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Pediatric Therapy Services

MercyOne Dubuque Medical Center offers a variety of pediatric therapy services:

Early Developmental Intervention – Outpatient Therapy Services

Pediatric therapists at MercyOne specialize in treating children from birth to three years. All have advanced training and education in pediatric assessment and intervention. Parents or caregivers are involved with therapy to encourage the use of skills at home.

Physical Therapy

Physical therapy addresses the treatment of infants and children with a variety of congenital, developmental, neuromuscular, skeletal or acquired disorders/diseases that may cause limitations in gross motor development. A physical therapist focuses on the gross motor skills such as rolling, scooting, sitting, crawling, walking and running. Physical therapy helps children improve overall body control and stability.

Occupational Therapy

Occupational therapy addresses the treatment of infants and children with a variety of congenital, developmental, neuromuscular, skeletal or acquired disorders/diseases, including autism spectrum disorder, that may cause limitations in fine motor skills and/or sensory-motor development. An occupational therapist treats delays in fine motor skills such as cutting, coloring or handwriting. Occupational therapy treatment may address difficulties in the area of self-help skills such as dressing, bathing or self-feeding. It may also focus on improving a child's sensory processing to achieve an optimal level of alertness for play and daily activities.

Speech Therapy

Speech therapy addresses the treatment of infants and children with a variety of feeding and swallowing disorders, as well as communication disorders or autism spectrum disorder. Speech treatment addresses neurological, muscular and developmental disorders and helps children improve overall feeding, swallowing and communication skills. Speech therapists provide articulation therapy designed to follow a personalized approach based on the child's needs in order to teach them how to pronounce specific sounds.

A speech therapist addresses language delays in order to develop children's understanding of how to ask and answer questions, reading comprehension and auditory comprehension of directions, information or stories. Speech therapy addresses pragmatic skills in order for children to be successful participants in conversation with peers and adults.

Swallowing treatment is designed to expand the number of foods children who are picky eaters are consuming on a regular basis as well as provide exercises to strengthen their lips and tongue in order to manage and swallow foods in a safe manner. Speech therapists develop an individualized therapy plan for each child.

Orton-Gillingham Approach to Literacy Development

Speech therapists are trained in the Orton-Gillingham approach to literacy development for children with dyslexia. This approach provides a multi-sensory experience with each lesson engaging children in visual, auditory and kinesthetic (touch) activities to strengthen their comprehension of literacy concepts. Individuals participating in this program will learn to recognize letters and sounds, break down words into sounds, blend sounds together and recognize syllables within words as well as receive instruction in the areas of phonological awareness and fluency.

The Orton-Gillingham program is a balanced approach to literacy that incorporates both implicit and explicit (direct teaching) instruction to allow children to be able to encode (spell words) and decode (read words).

Sequential Oral Sensory Approach to Feeding

The Sequential Oral Sensory approach to feeding is an evidence-based program that works with families of individuals who are picky eaters or refusing to eat a specific food consistency due to sensory aversions. Speech and occupational therapists collaborate to develop and teach families strategies including food play to help the individual work through the 32 steps to eating to expand and grow the number of foods the individual is eating consistently.

This approach follows a sensory hierarchy that requires a child be able to first tolerate the new food, begin to interact, smell, touch, and eventually taste the new food. Therapists work with families to teach them how to implement this program at home to maximize therapy results.

Integrated Listening (iLs)

Integrated listening is a multi-sensory program for improving brain function. Based on clinically proven outcomes, iLs programs strengthen existing pathways and create new neural connections/pathways in the brain (neuroplasticity). As these neurological connections grow stronger, language skills and emotional/psychological functions, such as self-confidence and regulation, also tend to improve. iLs has a global effect on the brain and central nervous system, influencing balance, coordination and visual, auditory, motor, behavior and emotional regulation.

Autism Diagnosis

To schedule an autism evaluation for your child, we encourage you to contact one of the following:

Contact Us

For more information on pediatric therapy, call MercyOne Rehabilitation Services at 563-589-9035.

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