Physical Therapy services promote exercise, pain reduction, mobility, strength, endurance, flexibility, balance and coordination. Specific services include gait training with or without assistive devices, wheelchair mobility skills, lower extremity prosthetic training, transfer training and positioning, wheelchair evaluations, physical capacities evaluations, back injury prevention, and back/neck educational programs utilizing the McKenzie method of back care. Treatment with traditional modalities (heat, cold, ultrasound, massage, electrical stimulation, iontophoresis), as well as aquatic (water) therapy is available. The Physical Therapy Department at The Rehab Center provides services for children and adults. A physician's prescription is required for all physical therapy services.

The focus of Occupational Therapy services is to promote independence in the tasks that occupy our time on a daily basis. Occupations of daily living can include self-care (bathing, dressing, eating), homemaking (meal preparation, cleaning, laundry), work or school activities, and play or leisure activities.

Occupational therapists help individuals develop or regain independence in a variety of ways by:

• assessing and training in the use of special devices or assistive equipment
• adapting the living environment, at home, work, or school
• increasing muscle strength or fine motor coordination in order to better use our hands and arms for daily tasks
• providing instruction in energy conservation, body positioning, joint protection, or other compensatory strategies
• splinting a hand or arm to improve function or prevent deformity
• training in the use of a prosthetic arm or hand
• assessing and treating problem-solving, planning, or organizational skills necessary for daily living
• assessing and treating the play and developmental skills of a child
• assessing and treating the reading and handwriting skills of a student

The Occupational Therapy Department at The Rehab Center provides services for both children and adults. A physician's prescription is required for all occupational therapy services except for those under a school contract (school funded therapy).

Developmental Evaluation (0 to 6 years) - An assessment of a child's medical history, physical development (gross and fine motor skills), communication (speech/language), hearing, cognitive, sensory, and social skills in a play atmosphere. The therapy team members share information about the child's strengths and needs, discuss recommendations, and provide the family with program options to access community services. A prescription or a developmental evaluation or one that lists physical therapy/occupational therapy/speech therapy/audiology evaluations is required to bill third party funding sources.

Infant/Toddler Therapy Program (0 to 3 years) - Therapists lead this group program for children showing a delay in one or more areas of development as identified through the developmental evaluation process. Each class session a physical therapist (in Ohio a prescription is mandated), an occupational therapist, a speech-language therapist and the parents/caregivers work with the children either individually or in a small group. Parent education and support are provided.

Transition Toddler Program (2.5 to 4 years) - The purpose of this program is to prepare children for community-based preschool services. A speech-language therapist and an occupational therapist lead this group program and provide individual or small group therapy during the class time. The program time offers structured and free-play opportunities. Parents are initially in the classroom and eventually move into an observation room. This assists the children with separation issues and helps them learn to adjust to structured, adult-directed activity.

BASICS (Behavior and Sensory Integration, Communication Skills) Program - Helps children with special needs improve their communication, language, expression, direction following, socialization, turn-taking, coordination and sensory awareness skills. Offers an opportunity to build self-esteem and developmental skills for quality of life. Children engage in activities exploring the use of touch, taste, smell, hearing and movement. Specifically designed for children with severe communication and/or behavioral problems, which may include children with a medical diagnosis of autism or pervasive development disorder. Parents and teachers are encouraged to observe, ask questions and help to carryout the programming in the home or school environments.

Speech therapy services include evaluation and treatment of speech, language and swallowing disorders in people of all ages. Speech disorders are characterized by difficulty in producing the sounds of speech and with producing a functional voice or natural rhythm of speech. Language disorders are characterized by difficulty in understanding the meaning of language or with verbalizing words and sentences. Swallowing disorders are characterized by difficulty with chewing, initiating a swallow, choking or aspirating food or liquid into the lungs.

Specialized services include evaluation/therapy of the following:
Non-Speaking Individuals - Therapy includes using objects, pictures, and electronic communication devices to help non-speaking children and adults express daily needs and wants.

Swallowing Disorders - Therapy focuses on instruction in exercises to improve muscle strength and coordination of the lips, tongue and throat, DPNS (Deep Pharyngeal Neuromuscular Stimulation), and compensatory strategies to improve a person's safety during eating and drinking.

Speech Reading/Hearing Impaired - Therapy includes instruction in total communication strategies including lip-reading to improve communication for the hearing impaired individual.

Myofunctional or Tongue Thrust - Therapy includes training the individual to swallow properly in order to eliminate tongue thrusting against the teeth and to maintain correct positioning of the tongue at rest.

Speech-Language Disorders in Young Children - Therapy for children may address speech sound production skills or how a child understands and uses language. The focus may also concentrate on how smoothly a child speaks or on voice quality. Therapy may also address the way a child interprets and utilizes auditory information.

Speech-Language Disorders in Persons with Neurological Problems (e.g., stroke) - Therapy for adults or children may address comprehension of language for daily living and verbal and/or nonverbal expression of basic needs and wants.

A physician's prescription is required for all speech therapy services except for those under a school contract (school funded therapy).

Audiology provides comprehensive hearing evaluations for infants, children, and adults. Hearing aid services include evaluation, selection, fitting, and repairs. Programmable, digital, and conventional hearing aids can be purchased through the Rehab Center. A physician's prescription is required for hearing evaluation when billed to a third party payer.

A prescription is not required for private pay patients requesting hearing evaluation services. A prescription or signed medical waiver is required for all hearing aid purchases.

Hearing screenings and consultation programs are provided to local industries in compliance with OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration). Hearing screenings are also provided to schools and senior centers. Infant screenings are performed in compliance with Ohio Department of Health Infant Hearing Assessment Program.

Support groups provide educational information and support for clients, family members, friends, and professionals:

• Stroke Support Group
• Laryngectomy Support Group