About Developmental Therapy

A child learns through play — from interacting with toys, interacting with people, imitating what they see around them, exploring and moving with confidence in their world. If their attempts to interact functionally within their environment is compromised — either by poor posture, poor motor coordination, poor language skills, sensory integration differences, decreased attention span, behavioral issues, etc. — then their ability to acquire skills and learn from their interactions and explorations may also be compromised.

Developmental therapy* is a discipline that specifically looks at HOW a child is developing during the most significant period of development — birth through 5 years. Developmental therapists do not address one specific area but instead look at a child GLOBALLY (e.g., cognitive skills, language and communication, social-emotional skills and behavior, gross and fine motor skills, and self-help skills.).

Developmental therapists assess a child’s global development and identify specific areas of need and areas of strength. They will then develop play activities designed to help a child overcome their challenges and improve the quality of their interactions in order to help them gain confidence in their own ability to learn and to acquire typical skills. We try to provide children with their own tools to navigate their way through their new world with a sense of wonder and enjoyment.

We offer evaluation, consultations, developmental interventions, and play interactions for families in Chicago with children under five years old.

For more information, to talk to a developmental therapist, or set up an appointment for an initial consultation, please call us at 312-458-9865 or email us at info@pediatricresources.org.

Some common reasons for therapy referrals include:

• Speech delay or communication disorder
• Delay in cognitive development
• Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
• Pervasive Developmental Delay (PDD)
• Sensory integration / sensory processing differences
• Decreased attention span, ADD/ADHD, learning disabilities
• Behavioral problems
• Poor social skills or physically aggressive behavior in groups
• Prematurity
• Foreign adoption
• Vision or hearing impairment
• Motor deficits, neurological or genetic disorders

* National Uniform Claim Committee, NUCC, Code Subcommittee defined Health Care Provider Taxonomy code defines Developmental Therapy as follows:

A developmental therapist evaluates children’s global development in order to identify areas of developmental delay whether arising from physiological, neurological, or environmental factors, or a combination of factors; and designs, implements, and modifies therapeutic interventions for the child and the family to promote the child’s acquisition of skills in a variety of developmental areas, including cognitive processes and social interaction in order to maximize functional independence and developmental homeostasis, and improve the quality of life at home and in the community; and provides consultation for the parents and other professionals working with the family on global development.