Children’s Therapy TEAM introduces a new Intensive Therapy Program.

Clients with motor delays benefit.

As a testament to Children’s Therapy TEAM’s commitment to bringing the best to clients, a new Pediatric Intensive Therapy Program is now available. Physical Therapists, Christina Ruby, PT, DPT, Board Certified Clinical Specialist in Pediatrics, and Kylie Linkeman, PT, DPT, are lead therapists in the program which launches in the summer of 2023. Tasked with program development at Children’s Therapy TEAM, the two visited similar programs out-of-state to build a better understanding of all that is involved with building a quality program. Kylie also draws on her prior graduate school doctoral research on Intensive Therapy. We recently sat down with Kylie to discuss the program.

How is Intensive Therapy different than typical physical therapy?

Typical therapy is 2 to 3 days a week for 1 hour per session with a long duration. At Children’s Therapy TEAM, our intensives are 3 hours a day, 5 days a week for 3 to 4 weeks.

What does a typical Intensive Therapy session look like?

[Intensive Therapy] is geared towards the kid we are providing this therapy service to. [Sessions] have the same principles though. [We start] to warm up the body and get the body ready for all the activities that are going to happen. The session may consist of strengthening, balancing and functional activities like what a one hour session is like, but just spending increased time on each of the areas.

How is aquatic therapy incorporated into Intensive Therapy?

One thing that is really awesome that we have here at Children’s Therapy TEAM is our Aquatic Center. We can do the intensives and work on those functional skills, but then also go do therapy in the pool. We’re able to continue to work on endurance. We’re able to work on strength as well as other functional skills in the pool.

What type of kids benefit most from Intensive Therapy?

Children [with motor delays] who are treated with Intensive Therapy are of a wide variety of ages and diagnoses. Just about any kiddo has the opportunity to do this. We do have to have kiddos who can tolerate this amount of therapy. They have to be able to tolerate 3 hours per day so we kind of stick to kids over the age of 2 as well as kiddos who can tolerate it not only physically, but mentally, emotionally, and behaviorally.