The benefits of therapy

When you learn that a loved one has a diagnosis of an illness, disorder or disability, it can sometimes become quite overwhelming. Obviously you want to do all that you can to improve their health and quality of life, but where do you begin? What therapies and tools are available? What choices do you have? Today I am going to focus on 3 therapies that we access as a family, Speech therapy, Occupational therapy and Aqua therapy, however there are many more options available.

Speech therapy

Speech therapy can be beneficial in treating language disorders, speech disorders and difficulty with swallowing. I think that our first encounter with a speech pathologist was when our son was born prematurely, and had difficulty with coordinating his suckling and swallowing reflexes. The speech pathologist was able to share techniques and tools for assisting my son with feeding, whilst also providing encouragement and support to my husband and I, being new parents to a premature baby.

Fast forward a number of years, then we again as a family required the service of speech pathology. This time is was to provide support with speech and language delays, within the autism diagnosis. We found a speech therapist that worked with us as a family, providing intensive clinical and home based therapy sessions. We where given a number of tools, techniques and resources to support our children at home, in the community and in the classroom. We found what worked best for our children, whether that be visual aids, sign language or ACC devices. A number of our children still utilise the support of speech pathologists, which now include Social skills groups, feeding groups and clinical 1:1 sessions.

Working with a supportive speech therapist, has most definitely unlocked our ability to communicate effectively with our children, and it has given us the confidence and strategies to continue to work with into the future.

Occupation Therapy (OT)

We also enlisted an OT to work with our children, who collaborated with our speech therapist to provide continuity in their therapies, which in turn yields the best outcomes. Our OT worked in areas such as fine and gross motor skills, regulation, self care and toileting. Again we participated in a number of years of intensive therapy, at home, in the clinic and in the classroom. Working with our OT provided our family with strategies and tools to enhance everyday life experiences. For our children who attended mainstream primary school, our OT was also a good source of support, in both educating staff, and in helping with advocating for our children. Sadly our OT moved on, and like so many families we are on a waiting list for a new therapist, however we still implement the strategies and tools that we have learned to continue in supporting our children.

Aqua therapy

Aqua therapy has become an important addition to our childrens lives. Aqua therapy helps in a number of ways, from strengthening muscles in the hydrotherapy pool, whilst supporting balance and mobility, to supporting regulation and teaching life skills, also working on fine and gross motor skills through fun structured activities. Aqua therapy also assists our children with communication and in accessing the community too. The implementation of aqua therapy for our children has never been more important, especially as some of our children experience pain due to hypermobility syndrome, and other degenerative disorders effecting balance and core strength.

I believe by participating in the above therapies, our children are able to live their best lives. We as a family never give up, and are always looking at ways to support and improve their quality of life.

Our aim at Lilly and Tilly Sensory Place is to offer tools and resources to help individuals live their best lives, from inclusive and adaptive swimwear, to stylish and absorbent bibs, to therapy tents and resources, we are here to help! The products that we stock, are tried and tested with our own family, and we are always looking at new products to improve quality of life for all!

Kes-Vir Inclusive Adaptive Swimwear