If you have a child with autism, cerebral palsy or another special needs condition, then you know your job is to be available 24/7 to assist them.  Trying to live your own life and maintain your health can be a real challenge. This is the reason that respite services in the Twinsburg, Macedonia and Bedford areas can be so helpful – they can give you a needed break.  Here are just a few reasons to consider respite care:

• You may be more stressed than you know.  When faced with managing a home, more than one child, work and family members, most people are stressed.  Adding to that a child with special needs can be a really challenging load.  While you may be getting through the day, if you find yourself short tempered, having trouble sleeping or always fighting a cold, then your body may be telling you that you need a break.

• Your marriage may be near the breaking point.  Many, many couples find themselves in marital trouble due to the stress of raising a child with special needs.  Taking advantage of respite care means that you and your spouse can get away for a walk, go out for dinner or take in a movie, all while knowing your child is having a great time with their caregiver.

• You have other children who need your attention.  While every parent loves their kids, children with special needs may require more attention that a child without a special needs diagnosis.  Despite your best efforts, your other children may feel that they have been left to “fend for themselves.”  Respite care allows you to connect with them individually, giving them your undivided attention and love.

Is respite care something that you’d like to consider on a regular basis or for a special occasion like a vacation?  If so, we would be happy to refer you to several agencies in Northeast Ohio with qualified respite care workers that can give you the break you desperately need.  Call us today!

The transition between summer schedules and going back to school can be hard on any family, but especially those with kids with special needs.  The stress of resuming a regular schedule can cause conflict and tension for individual kids, siblings and parents.  Here are just a few tips to make sure that the first few weeks back are as stress-free as possible:

• Let them know ahead of time.  As with any major change in the schedule, family members benefit from understanding what is going on.  For kids with autism, this is particularly true.  Not only can you discuss the upcoming start of school, days off or changes to their schedule with them, but if your child is in speech therapy for autism in Akron, ask the therapist to mention it as well.  Hearing it from multiple sources can help it to seem more familiar.

• Continue with the services that are working.  Whether your child is seeing an applied behavior analysis therapist in Cleveland or attending classes in speech therapy for kids, if they are working well, try to keep them going as long as possible.  Consistency is key for kids with autism.

• Help them remember what they love about school.  Whether your child has a favorite class – say art or going to the library – stress that those activities will still be there when they return to school and will be there throughout the school year.  Their love of these activities can also be what helps them to connect with other kids in a social setting.

• Reconnect with the school.  The change back to the school year means renewing your connection with the school.  Take the time to stop in, email or call your child’s team members to say hello and let them know you are looking forward to working with them.

The transition back to school for kids with autism can be a real challenge, but one that can be managed.  Call Peak Potential Therapy for more transition ideas today! Call (330) 748-0389!

For many families, the diagnosis of autism means that their child will never go to college.  With improved access to speech therapy for kids in the Cleveland and Akron area, that is no longer a foregone conclusion.  New therapies as well as better management at college mean that many kids with high functioning types of autism can go on to have very successful careers in college.

The key for many of these children is to get them started in speech therapy for children with autism at an early stage.  Adding speech therapy for kids along with other therapies can help children with high functioning autism develop the skills they need to succeed in university environments.  While in elementary and high school, most kids benefit from an IEP system that allows parents, the child and professionals to work together to ensure that the child gets the most out of their educational experience.  Now, colleges and universities are exploring ways to replicate a similar system at the college level, offering campus-wide support.

While more and more kids with autism are having success at the college level, parents, friends and educators still need to be aware of negative outcomes for kids who may give college a try.  College can be a time for other issues to emerge and this is no different for kids who fall within the autism spectrum.  In fact, kids with a form of autism who do decide to attend college may be more likely to develop depression and anxiety.  The pressure of school and the social nature of the experience may also cause them to drop out rather than finishing their degree.

Knowing this, students need to be honest with themselves and understand that they can succeed at college if they deal with the challenges to their executive functioning capacity.  Getting additional help, talking to college advisors and even considering online coursework may all be options for kids who want to go to college.

For more information on education for kids with autism, contact Peak Potential Therapy today!  Call to speak to one of our caring, knowledgeable therapists today. Call (330) 748-0389!

Finding therapies for children with autism can be a real challenge.  There are many, many options being offered today to families who want to help their child develop new skills.  Isolating which one will work best for your child may take some research and some experimentation.  Here are just a few options for autism therapies that are worth researching.

Speech therapy. Speech therapy for kids with autism can be an effective way to help kids to get their needs met as well as building relationships with their family, teachers and new friends.  During speech therapy, a certified therapist may use pictures, new sounds, electronic devices and even songs to help kids to develop more words and inflection.

Occupational therapy. Occupational therapy can help kids to learn how to perform skills of daily living, such as putting on their own clothes or eating with a fork.  More complex activities can be added as the child progresses, allowing them to further develop and become more independent.

ABA therapies. Applied behavior analysis helps kids to learn to go to the bathroom on their own or other behaviors that follow a rote set of instructions.  Through repetition, these behaviors can become ingrained.  ABA can even be applied to some emotional issues as well.

Hippotherapy. Riding horses in a therapeutic environment can be tremendously helpful for kids with sensory issues, emotional issues and even physical development requirements.  Specially trained horses are used to encourage kids to move and relate to their environment.

Clearly, there are a lot of options for therapies for children with autism.  From speech therapy all the way to hippotherapy, there are many options for autism therapies.  For more information or to speak with an expert from Peak Potential Therapy, call (330) 748-0389 today!

If your child has been diagnosed with autism, there is good news.  Speech therapies have been shown to be very effective at helping kids with autism to develop skills that will help them to communicate appropriately with their families, teachers, caregivers and their peers!

Kids with autism may have a range of abilities in their speech.  They may not talk or try to communicate at all or may utter something that sounds like grunts, shrieks or throat-based sounds.  Other kids may hum or babble or may offer speech that sounds robotic.  Other kids that do have the ability to communicate may do so without expression in their voice, even though they are using the appropriate words and sentences.

Speech therapy can help kids by working on social communication and pragmatic language skill training in these areas.  Some of these solutions include:

Teaching them sign language. Some speech therapists use sign language as a way to bridge the gap in communication with kids with autism.

Adding sounds to their repertoire. Speech therapy for autism helps children to learn to use new sounds and to eliminate those that are not communicating a message correctly.

Providing them with electronic “talkers.” These high tech devices have pictures on the outside and can help a child talk with the press of a button.  Speech therapists can help kids with autism learn how to use this technology.

Music is an answer. Teaching a child to sing a song can help to give kids with autism the inflection and rhythm of natural speech.

Learn to play. Working with a speech therapist helps children learn the proper way to interact with toys and objects.

Would you like to learn more about how speech therapy can help children with autism? Call our caring, professional staff today at (330) 748-0389.

If your child has autism or another disability, trying to find the right summer activities can be an insurmountable challenge.  Making sure that your child has the support they need and is in an environment that understands their particular requirements is critical.  At Peak Potential Therapy, we have created several specialized summer camp opportunities specifically geared toward kids that have autism, Down Syndrome and other related disabilities.

The goal of these camps is to help kids with disabilities continue their learning over the summer, all while making friends and creating memories that they can carry with them.  Our structured environments are run by professionals, such as Occupational Therapists, Speech Therapists and those with experience in special education.  Our 2014 camps include:

Camp Suntastic is a great fit for for nine to thirteen year olds.  For tweens who want to have fun and who want to learn, too, Camp Suntastic is ideal for kids with PDD-NOS, Asperger’s, Down Syndrome, Apraxia, Cerebral Palsy and Traumatic Brain Injury who would like to work on social and daily living skills in a gentle teaching environment.

S.M.I.L.E. Summer Camp is a day camp that is centered on therapy and integrating skills that campers learn each day.  This day camp allows kids to take part in fun day trips that help them to work on social skills, communication and emotional regulation.  Day trips include going to the movies, swimming and going to the park, all with qualified, professional staff.

Camp Suntastic and S.M.I.L.E Summer Camp are all designed for kids that need an opportunity to get out, practice their skills and have a great time.  A variety of schedules are available to meet the needs of every family.  For more information, contact Peak Potential Therapy today to speak to one of our friendly, knowledgeable staff members.  Get your child registered today!  Time is running out!

Applied Behavior Therapy (ABA) has become one of the most common therapies for autism.  If you are considering ABA therapy for your child, there are some things to know before you commit to the process.

ABA is a safe and effective therapy. ABA is well recognized as a safe and effective therapy for children with autism.  It is a highly structured program that is centered on skill acquisition, such as toileting, getting dressed and brushing teeth.

ABA helps to develop skills. Through an ABA program, patients can develop basic skills such as listening and imitating.  Other, more complex skills include reading, conversation and social communication and cues.

ABA is focused on behaviors. ABA therapy is not focused on the “why” something is done, it is simply focused on getting the correct response.  This is taught by rewarding good behaviors and eliminating negative responses.

ABA is comprehensive. Prior to beginning therapy, a certified ABA therapist will create a detailed curriculum. Behaviors are broken down step by step for every type of behavior, including the development of language skills and self-care.

ABA can take kids mainstream. With the focus on creating behaviors, it is possible for some kids to be mainstreamed in their school district.

While ABA can be very effective for many kids, like every therapy it has limits. ABA is ideal for creating behavioral responses, but does not take into account a child’s desires. For that reason, Peak Potential Therapy uses a hybrid Behavior Therapy model that incorporates Floortime which recognizes a child’s unique personality and wants.

Interested in more information about how ABA and Behavior Therapy work? Give us a call today?

Speech therapy specifically for children with autism can be one of the most effective ways to help your child develop.  Children who have been diagnosed with autism may have a range of symptoms that a comprehensive speech therapy program can address.

While some children may not talk at all, others may make noises such as humming or babbling.  Other children with autism may be able to talk, but may be lacking expression in their voice.  It is also common for kids with autism to have issues with conversation, understanding, or echolalia (repetition of words).  Speech therapy can help with all of those issues.

How do speech therapists make progress with their patients?  Here are just a few of the tools that they use to assist kids with autism in making progress:

Provide electronic “talkers.” Electronic “talkers” look much like a children’s toy, but are actually sophisticated communication devices. Programmed with common words that can help a child to get their message across, speech therapists can help children connect with the word and the action.

Teach signing or typing. For children with limited speech skills, speech therapists can also teach sign language or typing as another method of communication while they work on enhancing speech.

Use pictures for communication. Visual cues, such as using pictures, can help kids with autism to connect what they see with the sound that a word makes. This can give kids a new way to “talk” to the people in their family, decreasing frustration.

Teach sounds. Speech therapists are also experts at helping kids to understand how to make how to make the basic sounds that comprise speech. These basic sounds are the building blocks to our language.

Improve articulation. For kids that can speak, speech therapists can help to refine their articulation, making their communication much easier to understand.

Sing songs to improve speech. Kids with autism can also benefit from singing songs. Songs teach new words, rhythm and meaning.

These are just a few way that a qualified speech therapist can help to improve a child’s speech. Contact Peak Potential Therapy today for more information on our services!

Has your child been recently diagnosed with autism, Down’s syndrome or cerebral palsy? Not sure what to do next? You aren’t alone…If your child has a new disabilities diagnosis, it can be frightening to try out how to navigate the first steps. Questions about the road ahead, the options for your child and many different types of therapies may leave your head swimming with confusion and questions. Knowing what to do first can be almost impossible.

The first step is to call us. Our caring, knowledgeable team can begin to support you and your family right away. And, our intake process is simple. There aren’t tons of forms to fill out – just a simple one page form on our website and we will come to your home to finish the intake. On our online intake form, we will ask you basic information, such as as your contact information, your child’s diagnosis and what types of services you are interested in hearing more about. At that point, one of our team members will contact you by phone to schedule a time to meet with you for free. During the actual intake meeting, you will get to meet your therapist, work on your child’s treatment plan and have all of your questions answered.

Picking up the phone to call Peak Potential Therapy is a small step that can lead to big gains for your child. Call today for more information or complete our online intake form for your free intake session.

If it is exhausting for your child to make their needs known, it may be time to consider individualized speech therapy.If your child is struggling to communicate their needs and feelings and is not succeeding, then you can sense their deep frustration. No parent wants to see their child upset and unhappy especially when all they are trying to do is communicate. And, speech skills are critical. Having good speech skills not only contributes to personal confidence, but to success at home and at school.

Making gains in speech skills is possible. The expert speech therapists at Peak Potential Therapy spend time understanding your child and evaluating their current speech level. Can your child make speech sounds? Can they make speech sounds, but not clearly? Are they having trouble understanding and producing language? Are they having rhythm and fluency issues? After evaluation, our caring therapists will work with you and your child in your own home to create improvements in those specific areas.

Communication doesn’t have to be hard for your child. Let the speech therapy professionals at Peak Potential Therapy assist your child right in your own home. You’ll be delighted to see the progress that your child can make.