Occupational Therapy Specialties and Services
Occupational therapy is available to inpatients in critical care (NICU and PICU), acute care and the rehabilitation unit within the hospital. Outpatient services are provided at the Outpatient Therapy Center on Valley Children’s Hospital main campus in Madera.
Our occupational therapists work with the patient and family to create a customized program to address their unique needs. The therapy process begins with an initial evaluation to assess the child’s current level of function, strengths and areas of concern.
- Evaluation
- Assess oral motor/sensory/behavioral aspect of feeding, self-care skills, fine and gross motor skills, functional mobility, sensory processing, visual-motor skills, praxis, range of motion, strength and cognition
- Assess the need for adaptive equipment to improve function
- Assess the need for orthotics to improve position or function
- Treatment
- Therapy services provided in our fully equipped gym and treatment rooms with the goal of achieving optimal age-appropriate skills needed to perform daily activities at home, school and within the community
- Fabrication of splints to alleviate pain, prevent deformity, improve function, increase range or protect surgical repair
- Utilize/fabricate adaptive devices/equipment to improve function
- Patient and parent education
- Spasticity management: Our occupational therapists work collaboratively with the pediatric physiatrists and neurologists in providing functional information to aid in their assessment of the child’s potential for improvement with pharmaceutical intervention including:
- Botox injections
- Intrathecal baclofen pump
Our OT team also works collaboratively with other pediatric subspecialists throughout Valley Children’s on multidisciplinary clinics, providing a more seamless care experience and supporting positive outcomes and improved quality of life. Some of our multidisciplinary clinics include:
- Rehabilitation Follow-up Clinic
- High-Risk Infant Follow-up Program
- Feeding Team
- Child Amputee Clinic
- MDA/Neuromuscular Disease Clinic
- Rheumatology