“Isn’t physical therapy just for athletes and adults in recovery?” Nope! Sometimes, children need physical therapy, too. You might not give a second thought to walking up the stairs or picking up a drink. But for a child with an injury or delay in development, those simple tasks can be very challenging. Seeing your child try their best with their peers and still struggle to keep up can be difficult as a parent to watch. You do everything in your power to help but feel like you could be doing more. Do not worry, you are not alone! I am here to help your child achieve the movement milestones they need in order to keep up in a fast-paced world. Welcome to the world of pediatric physical therapy!

In short, as a pediatric physical therapist, it is my main job to assist your child in meeting their age-related norms so that they are able to keep up with their peers on the playground. I assist your child with being able to develop balance skills in order to kick a ball, develop the coordination it takes to catch and throw a ball, develop strength in order to be able to go up and down the stairs reciprocally, and to use all three components in order to learn to complete gross motor activities such as riding a bike. It is also important for me to note that all of these are all very specific examples. You may want to think of it in more basic terms…I can assist your child in learning how to crawl, walk, run, jump, and even skip! As a Doctor of Physical Therapy, I have been trained to break tasks down in to smaller components, find a weak spot in the task development, and meet your child where they are to cultivate specific, personalized goals.
Now, you may be thinking, “Why is it important or even functional for my child to throw or catch a ball, and who cares about skipping?” I can sense where your hesitation comes in…especially because those are not typical daily activity in adulthood. Aside from the important core strength, coordination, and muscle strength that is required to complete those activities, it allows your child to be able to keep up with their peers in everyday life. I am a firm believer that children learn best and have those most growth during play. Not only from a physical therapy stand point, but also from a social, emotional, and cognitive stand point. There are so many aspects of growth that are taking place during these pivotal young years in your child’s life, and I promise to do my best to give your child the tools they need to lead a life of prosperity and success.
The next thing you may be wondering, is “What would a typical treatment session look like?” It may be easy to assume that you treat each diagnosis or impairment following a specific, laid out “rule book”. However, the exact opposite is true! It is my moral responsibility to treat each patient individually, based on areas of need noted during my thorough examination, rather than from a diagnosis listed on a piece of paper. As to no surprise, I like to make my treatment sessions full of play! Through repetition and guided movements, I do my best to make therapy productive and fun.
If you are feeling that you child could use additional gross motor training, backed by science, to keep up with their peers day to day, or if you feel like you consistently seeing them fall during play, or struggle to climb on the jungle gym, please feel free to reach out to me directly at Elise@reachingnewhts.com and I would love to set up an appointment and have you join the world of pediatric physical therapy!

As I reflect on 2020, it is with mixed emotions. The obvious overwhelming dark cloud that is Covid is hard to ignore when looking for bright spots. So much loss of life occurred from this pandemic.  RNH suffered the loss of one of our own, Karen Schroedel, to cancer. I also suffered a personal loss in the tragic death of my dear nephew.  I know many, many people who lost beloved family members and friends this year.
This year started out bright with my middle daughter, Nora marrying the love of her life, Joe, on February 29 in a dramatic, lavish wedding that would be the last big party of 2020 for most of our family and friends. So glad to have seen most of the people I love in one room that day!
It was heartbreaking to close RNH on March 12, 2020 after the governor closed the schools and issued a stay-at-home order. This shut down occurred just weeks before the 4-year anniversary of the ribbon cutting for the first RNH brick and mortar office.  We tried tele-therapy, and it worked for some kiddos, but certainly not all.
On June 1 we reopened with precautions and protocols. The kids flourished and we knew this was the right decision We moved to our stunning new location on August 1 and we finally felt like we were home. The benefits of having all three disciplines together is evident in the progress our kiddos are making.
Our team has grown. As of January 4, we will have 19 therapists providing services to our families and one office person.  From 1 employee to 20 in less than 5 years.  The team we have now is so strong, devoted, and united. It is staggering to me to see these incredible women change lives daily.
 I rarely “toot my own horn”, but every time a parent tells me I have changed their lives, I have given their child a voice, I gave them hope when they were hopeless, or as one cherished Mom says they often say “Thank God for Donna”, I am humbled. It simply takes my breath away.
As I say goodbye to 2020,  I suggest we all be kind, give grace, and leap. If you believe and you do what’s right, the net will surely appear.

Occupational therapy…”hmm, yeah, I have heard of it”..”but, umm...what is it that you do again?”
“You help people get jobs right?”...
“Wait...you’re a pediatric occupational therapist?​
​ "Well….why would children need jobs?”

If I had a nickel for every time I have heard a similar conversation I would be RICH! SO...what is occupational therapy and what do we do when it comes to a population of children? First off, we don’t help your child get a job, however, we can help provide skills that one needs for a job in the future. Instead, we enjoy being called the specialists that are going to teach your child how to use their brain and hands together while sitting upright in a chair. Let’s begin with what our brain and hands are doing. Think about how much you do with your hands throughout a day. We button up our shirt, we feed ourselves with a spoon, we grab our seat belt to lock in place, we hold a cup to drink our large coffee out, we write to-do lists with a pen, we pick up the small M & Ms as a midday snack, we tie our tennis shoes to walk our dog...okay, you see where I am going with this. Everything we do with our hands begins with a plan in our head and is then executed with movements of our body, this is called motor planning. This motor planning allows us to accomplish everything we do in a day...which explains the brain part. But now our hands, too?? I promise I will make it simple. Our arms and hands make all of these activities possible through how we move, grasp, and manipulate items in our everyday life. Period. So as occupational therapists, we help to coordinate what our brain and hands are doing and provide the tools needed for your child to be able to control their upper body movements and manipulate objects to complete necessary activities across their environments. “Okay...but upright in a chair?” “What?!” Well, that takes us to the “foreign language” part of occupational therapy... What do I mean by saying upright in a chair? We do focus a lot on what our arms and hands are doing, but we can’t even begin to observe that if we aren’t sitting upright in a chair, or sitting pleasantly on the ground, or having enough balance to stand up tall, right? This is where the sensory approach comes in. I know when we think about sensory we think about our five main senses we learned in elementary school: touch, taste, smell, sight, hear...but did you know there are actually 8 sensory systems in our bodies? The last three that we don’t learn about are vestibular (knowing where our body is in space), proprioceptive (movement of our muscles and joints in relation with the rest of our body), and interoception (what our internal organs are feeling) systems. All of these systems work together in order for us to sit in a chair, stay in a chair, and attend in a chair. “Okay...so what? We have 8 sensory systems...what does that have to do with occupational therapy?” Well, I will tell you. Occupational therapists are magical masters in finding how your child processes sensory input coming in from all directions, then we provide fun activities that helps the child process that input better (without them even knowing it, WHAT?!), and then the child learns how to attend to their teacher or you, control their emotions, sleep better, or EVEN SIT UPRIGHT IN A CHAIR without falling or causing disruptions. We all have sensory needs and we all process these systems differently. A lot of the time, for adults, we learn how to regulate without help...such as tapping a pencil or a foot in a meeting, chewing gum, doing a midday stretch, etc. We have just naturally learned what is going to help us stay awake or attend to someone or something. “So...how do I know if my child may need occupational therapy?” Great Question! Some things to look for: ● Trouble holding items (such as spoon/fork, writing utensil, etc) ● Maintaining a grasp on such items ● Uninterested or avoid activities with small manipulatives (beads, cutting, writing) ● Does not use both hands/sides of body ● Trouble finding objects in a background ● Handwriting difficulties ● Picky eating ● Avoids messy play ● Avoids movement (climbing, swinging, etc) ● Seeks movement constantly ● Seeks tight hugs, consistently pushing/falling into you ● Requires specific clothing and clothing materials ● Seems to require their name to be called a few times before noticing ● Enjoys chewing/biting objects ● Avoids loud/ busy places ● Loses balance easily I know...you’re thinking “maybe some of these things happen but I am just not sure if it is normal or if it means anything more than just being a kid.” Well, GREAT NEWS. Here, at Reaching New Heights, we offer FREE, yes…..I said FREE, screenings to assess if your child might need more help from the brain and hand specialists, the magical sensory masters. Feel free to contact me with any questions/concerns or comments at bmoran@reachingnewhts.com
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