Development Therapy Services

Children having feeding and swallowing disorders are referred from this clinic to ‘Feeding and Dietary clinic’. Developmental therapy is principally a home-based therapy where parents or care-givers play a role of therapist.

Our Team

Developmental therapy is a relatively new term, now practiced in developing countries with limited resources. Occupational and physiotherapy are the most important part of the management of children with developmental delay, as are speech and language therapy. All are carefully planned programmes that build the child’s strengths and interest to enhance and develop their skills. These therapies are always tailored to the child’s specific needs.

Occupational therapy offers intervention for children with a wide range of specialty areas that include: fine motor difficulties, independence and self-care skills, dressing, feeding, play skills, mobility, perceptual and cognitive skills, sensory processing etc.

Physical therapy works with children and their families to promote physical independence. It plays a significant part in the child’s comfort and well-being. Physical therapists help children learn using goal-directed exercises and play activities. When started from an early age, it helps babies with CP and other movement disorders to learn the correct ways to move, maximizing their abilities to prevent deformities and contractures.

In this clinic a good number of children come with associated speech and language delay along with their motor and cognitive delay, thus requiring speech and language therapy.

In developing countries like Bangladesh, most of the parents who attend our centre cannot afford to go to separate therapists like physiotherapists, occupational, speech and language therapists. So, dedicated experts specially trained in these fields of development, termed developmental therapists, undertake all these areas of development under one roof in a holistic approach. This therapy is an approach that integrates the philosophies of occupational therapy, physiotherapy, speech and language and cognitive stimulation.

Children having visual impairment are given visual stimulation here, but those with severe visual impairment are referred to specialists in the department of Ophthalmology of the University, as severe visual impairment might affect all areas of development, and specialist help can play an important role in preventing or overcoming these difficulties.

Children having feeding and swallowing disorders are referred from this clinic to ‘Feeding and Dietary clinic’. Developmental therapy is principally a home-based therapy where parents or care-givers play a role of therapist. Therapists first discuss the diagnosis and then perform and at the same time teach parents how to carry on the therapy at home. Parental cooperation is the mainstay of this type of treatment as they are the main persons upon whom the prognosis depends. Parents are asked to attend the centre periodically for follow up.