Pediatric Rehabilitation Services

The best rehab choice for the children in your care

The Rehabilitation Services at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital serve the therapeutic needs of infants, children and adolescents.

Helps us push the boundaries of what is possible as we work to achieve the best possible outcomes and quality of life for our patients.

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When a young child has a developmental delay, early intervention is key to the best possible outcome. A "wait and see" response to observed delays can lead to missed opportunities that adversely affect a child's growth, development and potential.

Rehab Designed for the Unique Needs of Children

At Nicklaus Children's Hospital we offer a full range of bilingual diagnostic and therapeutic services to meet the needs of infants, children and adolescents. All pediatric rehabilitation services are provided by a team of professionals who focus on the medical, therapeutic and educational needs of the child and family.

Nicklaus Children's Hospital rehabilitative program includes both inpatient services offered to patients in the hospital’s neonatal, pediatric and cardiac intensive care units as well as outpatient care available at the hospital’s main campus and other South Florida locations.

A Select Team of Rehab Specialists

The first step in rehabilitating a child is to provide a team of pediatric rehabilitation specialists who understand the physical, emotional and psychological needs of children and their families at varying stages of life. The entire team has advanced training in meeting children's specialized needs, as well as how best to engage them in the rehabilitative process. The specialists include:

After a comprehensive evaluation, a treatment plan is developed with the child’s family to enable patients to achieve maximum functional levels as quickly as possible. Our team is dedicated to provide children with the best opportunity to improve their daily function, level of independence and quality of life.

Therapeutical Treatments and Services

Nicklaus Children's offers a comprehensive array of therapy services for children and teens, including:

Applied Behavioral Analysis
Auditory Brainstem Response Evaluation
Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC)
Blood Flow Restriction
Cardiac Rehabilitation
Conditioned Play Audiometry
Dynamometer
Hearing Test
ILU Abdominal Massage
Music Therapy
Neonatal Auditory Screening
Occupational Therapy (OT) Evaluation and Treatment
Otoacoustic Emissions Evaluation
Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy
Physical Therapy (PT) Evaluation and Treatment
Pinch Meter
Return to Sports ACL Testing and Injury Prevention
Speech Audiometry
Speech Therapy
Tracking Rehabilitative Advancement through Accountable Care (TRAAC)
Tympanometry
VFSS (Videofluoroscopy Swallow Study)
Visual Reinforcement Audiometry
Auditory Processing Disorders Evaluations
Aquatic Therapy
Bone Anchored Hearing Aids
Brain Injury/Concussion Evaluation
Brachial-Plexus Evaluation and Treatment
Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Tics (CBIT)
Constraint Induced Movement Therapy
Feeding and Swallowing Therapy
Feeding and Swallowing Therapy with Vital Stimulation
Fiberoptic Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing (FEES)
Fluency Evaluation and Treatment
Gait Lab
Hand Therapy
Interactive Metronome
Nasopharyngoscopy with Endoscope Evaluations
Orthopedic/Sports Medicine
Serial Casting
Simi Motion Analysis
Voice Evaluation and Therapy
Voice Therapy with Instrumentation
Videofluoroscopy Study of Velopharyngeal Function During Speech
Wheelchair/ Seating Assesments (Wheelchair Clinic)
Wound Care Evaluation and Treatment

Conditions We Treat

The Brain Institute offers a comprehensive array of multidisciplinary programs that treat the following conditions:

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Scheduling Rehab Services

In order to begin rehabilitation services at NCH, each child requires a current, comprehensive evaluation, based on the children's individual needs, diagnosis, and age. To begin this process and to schedule an initial evaluation please use the link below.

Schedule Appointment

What to expect before your rehab evaluation is scheduled

Prior to your child’s evaluation, please complete the mobile pre-registration and clinical documentation, which you will receive via text message.

Please ensure that you have provided the best mobile phone number, for all future communications (scheduling updates, appointment confirmations).
o It is important to complete all documents within the mobile registration prior to the appointment to avoid delays. Anything not completed may delay your appointment.

Please upload the following documentation, using the mobile registration, necessary for your appointment:

A valid rehab prescription, dated within 60 days from your appointment date.
Audiology prescription is valid for 1 year.
Photo ID
Insurance card

Any additional documentation related to your child’s condition will be helpful for this rehab evaluation, i.e. school IEP, Early Steps documents, prior rehab evaluations as applicable, post-surgical protocols/restrictions.

Please be mindful of your evaluation time and arrive 30 minutes prior to the appointment for parking and registration.

What to expect at your rehab evaluation

An evaluation can last up to two hours, depending on the specialty service.
Please have your child wear comfortable clothing, as they may be asked to perform physical activities, depending on specialty service.
Please note, a parent/legal guardian MUST be present if the child is under 18 years old. If the parent/legal guardian is unable to bring the child to the evaluation, a signed authorization to accompany minor patient in absence of parent/guardian is required.

What to expect after your rehab evaluation

The completion of the written evaluation and plan of care (POC) documentation can take up to 7 business days.
Our team sends the POC to the referring physician for signature.
Once signed POC is received, the authorization team will verify and share financial responsibility.
If therapy is recommended, a staff member will call to coordinate therapy sessions.

Tracking Rehabilitative Advancement through Accountable Care (TRAAC)

Nicklaus Children's therapists use an episodic service delivery model known as TRAAC to create an individual plan of care to meet each child's unique needs. TRAAC provides guidelines for determining duration, type and frequency of treatment based on age, diagnosis and historic information (medical, previous treatments and history). All members of the team –parents, caregivers, teachers and therapists– work together to identify therapy goals and assess progress.

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Insurance Coverage for Rehabilitative Services at Nicklaus Children's Hospital

Nicklaus Children's rehabilitative services are covered by most commercial insurance plans, including, but not limited to:

Aetna
AvMed (Non-par with Jackson Select (JHS/JRP), First Choice, LFP Premier, Entrust - AvMed Federal Exchange plan)
Blue Cross Blue Shield (Non-par with Blue Select, but can be seen with out of network benefits)
Cigna (Non-par with Federal Exchange plan)
UnitedHealthcare

Medicaid Plans that Cover Rehabilitative Services:

Aetna Better Health
Community Care Plan Medicaid & Healthy Kids (Palm Beach Gardens location only)
Florida Community Care
Humana Medicaid
Medicaid of FL
Simply Healthcare Medicaid & Healthy Kids (Palm Beach Gardens location only)
Sunshine Health Medicaid & CMS
United Healthcare

Lily takes some steps forward with the help of her physical therapist.

Lily Shines a Light on the Importance of Early Detection of Neuromotor Delays

Lily, age 2 ½, is walking independently and making remarkable progress, thanks to rehabilitative intervention at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital and an early diagnosis of cerebral palsy.