Pediatric Therapy Programs –
The power to do more
Every child is a unique being. As such there is no one word, term or description that adequately defines your child. Likewise, there is no single therapy that can be applied to all children – even those who share a common diagnosis. The same holds true for pediatric therapy. At Amy Zier & Associates, what sets us apart is our individualized pediatric therapy programs and our approach to your child’s treatment. Every child, and parent-child relationship are unique therefore require specific support and is nuanced with the just right match for your child and for you as a parent.
Our programs include traditional pediatric therapies such as individual occupational therapy and group occupational therapy. In addition, we provide specialized groups, activities and intensives designed to focus on key areas of development. Each is not only focused on the individual child, but also on the family as a whole and the other people and activities that impact the child’s life on a daily basis.
As a result, we’re able to provide the experiences and therapies to promote progress here at the clinic. But more importantly, we’re able to introduce ways of integrating these skills, therapies and actions into the routines of daily living – at home, at school, at play and in the community.
Individual Pediatric Occupational Therapy
Just as the name implies, individual pediatric occupational therapy involves an experienced occupational therapist working one-on-one with a child. Depending on the emotional developmental age of the child, parents often take an active role in the session. During these sessions the occupational therapist provides specific environmental, activity and interactive supports to promote developmental integration in the areas of emotional, social, sensory, motor and cognitive development. The therapist works collaboratively with the parents, teachers, babysitters and all people that take an active role in the child's life.
Group Pediatric Occupational Therapy
During group pediatric occupational therapy, a small group of children work with two or more occupational therapists. In addition to supporting the goals of individual therapy, the group process goes beyond supporting the child’s individual sensory, motor and emotional profile to address moment-to-moment social interactions between children that occur in the child’s daily life. By doing so, we’re able to promote self-regulation, shared engagement, reciprocity and emotional thinking – which are integral for the child’s success in the family, school and larger community.
Pediatric Handwriting Group
A critical skill for participation in school and for communication throughout a lifetime, the pediatric handwriting group provides specialized therapy to support the motor, perceptual and sequential building blocks necessary for writing. It begins with the development of a unique treatment plan for each child, based on specific areas of weakness that may be impacting the ability to write with ease. In addition, consultation with the child’s teacher is also provided if necessary to ensure these specific techniques are supported in the classroom to maximize your child’s capacities.
Innovative Intensives
Offered in a group setting, these innovative intensives pair children with therapists to focus on particular challenges in a comfortable and fun environment. So, they are not only able to focus on strengthening skills, but also their relationships and ability to engage in a social setting.
Bike Riding Intensive
The ability to ride a bicycle is an important milestone for children – enhancing self-confidence, participation in family activities and social relationships with other children. Because of the multi-layer neurological integration that occurs when riding a bicycle, children often excel in other developmental areas once they’ve mastered this skill. Through our four- to seven-day bike riding intensive, we focus on the integration and smooth functioning of several key developmental processing areas – visual-spatial processing, motor planning, motor activation and control. For more information, please contact Amy at amy@amyzier.com.
Parent-Child Play Group
To enable children to develop the primary relationship skills necessary, the Parent-Child Play Group brings parents and their children together with our team of therapists to support the functional development tasks of relating and communicating. Using play, music, art, movement, occupational therapy and speech and language consultation, our therapists help children express feelings and develop caring relationships with peers and adults. It also provides opportunities for satisfying social experiences tailored to the individual differences and developmental needs of each child in the group. At the same time, the Parent-Child Play Group offers parents support and information about their child’s needs, providing them with the ability to create a safe, relationship-based, supportive and engaging environment at home.
Therapeutic Listening Intensive
Therapeutic Listening® is a sound-based intervention that utilizes modulated CDs to impact children with a variety of challenges, which may include: sensory processing and modulation difficulties, learning challenges and speech and language delays. Through this listening intensive, children are able to improve attention, engagement and awareness of the environment, as well as postural organization, auditory filtering skills and overall improvements with visual motor skills. Therapeutic Listening is often recommended as part of home program and tailored by the therapist for each child's unique profile. For more information visit www.vitallinks.net. For more information, please e-mail Amy.
Sports Camp
A fun way to boost confidence as children learn 10 different sports skills, while they engage in therapeutic opportunities for motor planning, visual-motor integration, bilateral motor development, as well as endurance building and strengthening. In addition, Sports Camp uses peer regulation and social problem solving. Each week will focus on component skills and understanding rules of sports and playground games, such as soccer, basketball, baseball, dodge ball, two-square, rock climbing, kayaking, running and tennis. For more information, please contact Amy at amy@amyzier.com.
Yoga
Teaching Yoga to children helps support self-control, body awareness, flexibility and strength. These are the foundations needed for emotional grounding, attention and positive sense of self which then positively impact the child’s daily routines, relationships and availability for learning.
Contact: Amy Zier for more information. Amy completed her level 2 certification with Sonia Sumar in April 2005 (Yoga for the Special Child®)
Fine Motor Intensives
Bolster your child’s skill level for fine motor tasks with intensives that focus on improving tactile and proprioceptive awareness, motor planning, dexterity and strength. Intensives are tailored developmentally for your child. In addition, core strengthening and movement breaks are included to ensure optimal regulation and attention.
Handwriting Without Tears
Focus on writing readiness, printing and cursive, with multisensory lessons that address all learning styles - visual, auditory, tactile and kinesthetic. Unique materials and appealing workbooks eliminate problems with letter formation, reversals, legibility, sentence spacing and cursive connections. This approach is incorporated into our ‘Handwriting Intensives' as well as into weekly individual treatment sessions and home programs.
Cooking Intensive for the Picky Eater
If your child is a picky eater, has a limited food diet or is upset by the sights and smells of new foods, the Cooking Intensive may be just what you need. Conducted over four sessions, your child is able to approach food in a playful and fun manner to decrease tactile sensitivities, increase the willingness to try new foods and improve the ability to modulate behavior responses surrounding various tactile sensations. For more information, please contact Amy at amy@amyzier.com.
Rock Climbing Intensive
Rock climbing offers the child an opportunity to experience an incredible sense of mastery and competence. Our climbing intensives occur in a group context which provides an opportunity for sharing the range of emotions experienced with this unique intensive. Rock climbing promotes motor planning, bilateral motor development and strengthening. For more information contact amy@amyzier.com
Our Fall Schedule at begins September 6. If you don't see what you're looking for please contact Helen at 773-755-7791 ext 1 to discuss options of beginning a new program tailored to your needs.
"On Stage" Program: READ MY CUES!
This program has been designed with collaboration from a drama
therapist and Amy Zier. The focus of this group is to help children that have diffculty reading non-verbal cues in a variety of social situations. This program supports the child's processing and interpretation of social pragmatics using drama principals and techniques. This program uses highly motivated themes developed by the participants and of course uses affect and non verbal elements to enhance the child's processing. The program runs for 12 weeks, we offer a weekday as well as Saturday option.
Contact Amy Zier for more information,
amy@amyzier.com
The Homework Club
This club will meet two times per week and/or Saturday morning. The club has been developed by Amy Zier and a special
education consultant. If your child struggles with completing his/her homework although you know he/she has the ability to complete their homework, this group may be a perfect fit for your child. We begin with analyzing the breakdowns in performance, this may be organizational skills, sequencing, processing or motor output challenges. All of these areas impact ATTENTION and EFFORT exerted by your child. We use the "Children's Organizitional Skills Scales" to more closely analyze areas of challenge and strength. This purpose of this club is to improve your child's study skills, memory, organization of materials and completion of homework in a timely manner. In addition, our hope is to take the pressure off of parents and the children by providing adaptive elements that are individual to your child's profile. contact Amy Zier for more information,
amy@amyzier.com.
BOOT CAMP!
Get your kids "ready" for school. "Exercise is one of nature's best stimulants for calming and focusing", We believe that early morning
exercise is more than about getting into shape, we are priming the brain for learning. John Ratey, a clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, states that exercise itself does not make you smarter, but it puts the brain of the learners in the optimal position for them to learn".
We have collaborated with an amazing PE teacher who will be co-leading with our occupational therapist's this early am and Saturday group. Contact Amy Zier,
amy@amyzier.com, for more imformation!