home: Proprioceptive Games – YouTube
Playing sensory games in the home is fun and easy! Engage your child in play that provides your child with proprioceptive input (muscles) using objects found around the home.
At Home Pediatric Occupational Therapy – Pencil Grasp – YouTube
Correct pencil grasp.
Pediatric Occupational Therapy – Shoulders and Core Strength – YouTube
Examples of ideas to develop your child’s core and shoulder strength.
Pediatric Occupational Therapy – Gross Motor Games – YouTube
Improving your child’s fine motor and gross motor skills – YouTube
Fun ways you can work with your child on his or her fine motor skills and gross motor skills.
Physical Therapy Activities at Home: Indoor Obstacle Course – YouTube
Create an indoor obstacle course for your kids using only household items.
10+ core strengthening games in under 10 minutes, ages 4.5+ – YouTube
10+ fun, quick, and easy activities to help your child develop core strength.
5 indoor gross motor activities – YouTube
At-Home Gross Motor Activities for Children Using an Exercise Ball – YouTube
Target core strengthening, postural control and motor planning.
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Speech and language learning activities
The following are videos providing speech and language learning activities you may enjoy watching and then sharing with your child.
COVID-19 Parent Support – Speech Therapy Exercises You Can Do at Home! – YouTube
Speech therapy exercises to do at home using readily available materials.
Speech Therapy Techniques: Speech Therapy with a Non-verbal Child – YouTube
Tips and strategies on what to look for when communicating with your non-verbal child. Sometimes it is easy to overlook how our non-verbal children communicate with us because we are focused so hard on wanting them to use words. The therapy here is not magical in any way but very strategic and specific in nature.
Speech and Language Therapy activity with Peppa Pig – YouTube
If your child is learning to make simple requests and using some single words, then this will give you some ideas you can try out at home. It doesn’t have to be Peppa Pig, of course! What would you choose to put in that exciting box?!
Using PLAYDOUGH for Speech and Language Therapy – YouTube
Playdough is such a fun and flexible activity, it’s useful for children of all ages and stages. Here’s 5 ways to use playdough to support speech, language and communication.
Building attention skills in children: THE BUCKET! – YouTube
Building shared attention is a key aspect of developing your child to learn and develop communication skills. In this video a simple practical approach to teaching children to pay attention is shared.
How to improve your child’s attention span – YouTube
Five suggestions to help you build your child’s attention and concentration in the early years.
How to help speech and language development with a simple puzzle – YouTube
Five ways to use inset puzzles to encourage language learning.
How to turn snack time into speech and language practice – YouTube
We want to give you child a reason to communicate! Snack time is often a great opportunity to teach your child some key vocabulary.
How to use STACKING CUPS for speech and language development – YouTube
Stacking cups are an incredibly useful and flexible toy for helping children learn to talk In this video you’ll get ideas for how to use stacking cups to help your child learn new words.
Building Language Through Play – YouTube
These tips will help you learn ways to build your child’s language at home by incorporating language skills, such as spatial concepts, sequencing, and building vocabulary into play and everyday activities.
Word games for speech and language – YouTube
There are two main aspects of word knowledge that we can teach children: 1) the sounds that make up the word 2) the meaning of the word. This video shares six simple games that you can play with your child to help them explore and get familiar with the sounds and meanings of words. No prep required!
SKETCHNOTES to help language processing – YouTube
Lots of people use doodles and drawings to help them process and retain verbal information.
5 ideas for STORIES in SPEECH THERAPY – YouTube
Sharing stories together is a great way to target speech and language therapy goals.
Speech & Language ideas: things to do with a cardboard box – YouTube
Kids love playing with big cardboard boxes! This video shares activity ideas for three stages of language development: first word learners, simple phrase talkers and those talking in conversations.
How to teach taking turns – YouTube
Does your child struggle to share their toys and take turns with others? It can be a tricky thing to learn, especially if you have difficulties communicating. Here’s a step-by-step plan to help your child learn how to take turns.
How to use objects of reference – YouTube
Using objects of reference is a simple and effective tool to help children feel more settled and confident when moving between activities. This video will give you a summary of how you can use this strategy to help your child understand spoken language and make requests.
Use BALLOONS to BUILD ATTENTION and TEACH NEW WORDS – YouTube
The simplest toys are often the best! Balloons are a fun simple way to build your toddler’s attention skills and teach them some motivating words.
How to use choices to get your child talking – YouTube
Offering choices within everyday activities is a simple way to encourage your child to use more words and to build their language skills. It may be simple, but there are some common mistakes.
How to play Ready, Steady, Go – YouTube
Ready, Steady, Go is a fun and effective way to build your child’s early attention and communication skills. This video shares my 3 top tips to make this an effective (and fun!) way to build your child’s language skills.
Using visuals to support LANGUAGE and ATTENTION – YouTube
Visual prompts are a great way to boost your child’s understanding and participation in everyday activities. BUT sometimes it feels a little hard to get started. This video shares with you 5 super-quick ways to start using visual support with your child TODAY!
How to use a Schedule Board.wmv – YouTube
This is a short video that demonstrates how to implement a PECS Schedule Board in your home for your child with autism or other communication delay. PECS is short for Picture Exhcange Communication System.
Eye contact and social skills: a quick game to play – YouTube
Eye gaze is a significant way that we communicate nonverbally. This video shares a fun activity to build awareness of eye gaze to support social understanding.
Why teaching action words is so important (and how to do it) – YouTube
Being able to understand and use action words is a key step in language development. This video shares some ways to help children learn verbs within everyday play, and books.
Routines to make you SMILE, build MEMORY and VOCABULARY – YouTube
With so much change and uncertainty, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. So the small things we do every day become even more important! This video shares a quick routine you can use with your child to spread some positivity PLUS build auditory memory and vocabulary.
Speech Exercises for Kids | Kit Explores Childhood Speech Apraxia – YouTube
In this video children learn how to say different sounds, strengthen lips, and strengthen the tongue. Games and play that help promote speech are demonstrated.
Why use Speech Sound Hand Cues?! Visual, Tactile and Verbal cues are some of the MOST effective ways to teach speech sounds!