The Power of Two: How Co-Treatments Can Transform Your Child's Therapy
Ability Innovations
The Benefits of a Collaborative Approach
As a parent, you have a lot on your plate. If your child is in therapy, you're likely juggling multiple appointments, different therapists, and a calendar packed with sessions. What if there was a way to make therapy more efficient and even more effective?
On a recent episode of the Therapy Unmasked podcast, we sat down with Nick, an occupational therapist (OT), and Megan, a speech-language pathologist (SLP), to discuss co-treating. A co-treatment is a therapy session with one child but two therapists from different disciplines.
At Ability Innovations, our goal is to be interdisciplinary. We believe that by working together, we can provide better care and achieve greater success for the children we work with. According to Nick and Megan, co-treating offers several key benefits:
Better Outcomes: When two therapists from different specialties work together, a child often makes greater progress in both areas. The therapists can build on each other's work and augment the benefits of each session. For example, an OT might work on a child's core strength on a swing, while the SLP uses that regulated state to encourage communication and language skills.
Efficiency for Parents: Co-treating can significantly shorten the time a family has to spend at the clinic. Instead of attending two separate appointments, you can get two therapies in one session. This is a huge time-saver for busy families.
Holistic Care: Therapy isn't just about one specific skill; it's about helping a child function better in the world. By combining two disciplines, therapists can address multiple goals at once. Megan shared a great example of a scavenger hunt she did with an OT. While the child was working on fine motor skills and handwriting with the OT, Megan had them practice and write words that targeted their speech sounds.
The Role of Regulation
A major point that Nick and Megan emphasized is the importance of regulation. Regulation is about getting a child to a "just right" state where they feel calm, focused, and ready to learn. As Nick pointed out, we do this as adults all the time—whether it's having a morning coffee to wake up or chewing gum to focus. For kids, a therapist can use activities like swinging or deep pressure to help them get to that optimal state.
Megan noted that she often sees more communication from a child when they are regulated. Co-treating allows therapists to work together to achieve this state, making the therapy goals easier to reach.
Is Co-Treating Right for Your Child?
While co-treating offers many advantages, it's not a perfect fit for every child. Nick and Megan discussed a few things to consider:
Goals: Co-treating works best when the goals of both therapies can be addressed in a single, fluid session. If a child needs a very specific, quiet session to work on a skill like articulation, a separate appointment might be more effective.
Child's Temperament: Some children thrive with the energy of two therapists, while others might become overstimulated or gravitate toward one therapist over the other. Therapists often try a session to see how the child responds.
Insurance: Unfortunately, not all insurance companies will approve or pay for co-treatments. It's always a good idea to check with your provider to see what is covered.
Ultimately, the decision to co-treat is made on a case-by-case basis, with the child's needs and goals at the forefront.
We encourage you to listen to the full episode to hear more great stories and learn how co-treating could be a powerful option for your child's therapy journey.