Physical Therapy

Let’s Celebrate National Physical Therapy Month With Indoor Spots to Move and Groove
Let’s Celebrate National Physical Therapy Month With Indoor Spots to Move and Groove 1080 1080 PTN Chicago

October marks a special time here at PTN. Not only are we excited for fall activities with our kids and families, but we also get to spread awareness of National Physical Therapy Month. This is a time when we recognize the importance of physical therapy and also express our gratitude toward the physical therapist (PTs) that make a difference in other people’s lives. At PTN, our physical therapists work tirelessly to help children and their families develop, grow, and move together. 

This month, we are thrilled to feature one of our very own team members, Katie Siegel, PT, DPT.  If you follow our social media accounts, you’ll see tips and insights from Katie shared throughout the course of the next few weeks because she is our October Featured Therapist. In this blog, we wanted to include Katies’s list of places to go with your children as the weather gets cooler. These destinations are Chicago-based and present so many opportunities for fun and learning. Have a look:

Purple Monkey Playroom:  located on Western Avenue, the Purple Monkey Playroom is, “a bright, nurturing destination for young children, parents and caregivers.”  This destination has been the recipient of multiple parent choice awards and has 1,500 sq feet for children to explore.  While kids are playing, parents can have coffee and enjoy wifi. It’s a great spot for giving children some supervised independence while they play and even make new friends. You can learn more about the Purple Monkey Playroom by visiting their website: https://www.purplemonkeyplayroom.com

Fit City Kids:  this center is located on Lawrence Avenue, and its mission is to, “drive fitness through fun!” Featuring basketball courts, obstacle courses, and other heart-pumping physical activities, Fit City Kids is a great destination if you want to move and have fun while participating in fitness. There are also several camps and classes. If you’re curious about Fit City Kids, you can learn more here: https://www.fitcitykids.com

Itsy Bitsy Play & Café:  this is a “cafe + coworking space with playcare for babies, toddlers, and preschoolers located in the north side Chicago neighborhoods North Center and Lincoln Square.” If you need to get some work done, but are dealing with restless kids who just want to play, move, and have fun, the Itsy Bitsy Play & Café might just be the ideal place to go when it’s cold outside. Parents can work, and kids have access to a natural inspired indoor playground and more. If you’d like to better understand what Itsy Bitsy Play & Café has to offer, visit:  https://www.itsybitsyplay.com/

As a Chicago parent, there really is no shortage of indoor places and activities to escape the colder months that naturally come along with Fall and Winter. We hope you learned of a new spot by reading our blog today.  If you have other places you like to go with your children when the months get cold, let us know in the comments section below! 

Celebrating International Play Therapy Week With At-Home Activities
Celebrating International Play Therapy Week With At-Home Activities 1080 1080 PTN Chicago

February 5-11 is International Play Therapy Week, and we cannot wait to celebrate! Children thrive when they learn through play, and in fact, it’s been proven that people learn best from experiences that are joyful and that connect play to their lives. Additionally, play therapy is an excellent way to have some fun with your kiddos while also working on their therapy goals in the process. Ready to get the party started? From building a wooden block house to playing stuffed animal doctor and more – here are some at-home play therapy activities that we know you and your little ones will love.

Superhero Search

Your child’s stuffed animals are missing, and it’s their job to find them! First, you will need to go around the house and hide each stuffed animal (make sure they are in places your child can reach!) Now, it’s time for your kiddo to be a superhero and save the day! Your little one will have to use their balance and gross motor skills to crouch down and reach up high to save their furry friends. Once they’ve found each stuffed animal, switch roles and have your child hide the stuffed animals for you to find!

Stuff Animal Doctor (we recommend the Doctor’s Kit Play Set from Melissa & Doug for this activity)

For this activity, your child will have to use their gross motor skills to treat their stuffed animal using items from the Doctor’s Kit Play Set, while also utilizing their speech to tell you how their patient is feeling. If your child says that their stuffed animal is scared, this could indicate that your little one may be afraid of going to the doctor. In this case, you can explain to your little one why going to the doctor isn’t scary and that doctors are there to help people feel better.

Build a Wooden Block House

For our final play therapy activity, you and your child will need to work together to build a wooden block house for their toys. Have your little one use their fine motor skills to pick up the blocks and carefully stack them on top of each other, and once the house is built, they can use it to play pretend with their toys. Furthermore, you can work on your child’s speech by asking them to identify each letter or number on the blocks.

Happy International Play Therapy Week! Be sure to check out our social media (Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest) all February long as we share activities, toys we love, and so much more. If you would like to discuss if your child could benefit from pediatric therapy, please don’t hesitate to contact our team. We are here to support your family and child in any way that we can.

5 Fun Activities to Work on Your Child’s Physical Therapy At Home
5 Fun Activities to Work on Your Child’s Physical Therapy At Home 1080 1080 PTN Chicago

October is National Physical Therapy Month, and we are ready to kick off the celebration! National Physical Therapy Month helps raise awareness of all the excellent benefits that come along with physical therapy, such as improving range of motion, flexibility, strength, balance, and much more.

Physical therapy is such an incredible tool for helping children and adults alike, and working with a physical therapist can genuinely change a person’s life for the better. On days that your child isn’t going to see a physical therapist, there are some wonderful activities that you can take part in as a family that will help work on their gross motor skills. Ready to get started? Here are 5 fun ways to get your child moving at home:

1. Animal Walk

Get ready to bring out your silly side! Place a piece of tape on the floor of one side of your living room and then another piece of tape on the other side of the room. Now, have your child walk like an animal from one piece of tape to the other. For example, you could have them walk like a crab, hop like a frog, walk like a dog, etc. Get creative and try to come up with as many different types of animal walks as you can think of!

2. Floor Ice Skating

If you don’t have time to visit an actual ice skating rink, bring the ice skating rink to your home! Grab two paper plates and have your child sit down and draw their best ice skate on each plate. Once they’re done, find a spot in your house where your child can skate the night away! Help them carefully stand on their skates, and then tell them to slide around on the “ice.”

3. Wheelbarrow Race

For this activity, you’ll need to work with your child to try and get from one point to the other as fast as you can. The tricky part? You’ll need to hold their legs up while they walk with their hands, mimicking a wheelbarrow. Grab a timer and see how long it takes you to get from point A to point B. Repeat the activity, try to beat your time, and see how fast you can go. If you have 4 people in your house, you can race against each other in teams of 2!

4. Traffic Light Stop and Go

You may want to bundle up for this next activity as it works best if you’re outside. Try to find a wide-open space where your child can run around, such as your yard or a park. You’ll begin on one side of the yard, and your child will start on the other side. When you’re ready, yell out “green light” and watch as your child starts running towards you. After a few seconds, you’re going to yell out, “red light.” Your child will need to stop in their tracks as quickly as possible. They must stay still until you decide to call out “green light” once again. Continue the game until your child makes it all the way to your side!

5. Toy Toss

This activity is an excellent way to work with your child on their eye/hand coordination while also cleaning up their toys in the process. First, you’re going to want to grab the basket or bin that you use to store your little one’s toys. Now, have them run around the room as fast as possible and grab each toy one at a time. Once they have a toy in hand, tell them to aim and toss it into the basket. Continue until all of the toys have been cleaned up!

Be sure to keep an eye on our social media (Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest) all month long as we celebrate National Physical Therapy Month! We’ll be sharing tips, activities, resources, and more! As always, please don’t hesitate to contact us at any time to discuss if your child would benefit from pediatric therapy. Our team is here to support both you and your child in any way that we can.

The Benefits of Physical Therapy: Improving Your Child’s Development in a Home Setting
The Benefits of Physical Therapy: Improving Your Child’s Development in a Home Setting 1080 1080 PTN Chicago

Physical therapy has been used for many years to help both adults and children with items such as treatment and rehab for chronic conditions, preventative care, injuries, and so much more. It has the power to change so many lives in a positive manner, and it can truly make a difference when it comes to helping your child improve strength, stability, and confidence in order to meet their motor milestones and engage with family and friends. 

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many families whose children work with a physical therapist have had to make the transition from in-person therapy to teletherapy which is new for a lot of people. If you’re considering telehealth services but  are nervous that  your child isn’t going to get the most out of these therapy sessions there’s no need to worry! With a focus on parent education and coaching, our teletherapy sessions have been very successful and can be just as effective as in-person therapy.  Please contact us directly if you’d like to learn more!  

With that said, and seeing as October is National Physical Therapy Month, we wanted to share some of the benefits of physical therapy for your child (especially while working on their skills in a home setting), along with some fun physical therapy related activities that you can do with your kiddos:

What Are Some of the Benefits of Physical Therapy For Children?

Though there are many benefits of physical therapy for your child, here are some of the main benefits:

  • Strengthens muscles
  • Builds endurance
  • Improves balance and coordination
  • Increases range of motion
  • Supports achievement of motor milestones and overall mobility skills 

How Can a Physical Therapist Help a Child Who is Demonstrating Developmental Delays?

A physical therapist will be able to assess your child’s physical development to determine if gross motor delays are present. They will explain what factors are contributing to these delays and work with you to come up with a plan to improve these areas. In addition to a detailed evaluation, this plan will include activities that you can incorporate into your child’s daily routine to help support their development.  

How Can Therapy in a Home Setting be Beneficial to Children? 

Children thrive in their skill development when they are in a place that they feel safe, happy, and comfortable. For most children, this place is usually their own house. They tend to be more focused, determined, and excited to improve their skills while at home because they are familiar with their surroundings, and they are around the people they love most – their family! It is also easier for caregivers to carry out home exercise activities when they are incorporated into their daily routines. 

What Are Some Fun Gross MotorActivities That I Can Do With My Child At Home?

  • Bean Bag Toss: This is an activity that your kiddos will love. Holding and then throwing the weighted bean bags will help to work on your child’s strength and coordination as they try to get their bean bag into the target hole. If you don’t already have a bean bag set, we suggest this set that’s made just for kids.
  • Fly Like Superman: This activity works on your child’s core strength and coordination and allows your child to use their imagination in the process. Have your child lay on their tummy and tell them to try and lift their arms and chest off of the ground so that they’re “flying like superman”. To make this activity even more fun, try it on a swing or give your child a cape and tell them that they’re flying to go save the world!
  • Painter’s Tape Balance Beam: Get some painter’s tape and create three “balance beams” on your floor. You can have one balance beam be in a straight line, one in a zig-zag line, and one in a circle shape. Have your child try to walk on each beam without falling off to the side to work on their balance and coordination.

If you’re looking for more ways to celebrate this month and spread the word about the benefits of physical therapy, the American Physical Therapy Association has great resources that you can check out, including graphics that you can use on your social media as your cover photo or profile picture.

Back to School for Special Needs
Speech, Occupational, and Physical Therapy Prep for Back-to-School
Speech, Occupational, and Physical Therapy Prep for Back-to-School 1000 1000 PTN Chicago

Back to school is upon us once again, and this can be both an exciting and stressful time of year for the children we work with – and their parents! Whether your little ones are looking forward to learning new things or feeling anxious about fitting in, there are several things that you can do to help them feel more prepared for the school year to come. Let’s take a look at several simple areas of focus within speech therapy, physical therapy, and occupational therapy that you can practice with your child leading up to that first day of school.

Speech Therapy Back to School Prep

Role Playing – If your child is nervous about meeting new children, you can help them feel more at ease by playing a simple role-playing game. Pretend to be another child that they’re meeting for the first time and have a conversation with them. Help your child think of appropriate ice-breakers and things they can talk about comfortably with new friends.

Curiosity Prep – Children have a tendency to ask questions that can come across as rude and hurtful when they are confronted with something they aren’t familiar with – like another child’s speech impediment. Before school begins, it can sometimes be helpful to gently warn your child that they might get questioned about the way that they speak by other children. Then you can work with your child to find simple answers to the questions they might be asked in order to help their new friends understand them better. (This is an area where a speech therapist can offer a lot of helpful advice!)

Occupational Therapy Back to School Prep

School-Specific OT Challenges – Going back to school – or going to school for the first time – can mean being confronted with new occupational challenges. For example, your child probably doesn’t open a lunch box very often at home. Work with your OT to think of the various occupational skills your child might find useful to practice before school begins.

Waiting Games – A lot of school is sitting quietly and waiting for your turn. If your child has trouble sitting still or gets easily distracted, it might be helpful to practice some mental games that can keep your child focused or occupy their mind while they wait in line. For example, your child can quietly try to find objects that are every color of the rainbow.

Physical Therapy Back to School Prep

Classroom Tour – If possible, try to arrange a tour of your child’s classroom before school begins with their new teacher. That way you can identify any areas that might be difficult for your child to maneuver or unsafe for your child for whatever reason. Having some advance warning will allow both your child and their teacher time to adjust. This is also a useful thing to do if your child has physical impairments.

Explore Outdoors – After your classroom tour, why not explore your school’s outdoor areas? You can walk through the halls of the school and then make your way outside. Let your child practice on the school playground or on the stairs leading up to the school entrance over the summer so they are familiar with these areas prior to school starting. It can be fun for them to see what’s waiting for them both inside and out.

Happy Anniversary PTN
6 Favorite Fun Therapy Ideas to Ring in Our Anniversary!
6 Favorite Fun Therapy Ideas to Ring in Our Anniversary! 1000 1000 PTN Chicago

This month we are absolutely thrilled to be celebrating our ninth anniversary. The actual anniversary is June 22, and we can’t believe how fast the time has gone. It has been an absolute pleasure working with such wonderful and diverse children and their fantastic families, and we can’t wait to keep it up for another nine years – and well beyond!

To celebrate our anniversary, we wanted to share some of our favorite occupational, speech, and physical therapy activities that parents and children can enjoy together at home. These play therapies are simple and don’t require a trip to the store, but they can offer hours of entertainment while also helping your child develop skills that will last a lifetime.

For sensory development…

Nothing beats a good old-fashioned sensory bin. The great thing about sensory bins is that they can be regularly updated and adjusted with new objects that your child likes. To make your own sensory bin, first you’ll need a plastic storage tub with a lid. You probably have one under your bed or hidden away in your kitchen or closet right now. Next, fill the bin about half way with a base material that your child can safely sift through. That material might be popcorn kernels, packing peanuts, or dry rice. The final step is hiding fun sensory objects in the bin for your child to discover and enjoy. Try to find things that will engage a variety of senses. For example, puffy poms are great to touch, tea bags are fun to smell, and oversize beads are beautiful to look at!

For gross motor skills…

One of our favorite activities that helps develop gross motor skills is playing pretend! This activity is wonderful, because it can be whatever you want, and it lets both you and your child stretch your imaginations. Maybe you can take turns pretending to be different animals. Or you can pretend that the floor is lava and jump between cushions and pillows laid out on the floor. You can stomp around like dinosaurs, or practice climbing (with supervision!) like monkeys.

For fine motor skills…

A great game for developing fine motor skills and getting some occupational therapy in at the same time is Restaurant! Play this make-believe game in your kitchen with actual pots, pans, and safe utensils like spatulas. You can even break out some real food like dry pasta or those baby carrots you’ve been trying to get your child to eat to make the game even more fun. Moving the game into the kitchen helps your child gain comfort in a different environment while practicing skills like stirring, scooping, and following directions, all while being creative.

For a DIY toy…

The simplest of simple do-it-yourself toys is the cardboard roll at the center of your paper towels. When you finish a roll, hand the cardboard over to your little one and tell her that it’s a telescope, or maybe a magic wand, or tape two together and make binoculars. A cardboard roll can become a log for dolls to sit on or a tunnel for small cars or Legos to slide through.

For speech therapy…

Try playing “I Spy” around your house – or anywhere, for that matter! But home is a great place to start with this game, as your child will be able to name more of the things in their environment. This game helps with building vocabulary, especially adjectives and nouns, and also builds critical thinking skills.

For balance…

Make a gym in your living room – or any room that has soft carpet – by grabbing a stack of your child’s books and lining them up on the ground to make a balance beam. Your child will have fun standing on their books and practicing walking across them without falling off. (And if you’re worried about books being mistreated, don’t be! The more that books feel like toys and rewards, the more your child will want to look inside.)

We hope you enjoy all of these play activities this summer. Give us a call anytime for more recommendations tailored to your child!

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