The early years of a child’s life are very important for their health and development. Babies and toddlers develop at their own rate, but sometimes they may be slower to reach their milestones. A child considered to have developmental delay, may reach these milestones much later, and may have difficulties in one or more of the following key developmental areas.
- Gross motor skills – the use of large muscles to sit, stand, walk, run, maintain balance and change body positions.
- Fine motor skills – the use of small muscles (specifically hands and fingers) to eat, play, draw and write.
- Speech and language development – communicating with others, and understanding what others say, using body language and gestures as well as possible feeding issues.
- Social and emotional development – being able to interact with others, to interpret and respond to the feelings of others, especially family / whanau, friends and teachers.
- Cognitive development – being able to engage in thinking, learning, understanding, remembering and problem solving activities and tasks.
At The Kids Place:
- We offer a variety of options to support a child’s development including intensive and fun play based blocks of therapy (Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy), family / whanau / teacher education, and home programmes.
- We have created a fun and safe environment, with educational and developmental toys plus climbing equipment and swings, that caters for all age ranges and ability levels. This environment makes it easier for a child to enjoy and make progress within their therapy sessions.
- We use a family / whanau centred approach to set realistic goals for your child and monitor the outcomes with ongoing therapy reviews.
A collaborative therapy approach is important to us. We are able to link in with other healthcare providers, including the public therapy team, as well as kindergarten and school to ensure carry over of goals and treatment advice.