What is the difference between Pediatric Physical & Occupational Therapy?

Pediatric Physical Therapy:
In the pediatric outpatient setting, physical therapists are often musculoskeletal and movement specialists. Parents can seek out evaluations when their babies are as young as 1 month old. Physical therapists have in-depth knowledge about human musculoskeletal, neuromuscular, integumentary, and cardiovascular systems. Based on our background in stages of development and biomechanics, we help children with mobility difficulties; whether they are behind on their gross motor milestones, recovering from injury/surgery, or not keeping up with other children.

Pediatric Occupational Therapy
Outpatient pediatric occupational therapists are trained to improve the quality of children’s participation in their daily functional tasks.  A child’s job is to play and take part in activities at school and at home. These include important endeavors such as paying attention in class, hand writing, dressing, feeding and grooming themselves, and being able to engage in age-appropriate games. Occupational therapists are also trained to help children organize and interpret information from the environment so that they can just be kids. This may include taste aversions that limit their food intake, or texture aversions that affect their clothing tolerance, or sound aversions that affect their mood.

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Will my insurance cover my child's treatment sessions?

The world of insurance has become so complicated!  We hope to help you navigate this aspect of your child’s services and gain an understanding of how payment can be made for therapy.

Every insurance plan is different.  Before scheduling your child’s first visit, check with your health insurance carrier to see if you are covered and learn the specifics of your coverage. Insurance plans are agreements made between you and your insurer, and Theraplay Learning Center cannot ensure that an insurance carrier will pay for your child’s services. It is your responsibility to understand what types of coverage your health insurance provides and to be sure that you meet all requirements stipulated by your specific plan.   Here are some questions to ask of your insurance carrier:

• Does my plan provide coverage for my child’s occupational,  and/ or physical, therapy?

• How many visits are allowed under my insurance plan?

• If my child needs several therapies, will the same number of visits be allowed for each?

• Are there any exclusions or limitations to therapy coverage? For example, some insurance plans will not cover services for children diagnosed with developmental delay.

Your health insurance carrier will be able to inform you of your level of coverage and what, if any, copayments, coinsurances and deductibles will be your responsibility.

There are 3 options for payment of your child’s therapy:

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• In-Network Insurance Coverage

• Out-of-Network Insurance Coverage

• Self-Payment

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Call us at 785-877-0550 and we will help you with all your billing questions!