Terry Streetman (Host): Hello, listeners. Thanks for tuning into the Well Within Reach podcast, brought to you by Riverside Healthcare. I'm your host, Terry Streetman. And joining me today are Qiana Goosby, a licensed physical therapist; and Taylor Coblentz, a licensed occupational therapist. And today, we're going to talk about Riverside's Pediatric Therapy Services. Thanks for joining me.

Taylor Coblentz: Thanks for having us.

Host: So, we will jump right into it. We'll start with you, Qiana. Can you tell us and our listeners about your background and your role here at Riverside?

Qiana Goosby: I'm a seasoned physical therapist at Riverside. I've been here 21 years. I work primarily in the outpatient setting. I rotate between adults and pediatrics at this time.

Host: Okay. Thank you. And how about you, Taylor?

Taylor Coblentz: So, I've always loved working with children. I graduated OT school in December of '21, and I have been with Riverside, specifically the pediatric clinic since October of '24.

Host: Okay. Well, we appreciate you being here and sharing your expertise. We'll jump into it here with the basics. What is pediatric therapy and what ages do you work with?

Qiana Goosby: Pediatric therapy is exactly that. It's for children. We work with occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech therapy, and our primary target our ages newborn to 21 years old. And we specialize in diagnosis that pertain to that particular group.

Host: Okay. All right. If families are wondering about this kind of therapy, what are some common signs that a child might need therapy?

Taylor Coblentz: I would say if you begin to notice any developmental delays or you notice your child having difficulty with some different things, you know, dressing, walking, toileting, their behaviors, their emotional regulation, anything like that, I would reach out to your primary care provider and they can kind of guide you the next steps.

Qiana Goosby: We also treat pain and like physical deformities. Like, if they have postural deviations, we can treat that too.

Host: Okay, great. So, you've kind of touched on this a little bit, but what are some of the more common challenges that you see for patients who come in?

Qiana Goosby: Diagnosis-wise, for the babies, it's usually a torticollis, or it's called plagiocephaly, like flathead. But also, like what Taylor said, developmental delays, they can't roll, they can't sit up, they can't write, they can't walk. We focus more on function-based activities.

Taylor Coblentz: And then, I would say, diagnosis-wise, we could see children with autism spectrum disorders, cerebral palsy, Down's syndrome, there’s a wide variety, I'd say, and it spans across birth to 21. So, those things can always kind of change for developmental delays-wise.

Host: Okay. Well, it sounds like a wide range of conditions and a wide range of skills and expertise that you bring to the table. So, we appreciate that. So, what is the difference then between physical therapy and occupational therapy for children?

Taylor Coblentz: I would say occupational therapy, we target skills needed for learning, completing daily tasks, kind of like what I mentioned before, so like dressing, toileting, bathing, that kind of thing. And then, we also focus on fine motor skills. So, how are they moving their hands? Are they able to write? Are they able to cut? You know, are they hitting these milestones? We look at gross motor skills, so their balance, their coordination. We look at visual motor skills such as puzzles and how can they look at something and recreate it. And then, another big component is just like general play skills. How are the children able to communicate, engage with and play with other children their age? How do they communicate with those children and other adults? And then, how do they regulate their emotions? How are they able to manage when things are frustrating or difficult and that kind of thing? So, I would say that kind of covers OT. And then, I'll let Qiana jump in for PT.

Qiana Goosby: Physical therapy, we focus on movements. So for even from the babies, if they can't turn their head, if they can't roll, if they can't sit up, if they can't walk, we focus more on gross motor movements, walking balance. But we also do some sports, depending on how old the kid or how high level functioning they are. And we work on pain too, because a lot of kids who have postural deficits are in pain. So, we treat that as well.

Host: Well, I appreciate that explanation. I know, when we deal with occupational therapy in general, people are like, "Oh, that's for jobs," right? And I think this is especially a place where we're like, "Well, baby's not at work."

Taylor Coblentz: Right, right.

Host: So, thank you for the additional details there. Before we continue our conversation with the next question, we will take a moment to discuss the importance of primary care.

At Riverside, our primary care providers are right here in your community, offering personalized care for you and your family close to home, and connected to the specialists and services you may need. Having a primary care provider means having someone who knows you, listens to you, and helps you stay well through every stage of life, from annual checkups and preventive screenings to managing everyday concerns when they pop up because remarkable care should never be out of reach. Remarkable care right where you live.

To find a primary care provider who's right for you and your family, visit myrhc.net/acceptingnew.

Okay. So, we'll jump right back into our questions then. When a child comes in for the first time, you know, a family brings their child in, what does that evaluation process look like?

Taylor Coblentz: I would say it kind of depends. It can depend on what the child was referred to. If it's a baby, you know, things are going to be targeted a little bit more differently than if it's an older child. Generally speaking, I would say evaluations consists of a discussion with the parents or the caregiver, what are their concerns, what was the doctor referring for. And then, kind of going on, you can do different standardized assessments, non-standardized assessments to see where they're falling with these different age-appropriate skills in comparison to other children their age.

And then, there's obviously a lot of observation, right? You're observing how are they maneuvering through an environment, how are they demonstrating these skills, what's their demeanor like, and kind of going from there.

Qiana Goosby: I think our evaluations are pretty much similar to occupational therapy. The biggest thing is probably observation, to see how they are maneuvering in their environment and what we find wrong with it, even though they might not think anything is wrong with it. And so then, we can discuss that with the parents or the child and how we can help treat that.

Host: Sure. Yeah, I'm sure that's one of those things. You see it every day as the family and you kind of get used to it. And then, it takes an outside eye to say, "Hey, this is actually might be contributing to this issue." So then, with each individual child who comes in, how do you tailor the therapy and the goals to their unique needs and their personality?

Qiana Goosby: I think the biggest thing is that initial evaluation. We discuss with the kid and with the caregiver, "What are your goals?" Because my goals might not be what their goals are. So if they don't want to do what I think, "Oh, this is what they should be doing," they're not going to do it, and they're not going to want to do it.

So, we have to sort of get to know the kids and know the parents, see what they Like, and then we add it into our plan just so that it'll be fun for them.

Taylor Coblentz: I would say the same. I mean, I feel like at evaluation, we always ask the question, "What's most important to you? What are the things that you're feeling challenged with?" Because incorporating that into our sessions makes it, like Qiana said, more functional. It makes it like they're going to follow through a little bit better if they care more about it. So obviously, incorporating what they feel is most important is very beneficial.

Host: All right. Yeah, that personalized care, we love to see that. So then, you mentioned earlier PT, OT, speech, all of these different therapies and primary care providers as well. How do all of these different providers and therapists work together as a team?

Qiana Goosby: We talk to each other a lot. Even the doctor's office, like we call the doctors if we have any concerns or they call us when we work together in the clinic, we talk to each other daily if we share patients. If we don't share patients and we think we should share patients, we talk about that too. And we also talk with the parents like, "Hey, I've noticed this. Do you care if I refer this patient to occupational therapy?" Like, we always talk about our patients and to the doctor so we can do the best care for them.

Taylor Coblentz: I agree. And sometimes if, you know, a kid is being seen by more than one discipline, maybe they're being seen by PT and OT or OT and speech, sometimes we do what's called a co-treat. So, we'll see them together just to get the most optimal outcomes. So, that's something else that we incorporate.

Host: We love that the team behind the team and all of that. And of course, with Riverside, the myChart capabilities, bringing everything together in one place.

Taylor Coblentz: Yes.

Host: Yes. All right. How important then is the family involvement in a child's progress and what can parents do at home to help assist with meeting those goals?

Taylor Coblentz: I would say family involvement is extremely important. Kind of like what we were saying before in finding things that are most meaningful to the families is, if there's not carry-over, there's not going to be as much progress because you want these skills to be able to be used across all environments, school, home, daycare, therapy. You want this to be a lifelong skill, not just something that they're learning in the clinic and then isn't being carried over.

Qiana Goosby: Yes, I agree. We only see the patients usually once a week. So, if they are only coming and doing these skills once a week, they're not going to learn it. They're not going to retain it. No muscle memory. They have to implement it in daily life for it to be effective.

Host: Sure, yeah. You're trying to change daily habits and daily movements, so you got to try that daily.

Qiana Goosby: Right.

Host: Okay. So, we're getting toward the end here, our last question. What would you say to a parent who's nervous about starting therapy for their child?

Qiana Goosby: I would say come talk to us. You can call us. You can come visit our clinic. Come see what we have, what we have to offer. It might make them feel a little bit better about coming to see us.

Taylor Coblentz: I mean, I would say same thing, I always encourage people. I've talked to different family members who have called with questions. I'm happy to answer those. And it never hurts to bring what you're seeing, what you're feelings to your primary care provider. And they can kind of guide you through the next steps. But at this point, you're your child's biggest advocate. So if you're not speaking to someone about it or acting on it, then they're not receiving the help that they may need. So, I always encourage people over-advocate, communicate, and just try to help your child in the best ways that you can.

Host: Well, that's great. And as a reminder, the importance of that primary care provider. If you don't currently have one, you can visit myrhc.net/acceptingnew to find our providers who are currently accepting new patients.

So, thank you again for being here. That's all great information. I'm sure very useful for a lot of families in the community.

Taylor Coblentz: Thank you so much for having us. It's been very fun. Thank you.

Qiana Goosby: She took what I was going to say.

Host: Well, I appreciate that. And if people listening would like to learn more about rehabilitation and therapy at Riverside Healthcare, you can visit myrhc.net/rehabilitation.

Thank you for tuning into the Well Within Reach podcast with Qiana Goosby, Taylor Coblentz, and your host, Terry Streetman. Be sure to like and subscribe to Well Within Reach on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. To learn more about the services of Riverside Healthcare, visit riversidehealthcare.org.