The Therapy Program

Adaptive Physical Education:

The Adaptive Physical Education program at Springbrook strives to instill an interest in lifetime physical fitness and meet the needs of each individual student. Students are introduced to a variety of fitness activities such as swimming, roller-skating, in-line skating, bicycling, weight training, bowling, hiking, fishing, snowshoeing, and much more. The activities are adapted so each individual can be challenged and experience success to develop their full fitness potential.

 

 

  Our Adaptive Physical Education facilities at Springbrook consist

  of a heated therapy pool which is used for a wide range of

  instructional, therapeutic, and recreational purposes. The depth of

  the pool ranges from 2 feet to 4 feet. This depth allows many

  children to become independent in our pool.

 

The gymnasium serves multiple purposes to develop each student’s gross and fine motor skills. The facility also has a mile long fitness trail with a variety of stations that test each student’s muscular strength, balance, agility, coordination, and cardiovascular endurance.

Our main goal as an APE department is for each student to gain an interest in as many physical activities that can be carried on for a lifetime. Thus, students can remain physically fit and enhance their quality of life.

Occupational Therapy:

Occupational Therapy can help individuals achieve, to the greatest extent possible, the self-help, play and learning skills appropriate to their developmental level.

Springbrook has a team consisting of an Occupational Therapist and additional Certified Occupational Therapy Assistants who work together to develop and use purposeful activities, including the tasks of daily life, to promote the greatest possible functional independence for the person of any age who is dealing with the effects of disease, injury, birth defects, disability or developmental problems.

The Occupational therapy team provides a variety of consultation and direct services to the students at Springbrook. They assess and provide treatments for fine motor and sensory-motor limitations and encourage writing skills with direct interventions and classroom carryover. Oral-motor and mealtime interventions are provided as needed.

Springbrook is fortunate to have on site a “Hug Machine” which is a sensory modality and is used for students who respond to deep pressure input. Upper extremity splints, adaptive switches, and environmental modifications are provided as needed. Therapists work closely with other related service providers to enhance our trans-disciplinary approach to therapy.

Physical Therapy:

Springbrook’s Physical Therapist and two Physical Therapy Assistants provide hands-on interventions to individuals with disabilities to help them achieve their highest possible functional level in the area of gross motor development and locomotion.

Our interventions are supplemental with adaptive and therapeutic equipment such as splints, positioning devices and mobility devices. Therapists also adapt toys for student play and assist to position students during daily routines and activities. Development is enhanced by promoting movement, mobility, strengthening, balance and coordination.

Therapy may be provided on an individual basis, in a group setting, or indirectly by consulting with the school and support staff. Depending on each student’s needs, sessions may be held in the classroom setting, the PT area, in the pool or any other location which the student might need focused practice.

Physical Therapy goals are best met when all members of the educational and residential team assist us in carrying over appropriate motor activities and interventions into the individual’s daily life. Springbrook’s therapists work closely with experts in other fields, such as physicians, orthotists and equipment vendors to determine the best treatment options for the participants that we serve.

Speech Therapy:

Springbrook’s team of five Speech Language Pathologists believes that communication is the basis of all learning for the students at Springbrook. Our therapists provide a variety of services in both direct and consultative models.

Therapists work with students in individual, small and large group activities. Therapy services are provided within the classroom setting, often in naturally occurring groupings. We try to minimize pull out therapy and instead integrate therapy services into the classroom curriculum and activities.

Service levels are determined based upon the child’s individual needs and level of support they require to successfully participate in the daily classroom routine and activities.

Therapists work closely with teachers and education staff as well as residential managers and staff to facilitate each child’s speech and language development across all environments.

Augmentative communication assessments determine needs for alternative communication systems so that each student can express their wants and needs in various environments. The speech team is also involved in mealtime assessments, hearing screenings and early intervention evaluations.

Expressive Art and Music Therapy

Springbrook has a Certified Art Therapist and a Certified Music Therapist both of whom provide a creative, safe, and non-judgmental environment for our students to express themselves.

Both therapists use a variety of activities to explore art and music such as drawing, sculpting, taking pictures, playing instruments, writing/selecting songs, moving/dancing to music to expose students to the art as a means of expressing themselves.

Services include individual and group therapy sessions as well as classroom consultation. Services address a range of needs including physical, cognitive, emotional and social development as well as self-esteem, motivation, coping skills, interests and pleasures, quality of life and self-fulfillment.

Support Services

Counseling:

The School Counselor provides a variety of classroom and individualized services to the students at Springbrook. Individualized and group counseling, anger management strategies, self-esteem building, and classroom guidance are just some examples of services provided to Springbrook students by the School Counselor.

Mental health assessments are provided on an initial and ongoing basis to determine the needs of each student. Crisis counseling and assessment are provided in conjunction with other professionals as needed. The Counselor consults and collaborates with teachers, residential managers, parents and other mental health professional to ensure consistency of services and programming.