• Developmental Screenings
    • Feeding Therapy
    • Aquatic Therapy
          • Aquatic Therapy is designed to benefit children by working on therapeutic skills in a gravity assisted environment. The pool setting offers a variety of water-based activities that enhance or restore mobility and function in a warm water environment.

    • Physical Therapy
          • Our therapists will find fun and creative ways to improve your child’s gross motor skills and improve their ability to perform functional daily activities.

    • Occupational Therapy
          • Daily life “occupations”, AKA activities, for children include everything from playing, dressing, feeding, and bathing to handwriting and social interactions. Occupational therapists help to improve a child’s performance and participation in all of those activities.

    • Teletherapy
          • Teletherapy is therapy via a live video connection. The treatment session is similar to an in-person session, however it is over a computer (or other device) instead!

    • Speech-Language Therapy
          • Communication skills are an essential aspect of a child’s overall development, health, learning experiences, self-esteem, and ability to express their basic wants and needs. These skills are also incredibly important to school performance and social interaction.

    • RockStar Kidz
          • Unleash your potential with our dynamic Yoga and Fitness Boot Camp! Our transformative 45-minute sessions offer children and young adults the chance to enhance their flexibility, body awareness, and extend their range of motion. Experience the magic of focused training and improve your posture like never before. Come dressed in your comfy attire, lace-up your tennis shoes, and don’t forget your water bottle. Elevate your fitness journey with us today!

        • Community Screening
        • We understand the importance of early intervention in physical, occupational, and speech development. That’s why we offer comprehensive

        • Group Screenings
        • We understand the importance of early intervention in physical, occupational, and speech development. That’s why we offer comprehensive

        • Developmental Screenings
        • We understand the importance of early intervention in physical, occupational, and speech development. That’s why we offer comprehensive

        • 1:1 Screenings
        • We understand the importance of early intervention in physical, occupational, and speech development. That’s why we offer comprehensive

        • Mount Pleasant

        • Kenosha

  • Success Stories
        • It’s natural to have questions and concerns about what to expect during your first visit with us, so here is a summary of what you can expect on your evaluation.

        • Navigating the landscape of pediatric therapy services can be complex, particularly when differentiating between outpatient and school-based therapy services. Our guide helps make sense of the differences and similarities.

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What is the vestibular system and how does vestibular processing and movement play a key role in development?

Has your child’s therapist mentioned the vestibular system, but you wonder, “What exactly is it?”

The vestibular system is one of the key foundations of Jean Ayres’s sensory integration theory. Dr. Ayres pioneered our understanding of the pivotal role that movement and vestibular processing play in essential sensory-motor functions. The vestibular system lays the groundwork for our understanding of ourselves, our world, and how they interact to give meaning and purpose to our daily lives.

The vestibular system is “mighty” because it affects all aspects of our daily lives. It helps us develop our sense of self and assists us in our interactions with our environment. Vestibular processing can be thought of as movement and the position of our head in space. Movement and gravity are perceived through the vestibular sense, which allows people to hold themselves upright and maintain their balance. This affects many aspects of development, including, but not limited to: attention, social skills, body awareness, spatial awareness, problem-solving, postural control, bilateral coordination, the use of both sides of our body, sensory modulation, and sensory discrimination.

Evaluation of the vestibular system can come from various methods. The sensory organs for hearing and balance/vestibular system are found in the ear. An ear, nose, and throat doctor or an audiologist can examine the structures of the ear. Therapists can assess the vestibular system through clinical observations of what we call adaptive responses. We can use motor assessments, neuromotor assessments, clinical observations of eye functions (tracking), postural functions, balance, reflex integration, bilateral coordination, spatial awareness, body awareness, problem-solving, social skills, and attention to assess the vestibular system. Evaluation of the vestibular system is ongoing and part of every treatment. As we stated above, the vestibular system is “mighty” because it affects all aspects of our daily lives.

Keys to treatment of the vestibular system focus around one of Dr. Ayres’s sensory integration core principles: an adaptive response to a “just right challenge.” Dr. Ayres’s definition of an adaptive response is “an efficient and flexible response to a challenge or demand that results in a higher level of skill than before the challenge.” – Ayres, 1979. Key treatment principles include the use of a purposeful activity, a child-directed activity that is motivating, the use and influence of the sensory experience, a just-right challenge, and finally, an adaptive response.

Now you have learned a little bit more about our Mighty Vestibular System—what it does, how we can evaluate it, and how we can treat it to improve someone’s level of skills, independence, and success in their daily lives.

-Written by Alicia McCarten, OTR/L. This information was taken from the Medbridge course titled “The Mighty Vestibular System.”

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