REACH OUT
FOR SUPPORT!
When your child struggles meeting
developmental milestones, having
a support system and a team
of highly skilled therapists on your side is
priceless. That’s the goal of the Manatee
Memorial Hospital Outpatient Pediatric
Therapy Service: located at 206 2nd Street
the main hospital.) to become part of the
families’ support system and, in time, part
of their family.
The program has been serving the
community for over 20 years and recently
found a new home at Manatee Memorial
Hospital (MMH). Liz Brown,
a speech pathologist since 1992 and
Director of the program, has been providing
expertise to families from the outset and
leads the experienced team.
In fact, all 13 of the MMH staff in the
years, which is one of the many reasons that
every single one of their families followed
them when they moved from another local
hospital at the turn of the year. The therapy
team prides themselves on incorporating
the parents into the sessions, so they
can carry on the disciplines at home.
This really helps the child and parents
progress together.
The program's highly skilled therapists are
there to work with children from a variety of
developmental conditions and diagnoses,
such as:
Autism
Patients can be seen from birth
right through the teenage
years. Liz explained:
“The earlier we see
the children, the
more likely they are
to respond to therapy.
Sometimes children just
need extra processing time
and we are here to help with
that.”
When children come in, they are
evaluated by all three therapists;
physical, occupational, and
WORDS: Niki Richards
Liz Brown, Director, Outpatient Pediatric Therapy
Services at Manatee Memorial Hospital
speech. The therapists then collaborate
and work together to make an individualized
therapy program for each child. Sessions
last anywhere from 30 minutes to three
hours and take place anywhere from one to
three times per week. Liz added: “Parents
come in with a wish list for their child, our
goal is to meet them in the middle.”
The Physical Therapy team uses therapeutic
play and exercise techniques to improve a
child’s ability to perform functional gross
motor movements. Occupational therapists
practice playtime activities, repetition, and
sensory integration to help children improve
abilities. Speech Therapy works interactively
with the child to improve speech, language,
and feeding skills. The three disciplines all
work very well together to improve quality
the therapists couldn’t be prouder of each
child’s individual progress.
Liz said: “If you think your child might be
struggling, talk to your pediatrician, request
a prescription for an evaluation and call us
to schedule an appointment. Always trust
your mom instinct. If you feel there is a
problem or concern, follow through with it.
We also work with children that are already
participating in therapy through the school
system or with Whole Child Manatee, we
will do second opinions - we truly want
what’s best for each individual child.”
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For more information, to schedule an appointment or for a tour, please call
the Outpatient Pediatric Therapy Services at Manatee Memorial Hospital at
(941) 745-7533. They are open 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday -Thursday and
7 a.m. – noon on Fridays.