Does Your Child Have ASD? Aquatic Therapy Can Help!

Feb 10, 2024

Aquatic Therapy

Are you concerned that your child seems to be delayed and struggling to reach normal developmental milestones? Have you noticed your child seems a bit clumsy or has difficulty playing with peers? At Freedom Rehab Aquatic Therapy and Balance Center in FL, our therapists work with kids of all ages, including kids with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), to help them function at their highest potential!

Our physical therapist specializes in helping children reach critical developmental milestones. Our therapy is based on a whole-body approach incorporating physical, mental, and behavioral modification activities that support children in developing their physical, psychological, and emotional skills to function at home, in school, and with their friends.

Physical therapists typically work with children with special needs to help them develop their physical skills so they can independently perform daily tasks at home and in school. We implement strategies to improve motor control, coordination, and planning while also helping to improve attention, focus, and social skills and decreasing problem behaviors.

Our Freedom Rehab Aquatic Therapy and Balance Center therapists can help your child if they struggle with things that other children their age can do. We will design a program tailored to your child, including using aquatic therapy to ensure that your child can function at their peak potential!

Request an appointment today and learn more about our pediatric occupational therapy programs!

What is unique about aquatic therapy for kids with ASD?

Aquatic therapy is a unique intervention used by physical therapists trained to utilize water’s natural properties to achieve therapeutic benefits. Aquatic-based exercises take advantage of the inherent properties of water, including buoyancy, hydrostatic pressure, and natural resistance, to effectively reach a child’s rehabilitation goals.

Our Freedom Rehab Aquatic Therapy and Balance Center therapists use aquatic therapy exercises to assist your child while having fun at the same time. We will use games designed to maximize their outcomes and provide a safe environment for them to try challenging activities that improve their function.

Under the direction of our highly trained physical therapists, our aquatic therapy programs help improve mobility, strength, postural awareness, coordination, and endurance. We can manipulate currents in the water to increase or decrease the intensity of their exercises and use paddles, gloves, and noodles to adjust the exercises to meet their needs and abilities.

Fortunately, the natural pressure of water can help address sensory difficulties and improve their tolerance, all while playing in the water. Water’s natural properties set the stage for an ideal therapeutic environment for kids!

What to expect at your aquatic physical therapy sessions

Our Freedom Rehab Aquatic Therapy and Balance Center in FL physical therapists will conduct an individual assessment determining conditions, areas where they struggle, physical abilities, and desired goals. Next, we will customize activities, including behavioral modification techniques, to improve their overall function and help them achieve developmental milestones.

Physical therapy may be required if your child has difficulty with any of the following areas:

Difficulty achieving age-appropriate developmental milestones. (i.e., behaviors or skills that most children can do at a certain age)
Issues with gross motor skills (i.e., difficulty coordinating movements, running, hopping, skipping, etc.)
Sensory processing problems (i.e., listening and following directions, self-regulation, etc.)
Social and peer interaction skills

Our therapists routinely work with children struggling to adjust to their environment. Physical therapists provide therapeutic interventions, including aquatic therapy, to help children develop motor skills, coordination, and more.

The Freedom Rehab Aquatic Therapy and Balance Center team emphasizes positive reinforcement to improve behavior and diminish harmful behaviors affecting learning and interacting with others. Each time the person uses the behavior or skill successfully, they get a reward. When a reward follows a behavior, the child with ASD is likely to repeat that behavior.

Rewards can include:

Praise
A toy or game in the water
Time for play in the water

Over time, the rewards reinforce and encourage positive behavioral changes. Our goal at Freedom Rehab Aquatic Therapy and Balance Center in FL is to identify any delays your child is dealing with and address them through collaboration with parents, teachers, and other caregivers. We are highly skilled at incorporating interventions like aquatic therapy to help your child learn the skills necessary to move, play, socialize and have fun!

Request an appointment at Freedom Rehab Aquatic Therapy and Balance Center today!

Freedom Rehab Aquatic Therapy and Balance Center in FL is happy to evaluate your child and determine their need for treatment.

Call to request an appointment with one of our occupational therapists today!

Does Your Child Have ASD? Aquatic Therapy Can Help!