Home Programs For Special Needs Children
Let’s talk about home programs. Many of you have questions about home programs. Remember, a home program is not a generic recipe for a child. Each one of your kids is a unique individual. When we evaluate them we determine what their issues are, what problems they have and what areas they need to improve in. We have a giant bank of information that the therapists have gathered together, and they use that to create a home program that is customized to your child.
The Goal of Home Programs
We do home programs in many different areas in occupational speech and physical therapy. Whatever type of therapy your child is going, here’s the most important thing about a home program: We set it up for your child and we give you activities to do with your child at home. But our goal is actually for you to generalize those activities to your home environment.
For example, if your child is a child who seeks a lot of heavy work and proprioception to feel grounded, then we hope that eventually, you will have them carrying heavy groceries in from the grocery store, or carrying laundry up the stairs. These are real, functional applications of a home program.
Speech Therapy
If your child is in speech therapy, we hope that if you’re working on articulation or language concepts, for example, your communication with your kids will focus on doing those activities with your child on a daily basis.
Physical Therapy
Even in physical therapy, we’re going to ask that if your child is working on bending their knees in the clinic, you give them activities that have them bend their knees at home. And then we’ll ask that you watch them bend their knees and correct them to make sure they do it the right way.
Repetition
The whole point of practicing these skills is to make it functional for them so that they’ll learn to do the skill on their own. Remember, we’re creatures of habit. We repeat, and as we repeat we learn! We hope you’re able to take this information and apply it to a great function at your house! If you have questions about which home programs would be best for your child, please give us a call today!
