Therapeutic Links Offers Expertise In Child Development Milestones

Parents think they've prepared their children for school.

New back-to-school clothes. Check. Notebooks, pens and markers. Check.

But how are your child's motor skills? Are they hitting key milestones? Can they tie their shoelaces or pack their backpack? Does your child have trouble following directions, counting, writing or even socializing?

These are vital questions, and the staff at Therapeutic Links in Grayslake is devoted to helping parents find the answers.

Open since 2002, Therapeutic Links focuses on pediatric occupational therapy for children as young as infants through the teen years. Their staff of eight work with children who have a variety of diagnoses and needs including: ADHD, Sensory Processing Disorder; Cerebral Palsy; developmental delays; lack of fine or gross motor coordination; low muscle tone; Down Syndrome; Autism; social-emotional difficulties; and other orthopedic and neurological disorders.

In the gym

Inside their facility is a spacious gym with all sorts of equipment used by occupational therapists to work with children, such as a climbing wall, zip line, lofts, a slide, swings, suspended lycra, ball pit and more. There are also two smaller activity rooms for one-on-one attention and fine motor facilitation.

Owner Tracy Lyndon, who is an occupational therapist and a mother of three, said it's important for parents to regularly observe their children to see if they are hitting key milestones for their age, because problems may not always be realized in the classroom.

For example, she said, not having proper hand grasping skills can affect their writing and overall academic success.

Parents with questions only have to give Lyndon a call and come in for a free 15-minute screening.

"I have insight into milestones," said the mother of three kids aged 2, 5 and 7.

Therapeutic Links offers weekly individual sessions, group sessions, off-site sessions, specialized programs, even home programming.

"This is a fun place to be," said Emily Hennings, an occupational therapist on staff. "We're always learning something new."

Lyndon said her facility is fortunate to have an abundance of occupational therapists on staff, and she is the local coordinator for special training sessions for area occupational therapists, such as the Masgutova Method.

And right next-door is a pediatric physical therapist and a speech therapist.

To further her community outreach initiative, Lyndon established a therapeutic gymnastics program about a year ago aimed at children with special and developmental needs called Connected Kids.

Therapists from Therapeutic Links visit area gyms like the Gymnastics Factory in Grayslake and Ultimate Gymnastics in Gurnee on a weekly basis to work with children on motor skills and other areas of development.

"The gym setting is a natural environment and they get to be among other children," said Lyndon.

Click here to learn more or call (847) 502-8348.

Therapeutic Links' Web site is still a work in progress. In the meantime, contact them at (847) 548-3458. Therapeutic Links is located at 15 Commerce Dr., in Grayslake.