Increased intensity of physical therapy for a child with gross motor developmental delay: a case report

The intensity of physical therapy provided for children in early intervention (EI) programs may be influenced by a number of factors. In an individualized program, however, some children and families may benefit from an increased frequency of services. The purpose of this case report was to systematically document and describe an increase in physical therapy frequency over a 4-week time frame for a child receiving EI physical therapy services.

The child was a 31-month-old girl with a diagnosis of 18p-, a chromosomal abnormality of the short arm of the 18th chromosome. Physical therapy services were increased from once every two weeks to four times a week for four weeks.

Improvement was noted on the Gross Motor Function Measure And Goal Attainment Scaling. Her age-equivalent scores on the Peabody Gross Motor Scales did not change.

A targeted increase in physical therapy frequency may be appropriate for some children receiving El services. Careful consideration of the readiness of a child, along with use of appropriate measure- ment tools, may be important for determining whether an increase is appropriate and successful.