Aquatic Therapy

— Where Water Supports Progress And Possibility

At Pediatric Therapy Center, our Aquatic Therapy program provides children with a unique, supportive environment to practice and master skills that carry over into land-based therapy and daily life. The water’s buoyancy reduces the effects of gravity while providing gentle resistance, allowing children to build strength, improve mobility, and gain confidence in ways that traditional therapy alone cannot always achieve.

Our aquatic therapy sessions are tailored to each child’s needs and abilities, focusing on functional goals and maximizing participation in a safe, motivating, and fun environment.

Benefits of Aquatic Therapy

Aquatic therapy offers a range of physical, cognitive, and emotional benefits:

Physical Benefits

Improve muscle strength and endurance – the water provides resistance for strengthening without overloading joints.

Enhance range of motion and flexibility – water’s support allows safer stretching and movement.

Improve balance, coordination, and functional mobility – water reduces fear of falling, encouraging exploration of new movements.

Increase independence with ambulation and daily tasks – practicing walking, transfers, and gross motor skills in water translates to land-based improvements.

Sensory & Motor Benefits

Enhance sensory processing and regulation – water provides consistent, calming, and organizing sensory input.

Improve body awareness and motor learning – children can experiment with movements and gain real-time feedback from the water.

Support oral motor skills – blowing, sucking, and swallowing activities can be incorporated into aquatic exercises.

Cognitive & Emotional Benefits

Boost attention and focus – the water environment can increase engagement and motivation.

Promote self-esteem, confidence, and motivation – successes in the water encourage children to challenge themselves on land.

Reduce anxiety and encourage enjoyment of movement – the buoyant, fun environment encourages exploration and persistence.

Additional Advantages

Encourages social interaction and cooperative play.
Provides opportunities for repetitive practice in a safe and supportive setting.
Facilitates easier progression of complex motor skills.

How It Works

Sessions are designed to complement your child’s land-based therapy. Our experienced therapists guide each child through individualized activities that address their goals, whether it’s improving strength, coordination, balance, or confidence. Skills mastered in the water are carefully transitioned and reinforced on land to maximize functional outcomes.

Discover the power of water in therapy. Aquatic Therapy at Pediatric Therapy Center is not only fun—it’s transformative, helping children reach new milestones with confidence, independence, and joy.

Book a Consultation With PTC

See the difference DMI can make! Reach out to schedule an assessment and find out how our therapists integrate DMI into both individual and intensive therapy programs for your child.

Pediatric Aquatic Therapy

At Pediatric Therapy Center, pediatric aquatic therapist will listen and collaborate with you to design an individualized treatment plan with you and your child. Our aquatic therapy is carried out in an atmosphere focused on creativity and fun, where every child can be successful.

We begin every therapy session by listening carefully to you. Our aquatic therapists then draw on extensive experience in a wide range of therapeutic techniques to craft each child’s personal treatment plan.

There are many diagnoses and deficit areas that are improved with skilled therapeutic intervention. Call about our services to learn how you can help your child reach their greatest potential!

402.932.2782

Pediatric Therapy Center offers aquatic occupational and physical therapy in conjunction with the Sarpy County YMCA.

Aquatic therapy will provide the child the freedom to move their body in ways that are more challenging on land.

The deep pressure of the pool water can help improve attention and sensory processing, specifically regulation and sensitivity.

Aquatic therapy will help your child learn skills that will be transitioned and perfected during traditional land-based occupational and physical therapy sessions.

Talk to an Aquatic Therapist 402.932.2782

I cannot imagine what our ten months with Rowan would have been like without the support of the caring, knowledgeable staff and the skills that PTC provided us. Though I cannot speak for Rowan and Hayden, I can tell you it would have been a much harder road for me. Every parent looks for ways to help their child learn and grow…with Rowan I administered meds and feedings, ordered meds, supplies, and oxygen tanks, documented seizures, took him to and from appointments, checked his vitals, and pretty much felt like I was simply there to keep him alive. PTC changed all of that for me. Being at PTC was an amazing breath of fresh air in the middle of a very suffocating routine. From our first appointment at PTC it felt different than any of the other gazillion appointments we had gone to prior. We were treated like people, not patients. I know what a difficult, somewhat hopeless case Rowan was, as we later learned how degenerative his seizures were…but at the time I had every hope in the world that he would gain the skills he needed to be able to enjoy life to his potential...continued...

The staff at PTC never once made this goal feel impossible. They cheered him on just as much as I did. It was refreshing to be around others who hoped and believed he could do more…the staff at PTC seemed to be just as involved in his success as I was. It was quite an unexpected comforting feeling...continued...At PTC I was allowed to be proud of my son…while elsewhere I was always reminded of his downfalls. Twice a week I looked forward to our PTC appointments as it was just as much therapy for me as it was for my babies. And now whenever we return to PTC, I feel closer to Rowan than anywhere else on earth. There I felt hope & pride for him…and being at PTC helps reminds me that he was so much more than the overwhelming routine that surrounded him. I see other children and their mamas there getting the help I did and I am overjoyed for them. There will never be a way to pay back what PTC has done for me and my little ones, but I will continue to try.

I can’t thank you enough for the work you have done with my little miracle. From teaching him things I NEVER would have (like climbing up a slide and smearing pudding all over his face) to things I could have only dreamed about (like his first word). I don’t know where we would be without our FAMILY at PTC!

Our experience with PTC’s Food Friendzy camp was nothing but amazing! When my son Justin started the program, he was barely consistent in eating yogurt or applesauce. Any textures made him gag and most “meals” were stressful, with me cajoling him to eating just 5 bites. During the course he started tolerating more varieties and consuming greater amounts. Even in the last couple months since the course ended, he has continued to increase his texture variance and amounts. Justin now consistently eats at lunch and dinner and even seems to enjoy eating. He has even been gaining weight too quickly, to the point where we’ve had to reduce his enteral feedings by 20%! Ironically, now I have to cajole him into not talking with his mouth full.

At the age of 2.5 Brooke started occupational therapy for sensory processing disorder and we are so excited to tell everyone she graduated today!! We could have never made it through this journey without the wonderful staff at Pediatric Therapy Center or without, in our opinion, the best occupational therapists out there – Miss Stephanie and Miss Kellie. These women did extraordinary work with Brooke and were, without a doubt, exceptional when this mom would have an occasional emotional breakdown. Brooke will never eat like most children, but because of the tireless work and effort made by Brooke and her therapists, she is now able to have her own “normal” eating habits!

Evalee has made such great progress in every area since her brain injury in February of 2010. I truly believe that through the consistent dedication of the physical, occupational, and speech therapists at PTC, Evalee has made such amazing progress. PTC, thank you for always helping our family to continue to treat Evalee without ever giving up. Evalee would not have made such a miraculous recovery without the hard work, dedication, and faith from the therapists and staff at PTC.

I can’t begin to thank you all enough for providing the sensory friendly haircut event! When we walked in and there were new people and new things going on Cadyn began to panic. Your therapists jumped right in and helped him calm down and become comfortable and even got him into his seat happy and smiling for his haircut. I couldn’t help but smile watching him sitting perfectly still and even smiling at his hairdresser every now and then throughout his haircut. Something that doesn’t happen in Cadyn’s world! Thank you all so much for everything you do!