Pediatric Physical Therapy

Overcoming challenges…obtaining gross motor milestones…achieving dreams.

It happens to many parents –  you’re concerned that your child isn’t hitting a developmental milestone so you talk to your pediatrician who gives you the  “let’s wait and see what happens” answer. While sometimes parents can be worried over nothing, there are times when kids do need intervention in order to develop as they should. In fact, early intervention can be key to helping your child thrive. The good news is in Texas, we are able to patients via direct access (without a doctor’s order/referral) for up to 10 business days to evaluate and treat.

Earlier identification and intervention is more effective and less costly. Approximately 16% to 18% of children have disabilities or developmental delays. Only 32 percent of babies receive developmental screenings to identify delays or areas of concern. 1 in 3 infants and toddlers who received early intervention services did not later present with a disability or require special education in preschool.

Research has shown that early intervention is very beneficial especially with disorders like Cerebral Palsy (CP). In fact, an early diagnosis of CP (before the age of one) has shown major benefits for motor and cognitive skills and very few disadvantages. Even if a child is misdiagnosed, while it can cause some distress for the parents, it is still overall beneficial for the child.1

More research on early intervention has shown that parents play a vital role in advocating for their children to receive therapy earlier.  In the article “Early Identification of children with at-risk of development coordination disorder: a scoping review” the authors note that when parents advocate for their children to get the treatment they need sooner,  the early intervention for developmental coordination disorder can prevent secondary, or even worse consequences of the disorder.2

Researchers also came to the same conclusion with Autism, and noted that “Early detection and intervention for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) provide an opportunity to foster development, ultimately improving the quality of life and decreasing the lifetime financial and mental health costs associated with ASD.”3

Overall, screening and diagnosing disorders earlier (even if the diagnosis may be initially wrong) has many advantages that can help kids have a better quality of life and prevent them from developing more serious complications from certain disorders.

If you’re concerned that your child is missing developmental milestones, early intervention therapy could help. Children’s brains develop quickly between toddler and preschool age and it’s when the brain is considered the most “plastic” or malleable. If children receive treatment during this period of rapid brain growth, the therapy can be more effective and prevent more serious problems down the road.

Contact Sprouting Up Therapy today to schedule an evaluation.


All evaluations include a comprehensive assessment of your concerns, including torticollis, body tension, head shape, feeding function, reflux/gas, tethered oral tissues, and motor skills.

Our therapists are knowledgable with the following Pediatric Physical Therapy conditions: 

  • Torticollis

  • Plagiocephally

  • Delayed movement in infants/toddlers (rolling, crawling, walking)

  • Poor balance

  • Gait deficits (toe walking, toe in or toe out gait, frequent falls)

  • Decreased endurance/strength

  • Restricted range of motion

  • Oral motor dysfunction

  • Body tightness

  • Decreased coordination for running, jumping, skipping

  • Sports conditioning

  • Rehab post-orthopedic surgery

  • Rehab after traumatic head injury

  • Functional limitations due to medical conditions including, but not limited to prematurity, cerebral palsy, hip dysplasia, club foot, Down syndrome, autism spectrum disorder, muscular dystrophy, and other genetic, neurologic, and orthopedic conditions.

References
1. te Velde A, Morgan C, Novak I, Tantsis E, Badawi N. Early Diagnosis and Classification of Cerebral Palsy: An Historical Perspective and Barriers to an Early Diagnosis. J Clin Med. 2019 Oct 3;8(10):1599. doi: 10.3390/jcm8101599. PMID: 31623303; PMCID: PMC6832653.
2. Lee EJ, Zwicker JG. Early identification of children with/at risk of developmental coordination disorder: a scoping review. Dev Med Child Neurol. 2021 Jun;63(6):649-658. doi: 10.1111/dmcn.14803. Epub 2021 Jan 19. PMID: 33469912.
3. Grzadzinski R, Amso D, Landa R, Watson L, Guralnick M, Zwaigenbaum L, Deák G, Estes A, Brian J, Bath K, Elison J, Abbeduto L, Wolff J, Piven J. Pre-symptomatic intervention for autism spectrum disorder (ASD): defining a research agenda. J Neurodev Disord. 2021 Oct 15;13(1):49. doi: 10.1186/s11689-021-09393-y. PMID: 34654371; PMCID: PMC8520312.

FAQs of Physical Therapy

  1. What do physical therapists do?
    Physical therapists are experts at treating movement and neuro-musculoskeletal disorders.  They are trained specialists who analyze gross (large) motor function, muscle strength, flexibility, posture, balance, and coordination to achieve efficient and optimal movement patterns. PTs use their expertise in evaluation, diagnosis, and intervention to come up with a plan of care to encourage movement, development, exploration, and learning. We feel early intervention strategies are important in promoting age-appropriate skills, overall health, inclusion, and accessibility for each patient, child, and family.

  2. Why are children referred to physical therapy?

    Children can be referred to physical therapy for a number of reasons. Majority are due to developmental delay or abnormal movement patterns normally due to an underlying diagnosis including but not limited to prematurity, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, or other genetic disorders. Other reasons to be referred to physical therapy include sports injuries, rehabilitation following broken bones or surgeries, balance/coordination deficits, and difficulty with walking.

  3. Why are adults referred to physical therapy?

    Adults are referred to physical therapy in general due to injury, degenerative changes, post-operative, balance deficits, or for general strengthening.

  4. What diagnoses do you treat?

    -For those ages 0-3, we treat infants born pre-maturely with significant delay, chromosomal abnormalities, hypotonia/hypertonia, torticollis, plagiocephaly, brachial plexus injuries, and hip dysplasia.

    -For school age through adults, we are often treating for orthopedic injuries/post-surgical rehab-neck/back pain, hip/knee/ankle injuries or sprains, torn rotator cuff, shin splints, plantar fasciitis, scoliosis, leg length discrepancies; developmental disorders/diseases-including Osgood Schlatter’s, Sever’s Disease, Osteochondritis dissecans, Perthes disease, Slipped Capital Femoral Epiphysis; neurological disorders-stroke, TBI, Cerebral Palsy, Spina bifida; genetic disorders-Trisomy 21 or Down syndrome, Osteogenesis Imperfecta, Muscular dystrophies; gait abnormalities-toe walking, in-toeing, out toeing; cardiopulmonary diagnoses including asthma, cystic fibrosis, following heart surgeries; and other diagnoses such as Autism Spectrum Disorder, Sensory Processing Disorder

    -For older adults, we are often treating balance deficits, vertigo, or general weakness.

    -We also assist in assessment for specialized medical equipment if needed to aid in daily activities including but not limited to wheelchairs, standers, splints, and orthosis-cranial, thoracic lumbar sacral orthosis, or ankle foot orthosis. 

  5. What can I expect at the appointment?

    -Pediatric initial evaluation: we ask for parent/caregiver to be involved to get proper developmental/medical history, home observations, family concerns, and set goals. Will assess range of motion, strength, look for asymmetries, and a movement analysis to look at gross motor skills, fine motor skills, motor planning, speech sounds, language development, feeding concerns, and social emotional behavior.

    -Adult initial evaluation: Will assess range of motion, strength, look for asymmetries, body alignment, body mechanics, balance, and ability to perform work-related tasks. Will also assess speech sounds, language skills, and feeding concerns.

    -Initial evaluations generally take 45-60 minutes.

    -Treatment sessions will be dependent on tolerance but we try to do a full 60 minutes.

    We ask to have the patient in comfortable clothing in which they can play and move around freely. Infants will be initially evaluated in a diaper only (please bring a blanket in case they get cold to provide warming breaks) and older children may be asked to raise their shirt to assess spinal alignment. 

  6. What developmental milestones should my child be meeting?

By 2 to 4 months, your child should demonstrate appropriate head control.

By 4 to 5 months, your child should begin to roll.

By 6 to 7 months, your child should begin to sit up.

By 9 to 12 months, your child should begin to crawl.

By 12 to 18 months, your child should begin to walk.

By 24 months, your child should jump with two feet and catch and throw a ball.

By 3 years old, your child should walk up and down stairs independently.

By 4 years old, your child should be able to hop on one foot, gallop, and skip.

By 5 years old, your child should be able to jump rope, hopscotch, and ride a bike.