APRIL & MAY: What THEY stand for!

April has come and pass, but it brought warmer weather…and MAY! Finally!! For many reasons, April AND May are always very special to TherapyWorks. We celebrate these months in clinic for reasons that are dearest to our hearts.

Reason 1: April, honors and celebrates Autism Awareness throughout and on a specific day as well; April 2nd marked the 11th annual “World Autism Awareness Day“. Autism does not end in April and it certainly does not become less important after the 2nd day of the month. Join us in celebrating autism awareness month throughout the month of April by finding ways to support the community and foundation. Autism prevalence is now one in every 59 children in America. Show your support for people with autism by wearing the Autism Awareness Puzzle Ribbon or simply adding the ribbon to your FB profile photo, not just in April, but throughout the year! A simple gesture can go a long way sometimes. Learn more about the diagnosis and what you can do to help the cause by visiting “www.autism-society.org” and/or visiting their Facebook page: “facebook.com/AutismSociety“.

Reason 2: “Occupational Therapy Month” is apart of April as well! We sure do love our O.T’s. here at TherapyWorks. Without these wonderful therapists, we wonder where the treatment would come from. O.T.’s treat so many children and adults with challenges such as Autism, DHD, Brachial Plexus, Sensory Processing, Fine Motor Skills and Sensory Developmental Delays. We would be lost without them as they have helped so many of our kids overcome challenges an surpass expectations. Just like Speech and Physical therapy, Occupational Therapy is very important to our growth and development in this world. Occupational therapy has been around for 101 years, starting back in the WWI era as ‘reconstruction aides’ in 1917. Helping our soldiers is an amazing way for a segment of an industry to begin! To all the O.T.’s here at TherapyWorks and the other hundreds of thousands across the globe, keep working wonders and healing hearts! You make this world a better place! THANK YOU! 💙.

Reason 3: “Better Speech & Hearing Month” means we celebrate all the SLPs out there doing their part to help everyone enjoy everyday sounds! We have a special spot for them as well as our OT’s & PT’s. Speech, language, and swallowing disorders result from a variety of causes, such as a stroke, brain injury, hearing loss, developmental delay, Parkinson’s disease, a cleft palate, or autism. This is where those special therapists come. With a Masters in hand, just like Occupational Therapists, they play a huge role in helping to strengthen the critical motor skills needed to live a happier life. There is a misconception out there about SLPs. Speech-language pathology is not simply restricted to adjusting a speaker’s speech sound articulation to meet the expected normal pronunciation, but also to help with speech fluency, language development, working with augmentative communication devices, Apraxia, literacy, voice difficulties and feeding/swallowing problems. So when you think about it, they do so much more than help with pronunciation and fluency. They’re our everyday heroes! So THANK your SLP when you get a chance, they deserve a lot of praise. MAY IS THEIR MONTH!