Therapy

Pace / Child and Family Therapy Services / Services / Therapy

Child and Family centred approach

Therapy sessions for individual children and for small groups, dependent on the age and abilities of your child. All sessions are child and family centred and include parents and carers in the therapy process.

We use a range of different therapy approaches, depending on your child’s needs as determined during the assessment process. Sessions may focus on communication, movement, and other skill development. Often the sessions are based on play.

Our interventions are multi-faceted, using a wide range of research-based interventions. Our programmes are committed to empowering families to set and achieve their own goals. One of our objectives is to share our knowledge with you so you’re best able to give your child help and support long after their therapy.

Sessions normally last between 45 minutes and one hour. The number of sessions each child attends will depend on their particular needs, as will the professional team members assigned to you.

Intensive blocks of therapy over 3-5 days can be arranged if you live too far to travel for weekly sessions.

Our therapy in action

The approach and benefit of the therapies we offer are explained below. These interventions are brought together in a collaborative way to develop individualised programmes that will address your child’s specific development needs. Our holistic approach means your child will receive a unique blend of specialist therapies, which are delivered by our team of health care professionals. All our therapists are registered with the Health Care Professions Council and their professional bodies. This means they are fully qualified, work to the highest standards, are regulated by external bodies and are fully insured.

Physiotherapy

Physiotherapists work with babies, children and young people and their families, to optimise the child’s physical function. Physiotherapists work to promote active movement, building strength, developing balance skills, and maintaining and improving range of movement and flexibility in muscles and joints. They help the child to develop a repertoire of movements to facilitate standing, stepping and walking in different environments. Physiotherapists work to reduce the possibility of contractures, deformities and pain. They are involved in assessments for adaptive equipment such as buggies, wheelchairs, walkers, canes, orthotics, lycra suits and for postural management programmes.

Physiotherapy includes:

Assessment

Physiotherapists assess the child’s motor function including gross motor milestones, gait analysis, muscle tone, range of movement and patterns of movement.

Intervention

As part of the professional team, Pace physiotherapists design bespoke therapy programmes to improve movement skills and functional mobility including postural management programmes and post surgery rehabilitation programmes.

Advice

Physiotherapists provide support and training for parents, carers and other professionals who work with the child to support them in promoting functional mobility. Physiotherapy intervention can help to reduce the chance of contractures, deformity and pain.

Speech and language therapy

Speech and language therapists work with babies, children and young people who have communication problems, and eating, drinking or swallowing difficulties. Speech and language therapists can assess, deliver therapy, advice and support speech, language, interaction skills, alternative and augmentative communication(AAC) and eating, drinking, swallowing difficulties. They work closely with families, carers, other professionals and education staff to ensure the child can have ‘a voice’ and communicate as well as socialise to the best of their abilities.

At Pace we believe passionately that communication is a basic human right. Communication is fundamental to children’s development and their ability to develop relationships and become independent agents. Children need to be able to understand and to be understood and at Pace we feel strongly that each child has the right to develop their communication potential.

Our aim is to enable all children who attend Pace to develop the best functional communication skills they are able to in order to express emotions and needs, interact socially, participate in school and the wider community and maximise agency and self-advocacy.

Speech and Language therapists across Pace work closely with other members of the team as well as parents and caregivers to identify and address barriers to a child’s ability to communicate and ensure that children develop robust communication systems that enable them to express themselves with confidence using speech and/or augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) methods.

Speech and language therapy includes:

Assessment

We assess the child’s speech and communication development to understand their difficulties and disorders as well as to observe their communication environments and to monitor progress.

Intervention

We design a specialist therapy programme for each child, which will be carefully woven into the daily programme of activities of the child.

Focus will be given on swallowing and feeding difficulties for children who need help in this area. We work with the parents and carers to make sure the child has a safe eating and drinking strategy in place.

For children who need support developing their vocabulary, language and interaction with others, we recommend communication strategies to support their development and aid their communication.

Advice

We support the child, their families, carers and those working with the children to learn, understand and implement communication programmes and strategies. Strategies may include the use of augmentative and alternative communication to allow children with communication difficulties to maximise their potential.

Occupational therapy

Occupational therapists work with babies, children and young people and their families, as well as the child’s carers and teachers, to promote active participation and independence in their ‘occupations’ of daily life. Occupations include sleeping, eating, playing, learning, self care and socialising.

Occupational therapists who work with children are knowledgeable about a child’s sensory, motor, cognitive, emotional and behavioural development, and about how to promote the child’s engagement, exploration and skill acquisition.

Occupational therapy includes:

Assessment

We assess skills such as play, social interaction, use of tools/toys, hand skills, dressing both in the child’s home and nursery environments by observing the child’s participation in daily activities. The therapist will include the child, family and educators when setting occupational therapy goals.

Intervention

We design bespoke therapeutic activities and programmes to improve the child’s ability to perform daily activities and achieve the occupational therapy goals set. We also support the development of individualised strategies for use by family, carers and educators.

Outcome measures are used to review progress, and changes are made to the occupational therapy goals to reflect progress. Help can be provided for ‘signposting’ to other services that may be appropriate for the child.

Advice

We support and train parents and staff to help them to better understand the child’s needs and the help they need to succeed with everyday activities. We provide educational resources and equipment to promote the child’s occupational performance.

Conductive education specialist – conductor

Conductive education is about observing potential in a child that is then nurtured and developed through structured movement programmes which meet a child’s individual needs. This enables success, increases self-esteem and promotes independence in all areas.

Conductive education promotes learning in:

Gross and fine movement skills

Balance

Standing

Walking

Speech

Academic skills

Self care skills

Through active participation in conductive sessions, which will include movement and mobility, hand skills, self care and play, the child is motivated to learn how to work with their bodies and develop increased independence.