Brain injuries or pre-existing conditions are the root cause of speech or non-verbal communication challenges. For some infants, this can lead to difficulties with feeding and swallowing.
VERIFIED By: Dr Janarthanan Karthik, Head of Therapy, Sukino Healthcare Solutions
Written by Tavishi Dogra |Updated : November 24, 2024 6:54 PM IST
Life for children with disabilities, developmental delays, and medical conditions. In India, developmental disabilities affect every 1 in 6 children, which accounts for 15% of the entire child population of the country. Paediatric rehabilitation adapts to the changing needs of growing children by taking a comprehensive, patient-centred approach.
Why Is Paediatric Rehabilitation Necessary?
The process supports multiple stages of development in toddlers, including developing motor and cognitive skills or guiding an adolescent toward independence. The specialised treatment addresses a variety of diagnoses, including neurodevelopmental disorders, traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries, spina bifida, muscular disorders, peripheral neuropathies, connective tissue disorders, chronic pain, and musculoskeletal injuries.
How Does Paediatric Rehabilitation Work For Children Facing Diverse Challenges?
The critical factor is collaboration. The process involves a multidisciplinary team that includes physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R) physicians, physical therapists (PTs), occupational therapists (OTs), speech-language pathologists (SLPs), neuropsychologists (NPs), orthotists, prosthetists, and medical equipment specialists. The team addresses different aspects of a child’s development. They practise a holistic approach that covers the children’s physical, cognitive, and emotional well-being. The collaborative plan is then tailored to meet each child’s unique needs.
Physical Therapy
Essential for children with developmental delays, genetic disorders, muscle coordination issues, congenital disabilities, and orthopaedic disabilities, physical therapy in paediatric rehabilitation primarily focuses on improving physique, range of motion, flexibility, and balance. Physical therapy can enhance mobility and coordination in children with developmental delays or genetic disorders.
The different types of physical therapeutic training include:
- Equine-assisted therapy (hippotherapy).
- Neuro-developmental treatment (NDT).
- Dynamic movement interventions (DMI).
- Strength training.
- Endurance exercises.
- Orthotics.
- Aquatic therapy.
- Constraint-induced movement therapy.
- Task-specific training.
Every method has its way of treating the children based on the diagnosis requirement. For instance, hippotherapy improves muscle symmetry in children with spastic cerebral palsy, whereas aquatic treatment has demonstrated positive outcomes for children to build strength and coordination.
Occupational Therapy
Getting to age-appropriate milestones is crucial for any child. Occupational therapists assess a child’s abilities in daily tasks and compare them with these goals. The therapy improves fine motor skills, sensory integration, and visual-motor coordination, essential for socialising and other daily activities. Brushing, contrast bath, sensory integration, multi-sensory stimulation, hand-arm bimanual training, assistive technology, therapeutic listening, or incorporating play to enhance academic and social abilities are some methods used in occupational therapy.
Speech-Language Therapy
Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) use multiple therapy methods, including a sequential oral sensory (SOS) approach to feeding, verbal cueing, and functional communication training, to assist children in making consistent progress with phonological or vocabulary challenges.
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