Programs that evaluate the skills of children who are having difficulty with the practical and social skills necessary for everyday life and provide therapy whose objective is to help them become as physically, psychologically and socially independent as possible. Occupational therapy is provided for children when there is a disruption in one or more of the following areas: gross motor skills, fine motor skills, cognitive-perceptual skills, sensory motor integration, visual motor skills, motor planning skills, play skills, socio-emotional skills and/or activities of daily living (self-care skills such as dressing, eating and personal hygiene). Included are programs for children with birth injuries, learning disabilities, cerebral palsy, developmental delays, intellectual disabilities, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism and a wide range of other conditions.

Programs that offer therapeutic sessions which treat individuals, usually children, who have sensory processing disorder (also known as sensory integrative dysfunction), a condition in which the brain has difficulty organizing information about one's own body and the world that is gained through the five senses (sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch). Difficulties may also affect the proprioceptive system which provides a sense of the position of the body in space and the vestibular system which provides a sense of how the body is moving even when the eyes are closed. Sensory integration is practiced by occupational therapists who design individual programs or a "sensory diet" to help individuals process and use sensory information.

Programs that evaluate joint motion, muscle strength and endurance, heart and lung function and the ability of people to perform activities of daily living; and utilize the therapeutic properties of exercise, heat, cold, electricity, ultraviolet, water, manipulation and massage to improve circulation, strengthen muscles, reduce pain and restore mobility to people who have been disabled by a stroke, arthritis, back or spinal cord injuries or other debilitating conditions. Physical therapists practice in a variety of settings including hospitals, private offices, outpatient clinics, rehabilitation centers, developmental centers, home health agencies, schools and pediatric centers.

Programs that provide comprehensive diagnostic and treatment services for individuals who have language disorders or speech impairments including people who have neurological disorders; articulation, fluency or voice disorders; delayed language; cleft palate; tongue thrust problems; stuttering; or aphasia.

Programs that are staffed by specialists who seek to maximize the functioning and development of infants, children and adolescents who require intensive rehabilitation. Pediatric patients include individuals diagnosed with brain injury, spinal cord injury, multiple trauma, orthopedic conditions, amputations, cerebral palsy, spina bifida, failure to thrive and cardiopulmonary conditions.

Language, articulation, voice and/or fluency disorders which are outside the range of acceptable variation in a given environment and which are inconsistent with the person's chronological and/or developmental age.

A developmental disorder that affects communication and behavior, and includes symptoms that impair the individual's ability to function properly in school, work and other areas of life. Although autism can be diagnosed at any age, it is said to be a "developmental disorder" because symptoms generally appear in the first two years of life. Autism is also known as a "spectrum" disorder because there is wide variation in the type and severity of symptoms people experience. People with ASD have difficulty with social communication and interaction (e.g. lack of eye contact, voice tones that sound sing-song or robotic, facial expressions or gestures that don't match what is being said), restricted interests (e.g., intense interest in numbers, details, facts), restrictive/repetitive behavior (e.g., repeating words or phrases, getting upset at changes in routine or sensory input such as light or noise). People with ASD may also experience sleep problems or irritability, but also have many strengths including the ability to learn things in detail and remember information for long periods of time; being strong visual and auditory learners; and excelling in math, science, music or art. But although ASD can be a lifelong disorder and while children who have ASD have difficulty in talking, playing with other children, and relating to others, including their own family, treatment and services can improve their symptoms and ability to function.

A condition seen in infants and toddlers that is characterized by avoiding eating or refusing to eat; limited food consumption; sucking; chewing or swallowing difficulties; choking or gagging while eating; vomiting after eating; difficulty weaning to solid foods; severe food selectivity; unwillingness to try food textures appropriate for age and development; disruptive behaviors at mealtime; and loss of weight or a significant failure to gain weight. Feeding disorders may be physical and/or psychological in origin and may be associated with premature birth, developmental disabilities such as autism or cerebral palsy, food allergies, metabolic disorders, or other anomalies.

Any of a variety of pathological or congenital conditions that make it difficult for the individual to swallow food normally. Symptoms include a lump in the throat, hoarseness, a sore throat, pain during swallowing, avoidance of specific foods or liquids and repeated attacks of pneumonia due to unconscious aspiration of food into the lungs.

A disruption in the normal hearing process that may occur in the outer, middle, or inner ear, which prevents sound waves from being converted to electrical signals and nerve impulses from being transmitted to the brain to be interpreted. Included are conductive hearing loss that results from abnormalities of the external ear and/or the ossicles of the middle ear; sensorineural hearing loss that results from malfunction of inner ear structures (i.e., cochlea); and central auditory dysfunction that results from damage or dysfunction at the level of the eighth cranial nerve, auditory brain stem, or cerebral cortex. Hearing loss may be present at birth (congenital) or become evident later in life (acquired); and may or may not preclude the normal development of language. The severity of hearing loss is measured in decibles (dB). The threshold or 0 dB mark for each frequency refers to the level at which typical young adults perceive a tone burst 50% of the time. Hearing is considered normal if an individual's thresholds are within 15 dB of normal thresholds. Severity of hearing loss is graded as mild (26-40 dB), moderate (41-55 dB), moderately severe (56-70 dB), severe (71-90 dB) and profound (90 dB).