Therapy specially designed for your child
At Children’s Minnesota, we’re dedicated to providing the right therapy at the right time for every patient. Our physical medicine and rehabilitation team works hard to make every visit as playful and positive as possible, because we know a child’s success is built on a supportive and encouraging experience. Rehab is most successful when we work as a team—a team that includes you, your child and our expert therapists. By partnering together, we can help your child make meaningful progress and achieve new milestones.
We know that a first visit can come with new faces and unfamiliar equipment. By preparing ahead of time, you can help the visit go smoothly and set the stage for good experiences to come.
Getting started
When you call, we’ll schedule your child’s first two visits right away—an evaluation and first therapy session:
- During the evaluation visit, we’ll ask you to answer some questions on an iPad and we’ll talk with you about your child. You know your child best, so your input is important! The rehab therapist will also assess your child’s skills and think about next steps.
- During the first therapy session, we’ll review the results of the evaluation. Together, we’ll create a care plan for your child’s therapy and schedule your next visits.
What to expect: Episodes of care
Your child’s therapy is designed for the best results. Research shows that children make more progress when they have specific goals to work on for a certain length of time, followed by planned breaks. These focused periods of visits are called episodes of care. Your child may have several episodes of care throughout their rehab journey, each one designed to help them meet new milestones.
Key features of an episode of care
- Therapist, family and patient participation: We work together to create a plan that fits your child’s unique needs.
- Mutually determined therapy goals: We will set clear, specific goals for what your child will work on during each episode.
- Home programming throughout your journey: Our therapists will teach you skills and provide activities to practice at home. This is essential for your child’s success.
- Regularly review progress and adjust goals as needed: We will track your child’s progress at each visit and make adjustments to the plan as needed.
- A clear plan for starting and stopping therapy: We will develop a new plan for your child at least every 12 visits, including how often you should come or if it’s time for a break from therapy.
Partnering for your child’s success
Therapy starts in the clinic, but the most important learning continues at home. Our family-centered approach to rehab means that you and your child are a vital part of the care team.
How we’ll partner with you
Therapists will:
- Answer all your questions about therapy.
- Determine the best therapy plan for your child.
- Create and regularly review your child’s goals.
- Discuss your child’s skills and progress.
- Provide activities for home practice.
Parents/caregivers will:
- Attend all appointments and try to be on time. If you need to reschedule, please call us at 612-813-8700.
- Participate in therapy sessions.
- Practice activities at home with your child.
- Communicate openly with your therapist about goals, progress, and how your child is feeling.
Appointment attendance and cancelation
We understand that life can be busy and plans change. If you need to cancel or reschedule your appointment, it’s important to contact the clinic right away so we can offer that time to another patient who needs care. For more details, visit our page on appointment attendance and no-show process.
