Pediatric rehabilitation: Helping children and teens live active, fulfilling lives

Your child deserves every chance to grow and be independent. UW Health Kids Rehabilitation Care experts provide rehabilitation care and therapy so that children with injuries or developmental challenges can thrive.

Programs

Personalized care plans

Our doctors and therapists create a care plan to help your child build strength and increase function and learning. Whether your child needs help with movement, speech or learning. We use a team approach to ensure your child gets the tools and therapies they need to live an active and fulfilling life.

Our therapy programs

The UW Health Kids rehabilitation programs combine the expertise of many specialists.

We work with your child to improve their functional skills and help them learn to complete everyday tasks. Our encouraging team helps kids develop self-caring and other daily living skills. Children of all ages, diagnoses and levels of development use our programs. And the therapy plans we create will work for you at home, so you can help your child grow and develop.

We provide care after surgery or injury or for other specific conditions. Working with us, your child will improve their balance and gait and strengthen their muscles. We teach your child to use any adaptive equipment they might need.

Our therapists use exercise and play therapy to help your child develop speech and verbal skills. We provide therapy to improve feeding and swallowing.

We design and fit children with a variety of custom orthotics, devices that provide support or correct alignment issues of the spine or limbs. We also create and fit prostheses (artificial limbs) which we often make in our on-site lab. Follow-up care and education are among our services.

When your child has suffered a serious illness or injury, our inpatient pediatric rehabilitation program combines intensive therapy with compassionate care to help your child recover, gain independence, maximize quality of life and transition to home.

Smiling child with sign reading UW Health Kids
UW Health Kids
Our pediatric experts have served the special needs of children for more than 100 years. We focus on each child’s unique needs and offer social and emotional support to help you and your child face even the most complex condition. Our long history includes the creation of medical advances that save lives around the world. Together, we get your child back to health and enjoying being a kid.

Conditions and treatments

Advanced rehabilitation for a range of conditions

UW Health Kids experts use various treatments and therapies to rehabilitate and manage many conditions. Not all therapies may be available in every location.

What we treat

Pediatric rehabilitation conditions
  • Aphasia

  • Apraxia of speech

  • Autism

  • Balance disorders

  • Cerebral palsy

  • Chest wall asymmetries and disordered breathing

  • Developmental delay

  • Developmental coordination disorder

  • Dysarthria

  • Feeding disorder

  • Fine motor delays

  • Genetic syndromes

  • Head injury

  • Hemophilia

  • Hypotonicity

  • Idiopathic toe walking

  • Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis

  • Lower extremity amputation

  • Muscular dystrophy

  • Neurologic disorders

  • Phonological impairment

  • Plagiocephaly

  • Sensory integration disorder

  • Spina bifida

  • Spinal muscular atrophy

  • Stuttering

  • Swallowing disorders

  • Tongue thrust

  • Torticollis

  • Traumatic brain injury

  • Tremor

  • Upper extremity amputation

  • Upper limb hypertonicity

How we can help

We provide a range of treatments and services for your child and your family.

  • Occupational therapy

  • Physical therapy

  • Psychological counseling

  • Speech therapy

  • Feeding and swallow therapy

  • Orthotics and prosthetics

  • Inpatient pediatric rehabilitation

The UW Health Kids rehabilitation care team communicates with other providers to improve the coordination of your child’s care. We work with doctors and therapists in your community and at your child’s school.

Locations

How to find us

UW Health Kids rehabilitation specialists offer care at American Family Children’s Hospital and UW Health clinics in Madison, Wis. and Rockford, Ill.

Meet our team

Expert doctors and therapists by your side

The UW Health Kids rehabilitation team includes experts in pediatric rehabilitation medicine, occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech therapy, orthotics and prosthetics.

Pediatric rehabilitation medicine
Pediatric occupational therapy
Pediatric physical therapy
Orthotists, pedorthists and prosthetist
Speech-language therapists

Related resources

Child Life

Our Child Life specialists help kids, teens and families cope with the stress and anxiety of being in the hospital.

Patient and family visitor guide

Find information about visiting American Family Children's Hospital.