How it Works
Where to Start – Getting the Attention Your Child Needs
The most basic skill a person requires is self-regulation and this is where we start. This skill is an essential prerequisite for peer interactions, attention, and higher-level thinking. Typically in development the ability to self-regulate occurs through repetitive interactions with emotionally attuned caregivers. As the baby grows older, they rely less on caregivers to help them regulate and are able to do so increasingly independently.
When a child is born with individual differences such as over-sensitivity to touch or movement, the caregiver may be ineffective in soothing the child. The child registers typical regulation strategies, such as rocking or massaging, as aversive. Early on, there may be a mismatch based on how the child’s nervous system experiences the world and their caregiver. This mismatch can derail development and as the child matures, there may be holes in basic developmental areas that lay the foundation for success in a variety of contexts.
Our goal is twofold:
- Alter the nervous system by addressing specific core deficits
- Help parents understand how to best interact with their child’s unique profile to support interaction and healthy development.
We believe that all children are capable of being successful in everyday life; when a child is born with a profile that makes everyday life difficult, it is our responsibility to understand their profile to best support development.
What to Expect
The first visit with your pediatric therapy specialist at Amy Zier & Associates will allow you to meet and become familiar with our facility, our philosophy, and each other.
Your therapist will spend time evaluating your child using a comprehensive questionnaire, standardized assessments, and clinical observation.
We may ask you to have other caregivers or teachers complete questionnaires to provide us with critical information we will need to develop our assessment and plan of therapy.
Connecting with Others
Your child’s life does not revolve around the clinic, nor does our therapy approach. You will find your Amy Zier & Associates therapist out in the community, at school, and anywhere that is an integral part of your child’s routine.
This enables us to incorporate an eclectic, collaborative approach that allows us to treat the whole child and family by including everyone in the home program activities we develop. Some of these may include:
- Professionals: developmental optometrist, speech therapist, psychologist, neurologist, teachers, psychiatrists
- Others: babysitters, grandparents, friends and siblings