Occupational Therapy
Building independence in everyday life
- Avoids or is distressed by messy play, certain clothing textures, grooming or food textures
- Covers ears at ordinary household or classroom sounds
Strength, movement and postural control
Physiotherapy
Paediatric physiotherapy develops the movement foundations a child's development rests on — strength, tone, balance, posture and gait — through targeted exercise, handling and positioning.
- Session
- Typically 45 minutes
- Setting
- One-to-one
- Starts with
- Functional assessment
What it is
Understanding physiotherapy
Paediatric physiotherapy assesses and treats how a child moves. It addresses muscle strength and tone, joint range, balance, postural control, gait and gross motor milestones — the physical base that sitting, walking, playing and eventually classroom endurance are built on.
Treatment combines therapeutic exercise, hands-on handling and positioning, gait training, and where appropriate the use or review of orthotics and mobility equipment.
Because physical development sets the ceiling for so much else, physiotherapy frequently runs alongside occupational therapy: a child needs trunk stability before fine hand control, and postural endurance before sustained table work.
Physiotherapists
Address strength, muscle tone, balance, posture and gait, and support children towards their gross motor milestones.
Who it's for
Children who may benefit from physiotherapy
This is not an exhaustive list, and no single item on it means your child needs therapy. The assessment establishes what is actually going on.
- 01
Delayed motor milestones
Late or absent head control, rolling, sitting, crawling, standing or walking.
- 02
Cerebral palsy
Managing tone, maintaining range, preventing contracture and maximising functional mobility.
- 03
Low muscle tone
Hypotonia affecting posture, endurance and the stability that movement requires.
- 04
Balance and gait
Unsteady or atypical walking patterns, frequent falls, or difficulty on stairs and uneven ground.
- 05
Genetic and neuromuscular conditions
Down syndrome and other conditions with a significant motor component.
- 06
Torticollis and postural asymmetry
Persistent head-turn preference or asymmetric posture in infants.
Signs to look for
What parents often notice first
Children develop at different rates, and a single item here is rarely meaningful on its own. It is a pattern across several — particularly one that persists — that is worth raising with a professional.
- Motor milestones noticeably behind expected age
- Seems floppy, or conversely stiff and hard to move
- Cannot sit or stand without support at an age most children can
- Walks on toes, or with a markedly uneven pattern
- Falls frequently or tires far faster than peers in physical play
- Strong preference for one side of the body
- Slumps heavily when sitting, or cannot hold an upright posture
- Avoids climbing, running or playground equipment
Benefits
What this therapy works towards
Goals are always individual to the child. These are the areas of change the discipline is designed to produce.
Motor milestones
Targeted work on the specific components a child needs to reach the next stage of movement.
Strength and endurance
The stamina to keep up through a school day and a full session of play.
Balance and coordination
Safer, steadier movement and fewer falls.
Tone management
Techniques to manage high or low tone and maintain joint range over time.
Better posture
Trunk and postural control, which underpins hand skills, feeding and attention.
Functional mobility
Practical independence in moving around home, school and community settings.
The process
How a programme runs, step by step
- 01
Physical assessment
Assessment of tone, strength, range of movement, reflexes, posture, balance and gross motor level.
- 02
Goal setting
Functional goals agreed with the family — sitting unsupported, climbing stairs, walking a given distance.
- 03
Treatment plan
A programme of exercise, handling, positioning and, where indicated, orthotic or equipment recommendations.
- 04
Therapy sessions
Hands-on sessions progressing strength, control and movement quality as the child develops.
- 05
Home exercise programme
Parents are taught safe handling, positioning and a short daily exercise routine.
- 06
Review
Re-assessment against milestones and functional goals, with the programme progressed accordingly.
What to expect
Inside a session
- Session length
- Typically 45 minutes
- Frequency
- Set after assessment, based on need
- Setting
- One-to-one in an equipped movement therapy space
- Parent involvement
- Parents are taught handling, positioning and home exercises
Questions
About physiotherapy
If your question isn't answered here, call the centre — it is usually the quickest way to get a straight answer.
Parent resources
Reading that may help
Related therapies
Often provided alongside this
Where a child works across more than one discipline, goals are coordinated between the therapists involved.
