The Rehabilitation Services Department at Queen’s North Hawai’i Community Hospital (QNHCH) is now providing pediatric physical therapy for children from newborn up to age 18 years. Pediatric physical therapy focuses on developing a child’s mobility, strength, flexibility, balance, coordination, and endurance to be successful at home, in the community and in school. Pediatric physical therapists treat children with a wide range of injuries and congenital conditions. Common conditions include toe walking, gross motor delay, cerebral palsy, developmental coordination disorder, developmental delays, Down syndrome, autism spectrum disorders, and muscle weakness.
Can My Child Benefit from Pediatric Physical Therapy?
Infants
- Does your baby prefer to turn his/her head or look one way?
- Does your baby have a difficult time holding his/her head up?
- Does your baby have a difficult time rolling, sitting or crawling on the floor?
- Does your baby have a birth condition such as Down syndrome, autism spectrum disorder or cerebral palsy?
- Does your baby respond to noise or his/her name appropriately?
Toddlers/School Aged Children
- Does your child walk on his/her toes?
- Was your child recently injured or recently out of a cast following a broken bone?
- Does your child have a medical condition making it difficult for to move?
- Does your child have difficulty communicating or making eye contact, and easily cries or becomes irritable?
- Does your child move differently than kids his or her age?
- Does your child have pain or weakness following an accident or injury?
- Does your child have difficulty running, jumping, throwing or catching?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, consider pediatric physical therapy to help maximize your child’s development. To check if your child is meeting his or her developmental milestones, visit
www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/milestones/index.html Contact your healthcare provider for a referral or call QNHCH Rehabilitation Services at 881-4860 for more information.
