I am a pediatric physical therapist, and October is physical therapy month.

People often ask me what I do with children in the realm of physical therapy.

Most people are familiar with physical therapy services in relation to recovery from injuries. The majority of patients I see have developmental delays secondary to a variety of reasons. These reasons include cerebral palsy, Down Syndrome, genetic abnormalities and prematurity. Many of my patients do not have a specific diagnosis but are unable to do the same activities as their peers.

I also evaluate and treat children with brain injuries, scoliosis, torticollis and various orthopedic problems. My patients are referred to me from their pediatricians, neurologists or orthopedic surgeon. Pediatric physical therapists treat children from birth to 18 years of age.

A pediatric physical therapist evaluates a child’s gross motor skills. These skills can include rolling over, sitting, crawling, walking, jumping and skipping. We also look at balance and coordination.

A child’s quality of movement is also evaluated, as well as the ability to move in and out of positions. After a child is evaluated by the therapist, a plan is formulated to help the child achieve their goals. For a child with cerebral palsy, that may mean the highest level of function they can achieve. For a child who is delayed, the goal is to catch them up to their peers.

The parents of the children are given exercises and activities to work on with their children at home between appointments.

How do you know if your child needs therapy? If you notice that there is a significant difference in what your child is able to do and what his peers can do, therapy may be appropriate. For instance, if your baby is not sitting up by himself at 7 months of age and his peers are crawling, you should bring this to the attention of his doctor. If your child frequently falls or runs into objects, he may have balance and coordination problems.

If your child demonstrates weakness on one side of the body, contact their physician. If your child has difficulty with motor planning, bring this to your doctor’s attention. Motor planning difficulties are evident when a child cannot adapt to a new gross motor task using their current skills such as climbing over an object when they can climb onto the furniture.

If a child has difficulty learning or maneuvering around their school secondary to their gross motor deficits, they may be eligible to receive physical therapy at school.

Torticollis is diagnosis I frequently see. Torticollis is a condition where a baby does not have full motion in the neck. The baby tends to hold her neck tilted to one side and sometimes rotated to one side. If the baby cannot turn head or tilt head to the opposite side physical therapy is indicated and the baby should be assessed by their pediatrician.

Some guidelines for development for babies are: rolling from stomach to back at 4 months, sitting with support on hands at 5 months, sitting independently at 6 months, crawling at 7 to 8 months, pulling to stand by 9 to 10 months and walking by 12 to 14 months, climbing on furniture by 18 months, jumping at 24 months.

Cheryl Sanford-Givens is a pediatric physical therapist who works at Key Rehab in Natchez.