Frequently Asked Questions
The T.E.A.M. Approach is open from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Office staff is available Monday through Thursday 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and Friday from 9:00 to 12:00 p.m.
Yes, co-pays are required at each treatment session unless prior arrangements have been made with the billing office.
No, we do not need a doctor’s prescription to evaluate your child. However, we will need a prescription if therapy is recommended before treatment can begin.
Our front office will take your information and contact your insurance to determine if requested services are a covered benefit. We recommend that you verify this information. Coverage is typically determined based on “medical necessity.” Our office would be happy to assist you in determining your family’s personal financial responsibility for services.
Tone refers to the state of slight contraction usually present in muscles that contributes to posture and coordination. Spasticity refers to the abnormal velocity increase in muscle tone. For example, in an individual with spasticity, pulling the forearm away from the upper arm will be harder the faster you try to move it. Whereas in someone who exhibits increased tone, the resistance you feel is independent of the speed at which you try to move the body part.
An orthotic is a custom-made device used to support a joint and/or limb in proper alignment for weight-bearing or to prevent pain and malalignment in the long-term.
Baclofen is a substance that has been shown in studies to dramatically reduce severe spasticity. When injected into the fluid around the spinal cord, it allows muscles to relax. In addition, because it is delivered directly into the site of action at the spinal cord, it reduces spasticity with small amounts of medication without circulating throughout the body in the blood. This helps to minimize side-effects.
Neurodevelopmental treatment (NDT) is a hands-on treatment approach used by physical therapists, occupational therapists, and speech language pathologists developed to enhance the function of adults and children who have difficulty controlling movement as a result of neurological challenges, such as cerebral palsy, stroke, and head injury. This therapy uses guided or facilitated movements as a treatment strategy to ensure correlation of input from tactile, vestibular, and somatosensory receptors within the body.
Yes, parking is free and several accessible spaces are available near the front entrance to the clinic.
In order to offer you the highest quality of outpatient services, regular attendance is crucial. Every attempt is made to schedule your services in a timely manner and when possible, at your convenience. However, because of the demand for therapy services at this location, we cannot reserve therapy time for persons who do not maintain consistent attendance. We encourage you to make cancellations at least 24 hours in advance. However, we know that unexpected illness or events may occur that prevent this. Therefore, we ask that you make cancellations at least one hour prior to your scheduled treatment session. Clients who cancel three consecutive visits, without giving at least one hour notice, will be at risk of losing their scheduled time slot. Clients who miss three scheduled appointments in a 30-day calendar period or five scheduled appointments in a 60-calendar period without notifying our office will automatically discharged from therapy services.
Each session is 50 minutes long, starting on the hour and ending at 10 minutes before the hour leaving 10 minutes for transition. Due to scheduling constraints, a patient’s designated therapy session will end promptly at its assigned time, regardless of the patient’s arrival time.
Of course! We encourage parents to observe treatment sessions as this is a necessity for carryover. However, there are some cases when the child may perform better when the caregiver is not present and in this case, we may ask the parent to step out of the session in order to achieve the maximum benefit from therapy.
If a child is suspected of having difficulties, an evaluation is in order. An evaluation usually consists of standardized testing (when possible), a structured observation, and an interview with the parent or other caregiver. If intervention is recommended it can be intensive (more than once a week), weekly, or consultative.
In the pediatric environment, there can be a lot of overlap and similarities between occupational and physical therapy and these professions often work closely together; however, they provide distinctly different therapy services.
In general, OTs work on functional skills of daily life, helping children get better at all of the activities that they need to do during the day (ie. eating, dressing, playing, learning, and growing), looking through a holistic lens at the physical, developmental, mental and emotional connections. “PTs work more on the client’s physical mobility of moving their bodies to do those activities of daily living, navigating through their environment, getting to and from where they need to go and to perform everyday functions to the best of their ability, independently and safely.
Botox is the trademark name for the botulinum toxin produced by the same bacteria that causes botulism. In the medical community, it is used to reduce the spasticity of muscles through an injection into the affected muscle. Botox works essentially by preventing the nerve from sending a chemical messenger that tells the spastic muscle to contract (that substance is called acetylcholine).
The term “Sensory Integration” is used to reflect the theory developed by A. Jean Ayres, an occupational therapist, as well as for the intervention strategy that was based on that original theory. Sensory Integration is used to describe certain processes that go on in our brain, allowing us to make sense of the information we get from our environment and act on it. The term refers to the process by which the brain interprets and organizes various sensory experiences including sight, sound, smell, touch, movement, body awareness, and the pull of gravity. Sensory integration is a normal phenomenon of central nervous system functioning and provides a foundation for more complex learning and behavior. For some individuals sensory integration does not develop as efficiently as it should. Sensory integration dysfunction can result in motor development difficulties, learning difficulties, or behavioral concerns.