Written by: Erilda Borici and Olivia Smith
Now that warm weather has finally arrived, many children and families are eagerly awaiting the end of the school year and the beginning of the summer break. Summer is the perfect time of the year to play outside with friends and to enjoy family time. It’s also an excellent opportunity to add additional therapy sessions to maintain progress made during the school year or to meet goals.
When your child is in need of counseling, speech therapy, occupational therapy, ABA or physical therapy, an individualized treatment plan is created by your therapist. Therapists build a strong rapport and a trusting relationship with children through consistent time spent together. A break in therapy disrupts their treatment plan and can delay progress.
There are multiple ways to maximize your child’s time in therapy during the summer months by participating in our multidisciplinary approach. If necessary, your child can receive various therapeutic services all under one roof.
For children who have diagnoses of Autism, ADHD, or other developmental, cognitive, or mental health concerns, multiple therapeutic services are recommended to allow your child to reach their full potential. Apart from the convenience of having all of your child’s services under one roof, therapists collaborate with each other to ensure consistency for your child. Coordination of care will allow your child to grow and gain skills as rapidly as possible.
The summer months bring lots of opportunities for children to play at parks, learn to use/ride various gross motor toys such as bikes or scooters, or play at the beach. Therapy is play based so it’s fun!
Many of our clinics have a sand table where children can learn how to build sand castles, or jungle gym equipment that they can learn to navigate safely. We teach bike riding! Mastery of these skills during your child’s sessions provides confidence that they can participate in these activities safely and effectively outside of the clinic setting. One of the most important goals in therapy is to have fun while skill building.
Here are some tips on maintaining consistency and getting the most out of treatment for your child.
- Since children are out of school, they have a lot more availability during the day to participate in therapy, and while camp and extracurricular activities are important, and great options for staying active, they cannot replace individualized therapy plans.
- Summer can be filled with unstructured time. For kiddos who struggle with ADHD, Autism, or Anxiety, this can be exacerbate some of their symptoms. Maintaining scheduled therapy hours provides children with consistency and routine to continue to work on their treatment goals.
- Rescheduling missed sessions is easier during the Summer months. (you might even be able to see a different therapist, depending on your child’s needs)
- Plan ahead and schedule additional sessions if you have an upcoming vacation or break, your therapist may have extra flexibility as well.
- Remember, school may be out, but kiddos who maintain their therapy schedules thrive when Autumn arrives!
**Please keep in mind cancellations should be done at least 24 to 48 hours in advance, so other families also have the chance to reschedule.
If you have questions or concerns about your child, we would love to help! Give us a call at (847) 474-9153 and speak to one of our Family Child Advocates!
