The Working Therapist: Providing Helpful Ideas for Pediatric Speech, Occupational and Physical Therapy

At first glance, this photo appears to show therapeutic activities or gait training and balance; however, digging a little deeper and understanding the diagnosis, the therapist is addressing tone inhibition of the left upper extremity to promote arm swing during gait and balance activities. Therefore, it would be most appropriate to code a 97112. To find out more about when to use this code, listen to our podcast....Understanding when to use 97112 in your therapy session

As professionals we work to make therapeutic gains towards fulfilling a Plan of Care. At the same time, we want our pediatric patients to have fun! It's important to be two steps ahead of the child at all times. In today's podcast Haden and Kjirsti begin a coding series where they define the CPT code 97110. They have solid tips for when to use it and they'll help explain how to differentiate this code from other motor codes. The team will give advice on specific intervention strategies to use in your daily practice.

Why is it important for the physical, occupational and speech therapist to understand medical necessity? In today's current health care climate, it is critical for therapists to communicate their role in ameliorating a diagnosis or condition. Today Haden and Kjirsti will walk you through the evaluative process of asking yourself the basic questions to justify and document the need for skilled intervention.

Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS) is a motor speech disorder that every speech therapist will encounter. Children with CAS have great difficulty producing the specific series of movements of the tongue, lips, jaw and palate that facilitate correct speech. In this podcast, Haden will help you to identify CAS, then begin the process of diagnosis and the development of a therapy model for the children in your practice.

Losing with grace just comes naturally to some children. In other kids, this is a practice that must be taught by emphasizing key points such as: doing your best, learning from mistakes, and even trying a new strategy. In today's episode, Haden and Kjirsti share tips on the most effective way that a therapist, parent, or educator can teach a child about losing gracefully.

What do you do when your standardized evaluation doesn't go as planned? Today, Haden & Kjirsti share strategies to help you complete a thorough evaluation, even when it doesn't fit the standardized mold.

Every therapist has had those moments in a session when behaviors arise that can easily derail the therapy session. In today's episode of The Working Therapist, Haden and Kjirsti will share 5 tried and true tips to get you 5 steps ahead.

Play - it's the daily work of children and crucial to their advancement. Mobility is vital to developmental play. In today's podcast, Haden and Kjirsti will share time tested methods to help you move your kiddos from creeping to pre-walking for enhanced development through play.

A child who demonstrates echolalia will repeat what they hear, rather than saying independent word/phrases. As a speech therapist working with an echolalic child, your goal is to move them towards self-expression. In today's podcast, Haden draws on her years of experience in speech pathology to share some strategies that will help you achieve this goal with your patients.

In this episode, Haden and Kjirsti have practical information to help therapists work with orthotics. Hear about the role of the physical therapist, the process of putting the patient with the right orthotics and practical information on dealing with insurance hoops.

Certification from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) through the Clinical Fellowship is a first step for every speech therapist. In this episode, Haden and Kjirsti outline some new requirements in the CF process.

In today's podcast, Haden and Kjirsti introduce methods you can use to increase head control in your infant patients.

What do you do with a child in therapy that seems totally uninterested? In this episode of The Working Therapist, Haden and Kjirsti share ideas to help more passive patients get results in therapy sessions. The team discusses specific strategies to help motivate pediatric patients toward more successful outcomes.

In today's edition of The Working Therapist, Haden and Kjirsti will share ideas on how to move the already-sitting child in your care through the phases of movement to becoming a creeper.

Haden and Kjirsti discuss techniques designed to move a patient from meltdown to using single words. In this episode, the team will give some solid tips you can use in therapy to help young patients break through temper tantrums and move toward effective communication.