KIDNETICS also offers a variety of specialty programs. Participation in any of these programs is dependent on insurance reimbursement. Some insurance plans do not cover therapy groups and others only cover therapy under certain circumstances.
This is an intensive program specifically for children who are at high risk for reading difficulties or for children who are experiencing difficulties learning to read and/or write. A speech- language pathologist conducts this class. Its purpose is to provide parents with an alternative method for teaching the basic fundamentals of reading, writing, and comprehension.
This program provides assessment by a speech-language pathologist and an occupational therapist of children who are nonverbal and are candidates for augmentative communication devices or environmental access devices. The therapists work together to determine the most appropriate system, to apply for funding to obtain the device and to provide follow up and training of the communication device.
Children with feeding disorders are assessed by either an occupational therapist and/or a speech-language pathologist. We have the ability to coordinate with trained staff to schedule a modifed barium swallow study if one is indicated. This approach offers a comprehensive look at the oral-motor and sensory components that are impacting the child’s feeding skills. Referrals to Gastroenterology, Developmental Pediatrics, Psychology, and Nutrition can then be made to further help the child through team collaboration. The occupational therapist and speech-language pathologist remain involved and provide the appropriate treatment determined for the child. We also offer Vital Stim Therapy or NMES (neuromuscular electrical stimulation) as a safe and effective treatment for swallowing disorders, in combination with traditional oral motor and pharyngeal exercises.
This is a class conducted by an occupational therapist for children who have difficulties with handwriting. This program is a combination of the “Getting It Write” program by LouAnne Audette and Anne Karson, and “Handwriting Without Tears” by Jan Olsen. The child’s handwriting skills are assessed to determine their individual needs to be addressed in the program. Each class begins with activities that promote gross motor skills, strengthening, and bilateral coordination. Then it moves into work on tasks that improve fine motor coordination, visual perceptual skills, and self awareness of arousal and posture. At the conclusion of the series of classes, the therapist gives a post test to assess progress and determine the need for further intervention.
This dynamic group, run by an occupational therapist, targets the visual and motor systems in the body. With good integration of these systems, we develop adequate spatial awareness, body awareness, and coordination, which improves our overall function in all environments. The 50-minute class time is split between gross motor, strengthening, and motor planning activities in the gym, and work on fine motor coordination, visual perceptual/ motor skills, and self-awareness of arousal and posture in the classroom.
The pelvic floor specialty program is for the treatment of patients with pelvic floor dysfunction. This may include daytime wetting, night time wetting, increased or decreased frequency of voiding, pain with urination, constipation, fecal incontinence, and/or fecal withholding. Treatment involves manual therapy, therapeutic exercise for pelvic floor muscle strengthening and relaxation training, neuromuscular reeducation of pelvic floor muscles to increase awareness and isolation ability, core strengthening, and patient and family education. These interventions are provided by a physical therapist at Kidnetics who is trained in the area of pediatric pelvic floor dysfunction.
This group is for preschool children who have difficulties with auditory processing, motor planning, and social interaction. The purpose of these groups is to carry over skills learned in individual therapy to a functional preschool setting. The group is run by a speech-language pathologist or an occupational therapist.
This is group treatment designed for adolescents who need help learning basic lifeskills, social skills, and functional communication skills in activities of daily living. The group is run by a speech-language pathologist or an occupational therapist.
This group is for school age children to learn social pragmatic skills while engaging in functional activities in the community. The group is taught by a speech-language pathologist or an occupational therapist.
This occupational therapy program is for children ages 6 and older who have sensory processing difficulties which interfere with self regulation. It is based on the “ALERT” program. It teaches children and their parents practical strategies to improve self regulation skills so that they can maintain an appropriate arousal level for learning.
This program is a collaboration with GHS Pediatric Surgery, and is designed to provide a multi-disciplinary approach for patients with chest wall deformities. Patients are evaluated by a KIDNETICS physical therapist who has specialty training in treatment approaches to improve respiratory mechanics, strength, endurance, and posture; in addition to having an in-depth knowledge of surgical and non-surgical approaches to correcting or alleviating symptoms.
This individual therapy is provided in a pool with water at a therapeutic temperature. Water provides a unique medium in which it assists with greater ease and freedom of movement. At the same time, the resistance of the water allows for strengthening and some abilities a child would not otherwise initially achieve on land. All three disciplines are involved in this alternative to the traditional land based therapy.
This is a collaboration between KIDNETICS and Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics. The team consists of a physical therapist, an occupational therapist, and a nurse practitioner. This clinic is held weekly and it is designed to monitor and support the development of neonates and infants who have been treated in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit or who have been identified with developmental disabilities.
This is an internship program at KIDNETICS designed to foster independence and teach vital employment skills in collaboration with occupational and speech-language therapies. The internship takes place both within the Center for Developmental Services, as well as within community organizations. Candidates are chosen based on the following: age criteria, ability to perform specific job duties, social adaptability, interaction skills, sensory modulation, sequencing/organizational skills, and fine motor/visual motor functioning.
This program is based on scientific research showing that as rhythm and timing improves in children so does attention, coordination, processing speed, and academic skills. Children listen to a computerized metronome beat and are asked to perform a motor action in time with it. The accuracy of their responses are recorded, and feedback about their performance is available through various means (auditory, visual). Many of our therapists use interactive metronome as part of a comprehensive treatment approach.
This program is a collaboration with Safe Kids Upstate, and is designed to help children with special needs travel safely in the car. Evaluations are completed by one of our KIDNETICS’ physical therapists along side a Safe Kids staff member, who are both trained as special needs child safety technicians. This service would benefit children who fall into the following categories: those who have difficulty with head or trunk control, but who are too big to fit in an off-the-shelf child safety seat; children with autism who will not stay buckled in their booster seat with a seat belt; and children with other challenges that make a typical car seat inappropriate for them. We also loan specialized car seats for children in spica casts if they do not fit in their regular seat.
This is a collaboration between KIDNETICS’ physical therapy, Pediatric Neurology, Genetics, and the Muscular Dystrophy Association. It allows families of children with neuromuscular diseases to meet with multiple specialists on one day and in one place. It facilitates open communication and problem solving amongst various medical professionals to address each child’s specific needs. Scheduling for this clinic is done through Pediatric Neurology’s office.
