The One-Stop-Shop for All Things Pediatric Therapy! – WDIV Segment #3

Metro EHS staff members sitting around a table together smiling and talking

A Collaborative, Child-Centered Approach

At MetroEHS, therapists from various disciplines—speech-language pathology, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and applied behavior analysis (ABA)—collaborate to address the diverse needs of each child. This team-based approach ensures that therapy is cohesive and comprehensive, promoting optimal outcomes.

Dr. Vira Francis, a speech-language pathologist at the West Bloomfield location, emphasizes the importance of this collaboration:

“When we’re using a collaborative and holistic approach with children, it’s like each team member is a puzzle piece. We really make that impact when we all come together to make the big picture, and it really helps to prioritize the child’s needs.”

Services Offered

MetroEHS provides a wide array of pediatric therapy services, including:

  • Speech Therapy: Addressing communication challenges, articulation, language development, and literacy skills.
  • Occupational Therapy: Focusing on daily living skills such as bathing, dressing, grooming, toileting, feeding, play, social participation, and school readiness.
  • Physical Therapy: Enhancing gross motor skills, balance, coordination, and strength to support functional movement and participation in activities.
  • ABA Therapy: Utilizing evidence-based strategies to improve socially significant behaviors in children with autism and other developmental disorders.

Each therapy session is designed to be engaging and child-led, incorporating play-based methods to make therapy enjoyable and effective.

Creating a Stimulating Environment

The West Bloomfield center is intentionally designed to be colorful and kid-friendly, providing a stimulating environment that encourages active participation. Therapists tailor activities to each child’s interests and sensory needs, ensuring that therapy sessions are both fun and beneficial.

Empowering Families

MetroEHS is committed to not only supporting children but also empowering parents and caregivers. By providing education and resources, they enable families to reinforce therapy goals at home and advocate effectively for their children’s needs.

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February 23, 2023

METROstaffing In Detroit

Let us reinvent your workforce for the better. Expect to receive effective and reliable staffing solutions from us.

Positive Relationships

Because METROstaffing is therapist-owned and operated, we know how important your needs are. We will handle finding and retaining your therapist and supporting them clinically so you are free to focus on running your facility!

By working with METROstaffing, we take care of everything and immediately begin to reduce your costs at the outset of our relationship.

Your facility will no longer bear the concerns and overhead for items such as pensions, disability insurance, healthcare, and administrative costs. Our experience shows an average savings of 8–10%, in payroll alone for each full-time employee.

We provide maternity, medical leave, and FMLA coverage for all of your related service needs: Speech, OT, PT, Psych & Special Ed Teachers.

We provide therapists for part and full time and can also cover both short and long term placements. We also offer Tele-Therapy services that can be used as a bridge until a ‘live’ therapist is procured; to keep students in IEP compliance and prohibit litigation possibilities.

Building A Better Business

We have developed a highly successful model that enables facilities and therapists to work together in ways that benefit both parties. Granting job satisfaction for the therapist translates into the longevity of your facility.

We provide therapists for part and full time and can also cover both short and long term placements.

From our web-based billing and payroll system to our clinical support team, we support our therapists completely so your time and effort can be directed to other areas of your business.

Innovative Remote Services

METROstaffing offers unique Tele-Practice Therapy services for rural, remote, and underserved communities, as well as to culturally and linguistically diverse populations. Through the application of telecommunication technologies, we can provide therapy services at a distance.

If your facility falls into one of these categories or if you would like more information on this great service, call us today! We would love to answer your questions about our other services such as teletherapy and pediatric therapy in Metropolitan Detroit.

June 17, 2022

What Is the TheraSuit Method and How Does It Help Children Build Motor Skills?

History of TheraSuit

Richard and Izabela Koscielny are physical therapists, who have a daughter diagnosed with cerebral palsy and tried out suit therapy with her. After significant improvements with the suit, they modified and created their own suit specialized for therapeutic benefits, called TheraSuit™.

How Does TheraSuit Work?

  • TheraSuit worn over a prolonged time will correct proprioception and accelerate progress with functional strengthening
  • Skills practiced become more fluent when TheraSuit is worn
  • TheraSuit facilitates the development of new gross and fine motor skills faster than typical therapy approaches

Benefits Seen with TheraSuit

  • Retraining the central nervous system
  • Restores ontogenetic development
  • Provides external stabilization
  • Normalizes muscle tone
  • Aligns the body to as close to “normal” as possible
  • Provides dynamic correction
  • Normalizes gait patterns
  • Provides tactile stimulation
  • Influences the vestibular system
  • Improves balance
  • Improves coordination
  • Supports weak muscles
  • Decreases uncontrolled movements in ataxia and athetosis
  • Improves body and spatial awareness
  • Provides resistance to muscles to further enhance strengthening
  • Improves speech production and fluency through head control and trunk support
  • Promotes gross and fine motor development
  • Helps decrease contractures
  • Helps improve hip alignment through vertical loading
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Patient Populations

  • Most major neurological diseases/diagnoses:
    • Autism
    • Down Syndrome
    • Cerebral Palsy
    • Cerebral Vascular Acciden
    • Traumatic Brain Injury
    • Spinal Cord Injury
  • Posture/alignment asymmetries
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Intensive Physical Therapy Schedule

  • Intensive physical therapy is meant to be done 3 hours/day, for 5 days/week for 3-5 weeks
  • Recommended to complete 3-4 intensive bouts of therapy throughout the year
  • Breaks between the bouts have been shown to be more beneficial for the patient vs continuously pushing for months on end
  • Recommended to complete HEP 1-hour/day to compliment exercises done in intensive, allowing the patient to not only maintain, but improve their functional abilities
  • The schedule of 4  weeks was created specifically in order to change the neuro-pathways, and allow for increased improvements

In General

  • Week 1 works on correct muscle activation and beginning to complete basic concentric exercises
  • Week 2 works on solidifying concentric movements and working into eccentric movements
  • Week 3 solidifies the eccentric movements and introduces isometric holds
  • Week 4 focuses all on isometric holds, working into more complex exercises, as well as creating POC and HEP for time off between bouts of intensive

Work to decrease primitive reflexes and general movements that are present → goal-directed movements → selective effective strategies → refining skills → maintaining through practice

March 11, 2021

Opening up New Opportunities with Pediatric Therapy in Spanish!

Brittany: Hello! My name is Brittany, I am the bilingual Speech Pathologist at Metro EHS in Sterling Heights and Detroit.

Mallory: Hi! My name is Mallory, and I work in the Human Resources Department at the administrative office in Plymouth.

B: And we are so excited to announce that MetroEHS now offers speech therapy in Spanish and English!

M: That’s great! We can service Metro Detroit kids in their native language! But Brittany, can you tell me how to know if my child needs speech therapy?

B: Sure! If you have concerns about the language or articulation development of your child, it is possible that he/she might benefit from speech therapy. For example, if your child cannot pronounce certain sounds, does not say a lot of words or combine words to form sentences, or if you cannot understand him/her, we can do an evaluation to see if he/she qualifies for speech therapy.

M: That sounds great! What happens next?

B: After the evaluation, if therapy is necessary, we are able to initiate therapy in English, Spanish, or both languages to help your child communicate with family, friends and all of the people in the child’s life using their preferred language.

M: So cool! Are any other therapies offered?

B: Of course! We also offer therapy for feeding difficulties, stuttering, problems with social language secondary to autism, and the use of augmentative and alternative communication for children who are not able to talk using verbalizations. Here at MetroEHS we also offer occupational and behavior therapy at all of our centers. We have a phenomenal team of therapists that provide individualized services for your child. And Mallory, you can assist Spanish-speaking families get started, right?

M: Of course! We accept most insurances. I would be happy to answer any questions that families might have. Call our office to see if your child might benefit from speech therapy or other therapies in Spanish, English, or both languages. Our telephone number is 313-278-4601. We would love to talk to you!

Brittany: Hola! Me llamo Brittany y soy la terapeuta bilingue de habla en MetroEHS en Sterling Heights y Detroit.

Mallory: Hola! Me llamo Mallory y trabajo en el departamentro de recursos humanos en la oficina administrativa en Plymouth.

Brittany: Estamos emocionados de anunciar que MetroEHS ofrece la terapia de habla en ingles y espanol.

Mallory: Que excelente! Podemos proporcionar la terapia de habla a ninos en MetroDetroit en su idioma nativo. Brittany, me puedes explicar como saber si mi hijo necesita la terapia de habla.

Brittany: Por supuesto! Si tiene preocupaciones del desarrollo del lenguaje o de la articulacion de su hijo es posible que se beneficie de la terapia de habla. Por ejemplo,  si su hijo no puede pronunciar ciertos sonidos, no dice muchas palabras ni combina palabras para hacer oraciones, o si no le puede entender a su hijo, podemos hacer una evaluacion para ver si califica para la terapia de habla.

Mallory: Suena muy bien! Que pasara despues?

Brittany: Despues de la evaluacion, si las terapias son necesarias, podemos iniciar las terapias en ingles, espanol o ambos idimos para ayudar a hijo a comunicarse con la familia, los amigos y todas las personas en su vida usando su idioma preferido.

Mallory: Guau(wow)! Ofrecen otras terapias?

Brittany: Tambien ofrecemos terapias para dificultades con la alimentacion, el tartamudeo, problemas con el lenguje social secundario al autismo, y el uso de comunicacion aumentativa y alternativa para ninos que no puede hablar con verbalizaciones. En MetroEHS, ofrecemos la terapia ocupacional y la terapia de comportamiento (ABA). Tenemos un equipo fenomenal de terapeutas que proporcionan servicios individualizados para su hijo. Mallory, tu puedes ayudar a las familiar que hablar espanol en la oficina, verdad?

Mallory: Por supuesto! Aceptamos muchos seguros medicos. Yo estaria encantada de responder a cualquier pregunta que tenga. Llame nuesta oficina para ver si su hijo se podria beneficiar de la terapia de habla en espanol, ingles, o ambos idiomas. El numero de telefono de la oficina es 313-278-4601. Nos encantaria hablar con usted.