Vestibular
The vestibular system includes the parts of the inner ear and brain that help control balance, eye movement and spatial orientation. It helps keep you stable and upright. Children with vestibular issues may not know where their body is in space. This can make them feel off balance and not in control. You might see this child as “awkward and clumsy.” They may become frustrated with an activity such as running or even going up and down stairs, but it is actually due to difficulty knowing how their body is oriented and whether it’s stable. They may move slowly or avoid activities that are too challenging. You may observe that they avoid physical activities that other kids find fun. For example, they might be fearful on a swing because they’re not receiving the sensory input to tell them they’re securely seated so as the swing moves, they struggle with understanding how to shift their weight to balance.
Proprioceptive
Proprioceptive delays can be easily misinterpreted as the child misbehaving or not following direction. Although, in fact, a child is often frustrated that they are reprimanded for behaviors that are outside their control. These behaviors occur due to the brain not telling the body how much strength it requires to do something. These are the kids that are often viewed as careless or rushing; the ones that are constantly told to “slow down.” Perhaps you have witnessed a child pick something up, but they do it with full force and drop it on the floor. This is due to the child not being able gauge the strength or force the need to use. This child may break the pencil point because they’re writing too hard, rip a page when they just meant to turn it or slam into someone when their intention was a gentle hug. They may be in constant motion, bump into things or seem out of control. When kids don’t get enough feedback from the sensory system, they may exaggerate their movements to get the information they need from the environment. They may love physical activity, but can’t slow down and often don’t recognize that some of the things they do put them at risk of getting hurt
Sibling Relational Therapy
There are challenges within all relationships, but not to the degree that you feel overrun by your children. This service is for parents who can declare feeling complete disconnect between their children. Therapist will work jointly with the siblings in sessions. Parents will work 1:1 with the therapist during feedback sessions, while learning how to transfer/generalize the skills learned in sessions into real life scenarios.
IEP Consultation
Often behavioral concerns are found in more than one environment. This is especially true within the educational setting. Parents are often left feeling helpless and without support. "How do I know what to ask for when I don't know what is offered?" While acting as a resource. Strategic Alternatives can help guide you through the process of requesting and obtaining what services the PA public school districts must provide to your child. Parents will be able to generate a list of concerns to fulfill the parent feedback section required for testing
On site services:
I am available for on site, classroom visits for observation. I collect data and assess the function of the behavior. An Functional Behavioral Analysis is completed through observe the child in 3 separate settings within the school while tracking the antecedent or activating event that led to the behaviors. Based on the observation, data and feedback from the school, I will determine if the behavior is attention seeking (I can’t communicate what I’m feeling) or Escape (I’m going to do whatever I can to distract you from making me do this.) These findings will be provided in a written report that the parent can share with the school.
This service is contractional and billed by the hour. The anticipated time needed for this service is 5 hours. This will include the observations and written report.
Behavior Modification Plan:
Following data collection and determining the function of a child's behavior a Positive Behavior Support Plan can be created. The intention of this plan is to be used as a resource for those working with the child. Strategies and techniques will be written to support school staff and family members with extinguishing the nonpreferred behaviors. The behavior plan will be specific to the behaviors exhibited by the individual child; "In the event that Matthew crawls under his desk, school staff will utilize Proximity Control while utilizing the Keeping The Demand On strategy.
This service is contractional and billed by the hour. The service hours are billed based on how in depth the behavior plan is and severity of targeted areas.