Intensive Programs
Intensive therapy is a change in how often or how long a child receives physical therapy or occupational therapy, for a set amount of time. This allows a child to focus on a specific skill or improve their performance in a few skills through repetition.
Research shows some children can make the same amount of progress in a few weeks as they can over several months through intensive therapy.
Our intensive therapy model typically consists of a patient coming to therapy for 2 hours a day, 4-5 times a week, for about 4 weeks. This will vary according to each child’s needs.
Intensive Therapy FAQ
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Intensive therapy programs are wonderful for our more neurologically involved clients. Increase in frequency allows for increased repetition, learning, and strength gains that typical frequency of therapy cannot provide.
Each intensive program is tailored specifically to the client and will include typical clinic therapy and may also include use of hippotherapy, aquatic therapy, reflex integration, whole body vibration, or functional electrical stimulation.
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With intensive therapy sessions, we typically like to identify 2-3 goals with the client and their family that we can address and ideally achieve over the course of the 4 weeks.
We also utilize our intensive sessions to develop and recommend appropriate home programs so that the child and their family can continue to make progress at home.
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Prior to determining eligibility for intensive therapy programs, a patient will first be evaluated by our therapy team who will use a few normal clinic sessions to get to know your child.
It is important that your child is familiar with the clinic and with our team in order to get the most out of intensive therapy sessions. Most intensive sessions will be determined at the discretion of the therapist, but interested parents or caregivers should always ask!
A child will typically need to be at least 2-3 years old prior to participating in a full intensive structure. However, exceptions can be made at the discretion of the therapy team.
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Families prepare for an intensive therapy program by finalizing schedules and ensuring with the front desk that the appropriate schedule is outlined.
During the session, your child may seem more tired after the first week, but this will improve. We encourage patients to bring a snack or a drink to eat during therapy as well to maintain focus and participation during therapy activities.
After completing the program, our therapist will sit down with you to ensure that any home program and activities are reviewed.
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Insurance coverage may be available to cover intensive therapy services, but all plans differ. Sometimes prior authorization is needed. Our insurance department can work with you and the therapy team to determine coverage. If intensive sessions are not covered, self-pay options are available.