Intensive Therapy Program

Our therapists create an intensive therapy program to help children improve cognitive and motor skills.

What is Intensive Therapy?

An intensive therapy program uses a delivery model of several hours of therapy per day, multiple days per week, for multiple weeks. This intensive service delivery model has demonstrated greater motor and cognitive skill improvements than programs of lower intensity.

Traditionally, pediatric therapy has been provided at a frequency of 1 to 3 times per week, 30-60 minutes in duration but in the last fifteen years, parents have been offered different therapy options for their children at varying intensities. Research has emerged supporting more intensive bouts of therapy services.

Our Therapists

Licensed Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapists have specialized training in pediatrics and also have knowledge of and training in dynamic movement intervention, neurodevelopmental techniques, sensory integration, body weight supported treadmill training, augmentative and alternative communication, and more.

What are the Benefits of Intensive Therapy?

Intensive Therapy can accelerate progress in motor & cognitive skills.

Intensive therapy provides the time needed for repetition to create new motor skills along with the assistance of utilizing specialized therapy tools, techniques, and modalities. Vital aspects of intensive interventions stress the repetition of skills and functionally-relevant practice which helps to accelerate the acquisition of each motor skill. Therapists can provide optimal doses of therapy during an intensive program to help enhance achievement of mobility, language, and cognitive skills. Multiple research studies have demonstrated enhanced performance of skills in children receiving higher intensities of therapy in comparison to lower intensities.

What are the Benefits of Intensive Therapy?

Our Experts are Experienced in

Assistive Technology (AT)

Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC)

Body Weight Supported Treadmill Training (BWSTT) with the LiteGait System

Equipment Recommendations, Adjustments, and Fitting

Feeding and Oral Motor Techniques

Gait and Stair Training

Neurodevelopmental Techniques (NDT)

Orthotic Recommendations

Sensory Integration

Therapeutic Exercises and Activities

TES’ approach to Intensive Therapy

How do we make therapy fun?

Our therapists incorporate music, games, toys, and an overall kid-focused approach to therapy sessions so the children feel like they are playing even though they are working hard throughout the session.

How do we work as a team?

Our specially-trained therapists collaborate within a multidisciplinary clinic and work together to create specialized, unique goals to address each family’s specific vision of progress for their child.

How do we include the family?

Families are encouraged to watch, ask questions, learn, practice the exercises with their children directly, and take videos and pictures of their child practicing the skills so they can go home and work on the same exercises and activities at home.

Intensive Therapy FAQs

How do you explain Intensive Therapy to a child?

Intensive therapy is an opportunity to spend lots of quality time working hard with therapists to play and learn new ways of doing activities.

What is Intensive Therapy used for?

Intensive therapy is used to help children of all ages make substantial gains in functional skills over a short period of time. Intensive therapy is helpful for children with a variety of diagnoses such as: cerebral palsy (CP), traumatic brain injury (TBI), developmental delays, ataxia, athetosis, spasticity, hypotonia, spina bifida, genetic syndromes, and more.

How many times a week does a child need Intensive Therapy?

A variety of options exist for intensive programs and range from 2-4 hours/day, 5 days a week, for 2 or 3 consecutive weeks. Many children also schedule intensive therapy programs multiple times per year, but it is recommended to wait at least 3 months between intensive sessions.