Continued......

Physical therapy can be of great benefit to overcome physical challenges that a foster child may be facing. If a child is having problems learning to walk, climbing stairs, running or using or controlling their muscle control you need to get them elevated for physical therapy. If you have, or thinking of fostering a child that is in a wheelchair, this therapy is used a lot with these children to help keep their muscles toned and from getting stiff.

Occupational therapy is the using of fine motor skills like, picking things up with their fingers, writing, holding and using utensils, buttoning or unbuttoning, zipping or unzipping, turning pages of a book. This just names a few things that this therapy can help with.
You may also use occupational therapy if you have a child that is autistic or has sensory issues. This could help with a child dealing, with not liking to be touched, sensitivity to certain foods or textures, struggling with different sounds, oral fixations, and so many issues.

Behavior therapy is one that is not talked a lot about. It is used with younger children that are struggling with problem behaviors like biting self, pinching self, causing pain to ones self, aggressive to others, screaming for long periods of time, struggling with a change of routine, etc.. This teaches them other ways to deal with what is bothering or upsetting them. It teaches the child, and you as the parent, ways to help the child cope with what they are feeling and safe appropriate ways to cope. In the beginning I felt behavior therapy sounded a little strange to me (okay, honestly it sounded like a bunch of bunk). We had the privilege of working with a therapist that also had been a social worker. We learned so much from her and she gave us a different outlook on behavior therapy. She gave us the knowledge and skills to work through a lot of behaviors with a difficult child.

With each child they will have different needs that may require therapies. Each child will benefit differently from therapy in their own way and time. To truly help your foster child benefit from therapy you need to practice and help them develop these skills.


“Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.”
Johann von Goethe