Taking advantage of our outstanding professional network in Summerlin (Las Vegas)
Children diagnosed with Autism may and often do have complex medical needs, including comorbid disorders that go beyond the scope of a BCBA’s expertise and ABA therapy.
That is why we are excited to announce our location within the Summerlin Medical Office Building!
This office building is home to other services your child may require, and we hope you will explore your options within this connected and convenient location. Here is some information regarding other services that might be recommended for your child:
Speech Therapy
Children may be referred to a speech-language pathologist (SLP) for a variety of reasons. An SLP may see a child when their vocal verbal language and communication skills aren’t up to par with similar-aged peers or there are concerns about their lack of words, pronunciation of words, or higher rate of being misunderstood or not understood at all when speaking to others.
Speech therapy helps strengthen the mouth muscles necessary for the proper formation and pronunciation of words. Speech therapy sometimes goes hand-in-hand with feeding therapy, where children may have trouble biting, chewing, or swallowing due to weak jaw muscles, which likely also contributes to their speech difficulties.
Speech therapy might be recommended in these instances such as:
- hearing impairments
- cognitive (intellectual, thinking) or other developmental delays
- weak oral muscles
- chronic hoarseness
- cleft lip or cleft palate
- autism
- motor planning problems
- articulation problems
- fluency disorders
- respiratory problems
- feeding and swallowing disorders
- traumatic brain injury
Occupational Therapy
Children with physical or cognitive difficulties may be referred to an occupational therapist. An occupational therapist is a specialist trained to help children with everyday tasks such as getting dressed, appropriate play with toys, social skills, making a bed, etc.
The difference from ABA therapy is that an occupational therapist can work with both typically developing and neurodivergent types of children, as opposed to ABA which requires an Autism diagnosis. In occupational therapy, your child may be introduced to special devices such as slings or handheld devices that can help with everyday tasks, if a child has some type of limitation preventing them from completing this on their own.
The goal is to adapt to each individual child’s needs and allow them to function autonomously and as close to their same-aged peers as possible, regardless of physical or cognitive disability.
Children may be referred to an occupational therapist for the following conditions:
- birth injuries or birth defects
- sensory processing disorders
- traumatic injuries to the brain or spinal cord
- learning problems
- autism
- juvenile rheumatoid arthritis
- mental health or behavioral problems
- broken bones or other orthopedic injuries
- developmental delays
- post-surgical conditions
- burns
- spina bifida
- traumatic amputations
- cancer
- severe hand injuries
- multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, and other chronic illnesses
In our network within the Summerlin Medical Office Building, we will recommend a professional for more information on how to get started!
Physical Therapy
A physical therapist may be recommended for your child if they need assistance or have limitations with movement. This could be anything from a temporary injury that requires restrengthening of muscles to physical disabilities such as those found in cerebral palsy, where everyday movement may be difficult.
Either way, physical therapists are there to help children with coordination, crawling or walking, adaptive play, aquatic therapy, balance, and flexibility.
A physical therapist may be recommended for circumstances such as:
- sports injuries
- developmental delays
- cerebral palsy
- genetic disorders
- orthopedic injuries
- musculoskeletal disorders
- heart and lung conditions
- birth defects (such as spina bifida)
- effects of exposure before birth to drugs or alcohol
- acute trauma
- head injury
- limb problems
- muscle diseases
- mobility issues related to autism
Here in Nevada Autism Center, we will happily recommend specialists on PT and other therapies located within the Summerlin Medical Office Building in Las Vegas, NV!