Physical Therapy
Physical Therapy focuses on gross motor abilities including; rolling, sitting, crawling, walking, climbing, running, jumping, skipping, and riding a tricycle or bike. Physical therapy helps improve strength, balance, coordination, range of motion, and functional mobility skills. PT may also help determine a child’s need for orthotics and/or durable medical equipment to include; standing frame, activity chair, stroller, wheelchair, medical grade car seat, and gait trainer/walker.
Physical Therapy Can Treat the Following:
- Gross motor delays
- Prematurity
- Torticollis
- Cerebral Palsy
- Down Syndrome
- Developmental Coordination Disorder
- Hypotonia
- Neurological disorders
- Genetic disorders
- Orthopedic conditions
- Idiopathic toe walking
- Post-surgical rehabilitation
Gross Motor Developmental Checklist
The following is a guideline of the average age when children acquire gross motor skills. Each child develops at a different rate. Some children need special help. If you have concerns about your child’s development, please contact us. We can schedule an evaluation and determine whether your child is delayed or developing on schedule.
GROSS MOTOR MILESTONES
1 Month
- Move both arms in wide movements coming from the shoulders
- Kick legs reciprocally
- Have flexed hips, knees, ankles recoil into flexion when passively extended
- Take weight and extend the legs in supported stand
3 Months
- Visually track an object or face
- Kick legs with symmetrical and reciprocal movements
- Assume frog-legged position of hip flexion, abduction, external rotation, and knee flexion
- Brings hands to mouth, body, or clothing for exploration
4 Months
- Roll from back to side
- Flex hips to 90 degrees and reach hands to knees
- Bring hands to midline
5 Months
- Grab feet with hands
- Flex hips to nearly 180 degrees and bring feet to mouth
- Reach for toy when on back and on side
6 Months
- Actively play in flexed hands to feet position
- Get into a crawling position
- Sit without minimal loss of balance
- Roll from back to stomach
7 Months
- Enjoy playing on stomach
- Bear weight on forearms and extended arms when on stomach
- Reach for toys in all directions
- Rock on all fours
8 Months
- Move from sitting to all fours
- Crawl on hands and knees
- Cruise furniture
- Grasp object in each hand and bang them together at midline
9 Months
- Transition in and out of sitting
- Crawl up stairs, but not down
- Walk with both hands held
10 Months
- Transition from sitting to standing with one or both arms supported on stable object
- Stand with one hand supported
11 Months
- Walk with one hand on furniture for support
- Stand to squat to stand with one hand on furniture
- Climb off of furniture backwards or feet first
12 Months
- Easily move in and out of sitting to quadruped, kneeling, squatting, and standing
- Crawl quickly and climb on objects
- Walk with one hand held
- Stand without support
- Bend down, pick up a toy, then stand up with support
18 Months
- Walk well without falling
- Climb onto furniture to reach something
- Bend over, pick up a toy, then return to standing without support
- Kick a ball
2 Years
- Walk down stairs while holding onto railing or someone’s hand
- Run well without falling or bumping into something when he/she stops
- Jump with both feet leaving the floor at the same time
3 Years
- Ride a tricycle
- Stand on one foot for 2 seconds
- Walk up stairs with one foot on each step
- Jump forward at least 6 inches with both feet leaving the floor at the same time
4 Years
- Catch a large ball with both hands
- Climb a ladder on the playground and slide down without help
- Throw a ball overhand to a person at least 6 feet away
- Hop up and down on one foot without falling
5 Years
- Stand on one foot for at least 5 seconds without support
- Walk on tiptoes for 15 feet
- Skip
- Ride a bicycle with training wheels