Outpatient pediatric physical therapy and rehabilitation

We are proud to offer comprehensive pediatric rehabilitation services in partnership with the Memorial Health Dwaine & Cynthia Willett Children's Hospital of Savannah. Our licensed physical therapists provide dedicated care for children and adolescents experiencing a wide range of injuries and conditions.

Pediatric rehabilitation is offered at two locations within the Savannah community. Patients can receive care on our hospital's main campus or our office in Pooler. With two community locations, parents have more access to quality care for their kids.

To learn more about outpatient pediatric rehabilitation, please call us at (912) 350-7128. To contact our facility in Pooler, please call (912) 273-1000.

Outpatient pediatric rehabilitation services

Pediatric physical therapy and rehabilitation services include assessments and interventions within the following areas:

  • Endurance
  • Gait training
  • Gross motor skills
  • Mobility and walking
  • Motor learning and coordination
  • Pain management
  • Posture and balance
  • Range of motion
  • Sensory integration
  • Strengthening
  • Neck tightness (torticollis) and plagiocephaly
  • Wound care

In order to help our patients reach their full potential, we provide the following services for children and adolescents:

  • Assistive technology and adaptive equipment
  • Cranial molding helmets
  • Occupational therapy
  • Physical therapy
  • Speech and language therapy
  • Splints and casting
  • Therapeutic feeding

Often, many of these techniques will be used in combination with each other to help pediatric patients reach their highest level of independence.

Gait training

Our gait analysis laboratory in the Memorial Health Dwaine & Cynthia Willett Children's Hospital of Savannah is available for pediatric patients who experience trouble walking. We have specialized technology that automatically measures different aspects of a child's gait. These measurements provide data regarding rhythm, step length and speed.

While a child's gait is measured, a video camera records their walking. Our pediatric gait trainers are able to view the data while watching the child walk. This helps us design an individualized treatment plan that promotes a normal gait pattern. Our goal with gait training is for walking to become efficient, pain-free and functional for your child.

Pediatric speech and language therapy

Our pediatric specialists include licensed speech-language pathologists who are certified by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. The team treats children with disorders related to articulation, language, fluency, voice, oral-motor function, feeding, central hearing and breathing.

Speech and language disorders are commonly seen in children with conditions such as:

  • Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
  • Autism
  • Cerebral palsy
  • Developmental delay
  • Down syndrome
  • Hearing impairment
  • Intellectual impairment
  • Neurological impairment
  • Phonological awareness (awareness of the sound structure of words)
  • Prematurity
  • Sensory impairment
  • Traumatic brain injury

The goal of pediatric speech therapy is to help a child communicate functionally in their everyday environment. This can be achieved through a variety of speech therapy approaches, including:

  • Articulation therapy—This therapy focuses on providing speech-sound stimulation for the correct production of sounds.
  • Fluency therapy—This therapy treats stuttering and implements techniques to encourage smooth, easy speech.
  • Language therapy—This therapy facilitates the development of receptive or expressive language skills to increase comprehension and verbal expression.
  • Oral-motor, feeding and respiration therapy—These therapies teach breathing skills and adequate function of the oral anatomy for communication, feeding and swallowing.
  • Voice therapy—This therapy is used to determine and maintain appropriate pitch, nasality, volume and voice quality.

Alternative communication

Sometimes, children use other forms of communication to promote speech development. This is called augmentative or alternative communication (ACC) and may include using pictures, a talking computer or sign language to communicate. This can be especially helpful for children with cerebral palsy, communication impairments, head injuries, autism and spinal cord injuries.

Children may also have nutritional problems because of feeding and/or swallowing issues. When these problems occur, children are often referred to our hospital's ACC team or our therapeutic feeding team.

Outpatient feeding therapy

Our pediatric therapeutic feeding team consists of licensed speech-language pathologists and occupational therapists who specialize in the assessment and treatment of feeding, swallowing and oral-motor problems. Our team works in partnership with primary care physicians, nurses, gastroenterologists, nutritionists and educational providers to create a plan of care for each child.

Feeding difficulties are often related to diagnoses such as:

  • Cerebral palsy
  • Cleft palate
  • Feeding aversion
  • Prematurity
  • Sensory issues
  • Stomach disorders

Our team will asses each child's condition by observing feeding sessions and using specialized studies that take all aspects of swallowing into account. In order to treat a feeding disorder, the team may:

  • Assist in the positioning and seating for feeding
  • Educate parents about appropriate nutrition for their child
  • Help parents transition their child to more advanced feeding, such as weaning from baby foods to table foods or advancing from a bottle to a cup
  • Select equipment to enhance a child's feeding abilities