Physical Therapy

According to the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), Physical therapists (PTs) are movement experts who optimize quality of life through prescribed exercise, hands-on care, and patient education.

Physical therapists teach patients how to prevent or manage their condition so that they will achieve long-term health benefits. PTs examine each individual and develop a plan, using treatment techniques to promote the ability to move, reduce pain, restore function, and prevent disability. In addition, PTs work with individuals to prevent the loss of mobility before it occurs by developing fitness- and wellness-oriented programs for healthier and more active lifestyles.

Who Benefits from Physical Therapy

At New Light Therapy, we specialize in treating pediatrics and individuals with neuromuscular, vestibular, balance and movement disorders. Some of our clinicians are LSVT BIG certified (for treating those with Parkinson’s disease). Some common neuromuscular disorder treated are:

• Stroke

• Spinal Cord Injury

• Parkinson’s Disease

• Multiple Sclerosis

• Vestibular Dysfunction

• Traumatic Brain Injury

  We also specialize in treating pediatrics and are one of the only clinics outside Reno to offer pediatric therapy services. Some common disorders that benefit from participating in physical therapy are:

• Developmental Delays (causing difficulty with coordination, balance, gait, and strength)

• Cerebral Palsy

• Muscular Dystrophy

• Down’s Syndrome

• Joubert’s Syndrome

• Genetic disorders effecting movement and coordination

• Hypotonia and decreased core strength

• Spina Bifida

Occupational Therapy

According to the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), Occupational therapy is the only profession that helps people across the lifespan to do the things they want and need to do through the therapeutic use of daily activities (occupations). Occupational therapy practitioners enable people of all ages to live life to its fullest by helping them promote health, and prevent—or live better with—injury, illness, or disability. 

Common occupational therapy interventions include helping children with disabilities to participate fully in school and social situations, helping people recovering from injury to regain skills, and providing supports for older adults experiencing physical and cognitive changes. Occupational therapy services typically include:

• an individualized evaluation, during which the client/family and occupational therapist determine the person’s goals,

• customized intervention to improve the person’s ability to perform daily activities and reach the goals, and

• an outcomes evaluation to ensure that the goals are being met and/or make changes to the intervention plan. 

Occupational therapy practitioners have a holistic perspective, in which the focus is on adapting the environment and/or task to fit the person, and the person is an integral part of the therapy team. It is an evidence-based practice deeply rooted in science.

Pediatric occupational therapy focuses on helping children develop the skills they need to grow into functional, independent adults. Physical impairment, injuries and a host of other issues can hamper a child's ability to perform common tasks or progress normally through the stages of social or cognitive development.

Who Benefits from Occupational Therapy?

• birth injuries or birth defects

• sensory processing disorders

• traumatic injuries (brain or spinal cord)

• learning problems

• autism/pervasive developmental disorders

• developmental delays

• difficulty with fine motor coordination (handwriting, pencil grasp, buttoning, zippers, tying shoes)

Speech and Language Pathology

According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA): Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) work to prevent, assess, diagnose, and treat speech, language, social communication, cognitive-communication, and swallowing disorders in children and adults.

• Speech disorders occur when a person has difficulty producing speech sounds correctly or fluently (e.g., stuttering is a form of disfluency) or has problems with his or her voice or resonance.

• Language disorders occur when a person has trouble understanding others (receptive language), or sharing thoughts, ideas, and feelings (expressive language). Language disorders may be spoken or written and may involve the form (phonology, morphology, syntax), content (semantics), and/or use (pragmatics) of language in functional and socially appropriate ways.

• Social communication disorders occur when a person has trouble with the social use of verbal and nonverbal communication. These disorders may include problems (a) communicating for social purposes (e.g., greeting, commenting, asking questions), (b) talking in different ways to suit the listener and setting, and (c) following rules for conversation and story-telling. All individuals with autism spectrum disorder have social communication problems. Social communication disorders are also found individuals with other conditions, such as traumatic brain injury.

• Cognitive-communication disorders include problems organizing thoughts, paying attention, remembering, planning, and/or problem-solving. These disorders usually happen as a result of a stroke, traumatic brain injury, or dementia, although they can be congenital.

Who needs speech therapy?

 If your child babbles, has trouble putting sentences together, stutters or experiences difficulty with sensory processing, pediatric speech therapy would be beneficial. Speech and language disorders are often common in children with autism, down syndrome, cleft-palate, sensory dysfunction, verbal apraxia, head injury, and many other syndromes. Some common disorders that benefit from speech

• Articulation disorders

• Fluency disorders

• Resonance disorders

• Receptive disorders

• Expressive disorders

• Cognitive-communication disorders

• Aphasia

• Dysarthria

• Stuttering or lisping

• Speech delay

• Issues related to autism

• Speech and communication disorders related to Parkinon’s disease, Traumatic Brain Injury, or Stroke (CVA)

How does speech therapy work?

 Speech therapy treats communication challenges, both expressive and receptive, that cause children and adults to have difficulty with verbal communication. Speech therapy also treats oral motor concerns, such as chewing and swallowing, as well as articulation, auditory processing and social skills.