Thru the Looking Glass

Thru the Looking Glass

By Kathleen Pici, OTR/L, CAS

As a therapist, I feel like I fell thru the looking glass in March. I entered a whole new world in which some things seemed bigger, others smaller, and a variety of colors that I had not seen before. Nothing seemed to work the way I was used to, my learned skills for 18 years did not work the same in this world, and I had to interact with people in a way that was completely foreign to me. I was in the looking glass.

But was I..

As therapists we are trained to use ourselves. We are skilled to be able to adapt on the spot, to change our direction, and be able to join the world of those that we serve to best help them achieve their goals. Was this new place I was now in so different from what I had been doing for this many years OR did I just need to change my looking glass?

The therapists that I know and respect have all been in this place. And we have all had to put a different pair of lenses on due to the instant enactment of Teletherapy. And what those glasses have done is show us some clarity. Therapists have trained for this for their whole career...even before it started. As students we were tested and quizzed on making adaptations with little more than what was in our existing room. That is our new temporary world! Again, we have trained for this forever!

What has happened in this whole new world is the exploration of activities to do with kids that they can replicate in their homes, ways to engage parents like never before, and therapists being able to engage their skills to the highest and most coveted level (ps we all crave this daily and love when new challenges are presented although we may be scared at first!).  We now, more than ever, have been able to show parents and families just how meaningful what we do in their daily life is. We have been invited into homes via webcams and cell phones to provide our kiddos with that craved normalcy and we have DELIVERED!

So what happens when we step back thru the looking glass? When the world returns to "normal". We are now armed with a brighter picture, a bigger scope, and the confidence to know that we can overcome falling down the rabbit hole. We will view things differently and know that we ARE better therapists. We concurred the Jabberwocky, came out braver, and our kiddos came out stronger.

So, who wants to step thru the looking glass with me?

Telehealth - cha cha cha changes

There is a bit of pop culture injection in to this blog, you have been warned. : )

Just as David Bowie sang in 1971... Cha Cha Cha Changes.... and we are experiencing just that, on many fronts these days. One of the many areas is healthcare's overnight transition to telehealth services.

The families we serve can face many challenges when it comes to this new world and who better than a therapist to assist them through it all. Children without social engagement, children who don't thrive on social engagement, but it is the best thing for them to grow their skills and there is limited opportunity. Children that are now home schooled, while parents try to work and balance it all. Maybe it is the anxiety of the level of engagement and cooperation of your child during a telehealth session, access to technology and internet connection that can support a consistent web stream for a live session, having to prepare supplies prior to a treatment (where a clinic had this responsibility prior), and these are just to name a few.

Therapists are facing a new world also, to some therapists it can seem like  "What a world, what a world, I'm melting"  (Wicked Witch of the West).  However, we have seen that our team has stepped up to the plate to continue services, while bringing our AKT families along for the journey.

Not unlike most telehealth sessions our team faces the dreaded poor connection, technology not working, and families that are not overly familiar with technology. In addition therapists are combating learning a new technology and working virtually thru a parents digits and limbs to conduct physical actions they typically would perform themselves with a child.

so what does this all really equate to?

Here is the breakdown on what this really means.

1. We are all changing and learning together
2. We are learning day-by-day that what seemed impossible or undesired is becoming feasible and dare I say.... enjoyable?
3. Technology is not as foreign to children as it is to some adults.... children like screen time and cool interactive technology, and cameras, and the ability to see themselves on the screen. Let's use that and create a normalcy of interaction thru technology and family involvement in treatments.
4. we are all in this together!

"we had joy, we had fun, we had seasons in the sun" (Terry Jacks 1974).... let this be another season in the sun and hopefully soon we can all experience it in person together again, but never forget this "season in the sun".

by Gino Pici, COO
Amazing Kidz Therapy, PLLC

Commercial Insurance Coverage for Telehealth in Florida

As of today Florida Blue (Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Florida) issued an update to providers that Amazing Kidz Therapy received, it states that Telehealth for PT, OT, and ST will be covered for services with an effective date of March 15th, 2020.  We are continuing to evaluate the full billing requirements and will be most comfortable when we see claims being paid, but this is good news just the same that commercial insurances are coming to the table so that families can continue to get services they need.

The Florida Blue update comes approximately 1 week after United Healthcares (pending claim payment to AKT) announcement that they would be covering Telehealth for PT, OT, and ST and approximatly 2 weeks after Tri-Care announced coverage (we have received payment on claims).

Amazing Kidz Therapy (AKT) launched a letter writing campaign (Template letter to write the Governor) approximately two weeks ago to do our part to personally write letters to our Florida Governor in addition to encouraging the families we serve, our friends, and our business acquaintances to send letters as well.

AKT is not the only grass-root effort urging our local government to bring Telehealth coverage to the table from our commercial insurance companies.

• 900 Healthcare workers write an open letter to Governor Desantis urging action and of the the demands for action, they included telehealth coverage by insurance companies.... 

• " The letter asks DeSantis to mandate that insurance providers waive cost-sharing for COVID-19 related medical procedures or treatment, as governors in New York and California have done, and to issue an executive order requiring insurance companies to cover telehealth services." Evans, Jack - March 27, 2020 - Tampa Bay Times

• https://www.tampabay.com/news/health/2020/03/27/850-florida-healthcare-workers-urge-gov-ron-desantis-act-now

• Florida Doctors Urge State Officials to Mandate Telehealth Payment Parity.

• "Florida’s largest medical association is taking the state to task for not mandating telehealth payment parity during the Coronavirus pandemic.
  In a letter to State Insurance Commissioner David Altmaier, Florida Medical Association President Ronald Giffler, MD, urged the state to require all payers in the state to reimburse providers for telehealth services at the same rate they pay for in-person services." Wicklund, Eric - March, 26 2020 mHealth Intelligence 

• https://mhealthintelligence.com/news/florida-doctors-urge-state-officials-to-mandate-telehealth-payment-parity

While this is amazing news, the fight is not over and we urge you to keep writing our governor and state officials to mandate Telehealth parity laws in Florida (treating Telehealth just the same as an in-person visit for coverage and payment). Approx 39 states today have parity laws in place, but even in that scenario not all cover PT,OT,ST services.

Thank you for your continued support and let's show the powerful insurance lobby that our voices can outweigh their efforts to create additional blockers to services our Florida families need.

by: Gino Pici, COO
Amazing Kidz Therapy

Games to Build Fine Motor Skills and Strength

Games to Build Fine Motor Skills and Strength

By Kathleen Pici, OTR/L, CAS

During this time, when we are faced with more time at home with our children, less or/no interaction with their teachers/therapists/friends...(fill in the blank) it allows for us to work on skills with them that they may be struggling with. Now, one of the things that makes our jobs as therapists so great, is that therapy is (or should be!) fun! One of the greatest ways to do this is thru play. And, what better way to have fun and play together as a family than a game!

We want to provide you with some of our favorite games to work on fine motor skills and strengthening. Most of these games will also incorporate other skills such as color identification, number recognition, counting, or letter recognition. 

The Sneaky, Snacky Squirrel works on fine motor coordination, strength, visual motor, and color matching. 

Frida's Fruit Fiesta Game works on fine motor coordination, strength, visual motor, and letter recognition. 

Sophie's Seashell Scramble works on fine motor coordination, strength, visual motor, and shape identification.

Flipping Frogs works on fine motor strength, dexterity, and finger isolation. 

Operation works on fine motor coordination, strengthening, visual motor skills, and dexterity. 

Trouble works on fine motor skills, visual motor, fine motor strengthening, and counting. 

Froggy Feeding Fun works on fine motor coordination, fine motor strengthening, color identification, and counting. 

Virtual Group Offerings

In response to the extended school closures, AKT has expanded its virtual group offerings! Handwriting, Reading, and Social Skills groups will begin next week and last for 4 weeks. Contact our office to register!

COVID-19 and avoiding Therapy "Inaction"

Amazing Kidz Therapy, like most small businesses right now, is facing our time of operational uncertainty during this global pandemic. We have proudly served our communities as a Pediatric Therapy Clinic for over 3 years and in that time we have faced difficult choices that have had to be made, made personal sacrifices, and had sleepless nights of worry as we watch our organization grow, and in some cases watch our organization not hit the targets we needed too.

The last 3 years though was different from what small businesses are facing at this time. In many cases, there was more control over the positive or negative impact the company faced during that 3 years. We didn't have limitations placed upon us that brought operations to a screeching halt (or at least a slow crawl).

It can be a scary time right now , both personally and for those with businesses. I encourage you to find ways to stay the course and know that there are organizations/small businesses out there that are doing remarkable things to support families, bring some sense of normalcy, and also provide much needed services. Many organizations are adapting very quickly and innovating at rapid speeds (like only small businesses can).

Amazing Kidz Therapy has taken the action of continuing to safely support all of our AKT families thru Teletherapy services, Facebook "Therapist Tip of the Day" videos, a letter writing campaign to our Florida Governor urging him to take action on Commercial Insurances paying for Teletherapy in the state of Florida, launching new Telegroup sessions that promote many areas to support children during this time of homeschooling and social isolation. Our physical location will remain closed thru May 1st, 2020 at this time, in accordance with current mandates and projections from local, state, and federal government. We will continue to evaluate as new information becomes available, but until then..... we are here virtually with you and will continue to be.

Our Blog is named "Therapy in Action" and we will continue to promote content and service offerings during this time that ensures that your families don't have to experience Therapy "inaction".

Come visit us on Facebook for more details about our newest offerings, therapists tips of the day, and more content as we continue to innovate to keep Therapy in Action for you during this time.
https://www.facebook.com/amazingkidztherapy/

by: Gino Pici, COO
Amazing Kidz Therapy, PLLC