Pediatric therapy comes to Cassville

June 10, 2020
Sheila Harris
Sheila Villareal Wolf, once known in Cassville as “The Sonic Girl,” will soon be serving up something other than cheeseburgers and milk shakes to area children. A graduate of Cassville High School, Wolf attained a Master’s Degree in Physical and Occupational Therapy from the University of North Dakota and is back in the area with plans to open a clinic in Cassville to serve the needs of children with developmental delays.
“I have 20 years of experience offering physical and occupation therapy to both adults and children,” Wolf said. “The Cassville clinic will provide only pediatric therapy, though. It will be a satellite clinic to my Holiday Island clinic, which primarily serves senior citizens.”
Wolf’s goal with the Cassville clinic is to provide outpatient services locally, so that patients do not have to drive to a larger city in order to obtain therapy for their children with special needs.
“Not only can parents bring their children to my office, we can meet them where they are: in daycare or at home, for example,” she said. “It’s good to get family members and caregivers involved in therapy sessions so a child will have a well-rounded team to meet their needs.”
Wolf explained the difference between physical and occupational therapy, which, essentially, has to do with the difference between fine motor skills and gross (large) muscle skills.
“Physical therapy has to do with mobility and balance,” Wolf said, “while occupational therapy is more centered around upper body skills, such as speech, vision and cognitive ability.”
Wolf is currently seeking a speech therapist to work from her Cassville site.
“While adults may be able to ‘graduate’ from therapy after a set amount of weeks, children with developmental disabilities often need therapy indefinitely to meet different needs as they grow,” she explained.
“Early intervention with therapy,” she added, “is critical for children with developmental delays.”
Wolf, who spent years as a “traveling therapist” for 13-week stints in various locations around the country, was on assigment as a therapist for the Berryville school district, then later for the hospital in Eureka Springs, when she realized the need for a therapy clinic in that area.
“Many aging residents,” she said, “were driving as far as Bentonville or Fayetteville for physical therapy. Not an easy drive, even if you’re young. With that thought in mind, after talking it over with my husband Robert (also a Cassville native), I decided to rent clinic space in Holiday Island just to see how things went.”
They went exceedingly well.
“In no time, the demand for service was so great that we outgrew our rented space,” she said. “We ended up building a new facility. In addition to serving senior citizens, the Arkansas clinic - Wolf Wellness Center - is contracted with five northwest Arkansas school districts to provide services for children.
“I had been asked to bring therapy services to Cassville earlier,” Wolf continued, “but I didn’t think the time was right. I was too busy in Arkansas. Then along came COVID-19, which changed a lot of things for a lot of people. When COVID-19 shut down the Arkansas schools we were contracted to provide service for, I suddenly had therapists without work. That’s when I realized it might be time to branch out into Barry County and begin serving needs here.”
Wolf rented space between Blake Fields’ office and the barber shop at 607 Main Street and installed specialized sensory play equipment for children with autism, sensory processing disorder and other developmental delays.
She is currently seeking a speech therapist to work from her Cassville site.
On Thursday, June 11, from 3 - 7 p.m., Wolf is offering a sneak peek of her pediatric therapy clinic to area physicians, teachers, child care providers and parents of children with special needs.
A ribbon-cutting is planned for 11:30 a.m., Friday, June 12, corresponding with an open house from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. the same day. Anyone seeking more information is welcome to stop by.
The clinic will be doing business under the name of Wolf Pediatric Therapy Services of Barry County. Parents may call 417-847-7061 to schedule an appointment for their child.
Sheila Harris
Sheila Villareal Wolf, once known in Cassville as “The Sonic Girl,” will soon be serving up something other than cheeseburgers and milk shakes to area children. A graduate of Cassville High School, Wolf attained a Master’s Degree in Physical and Occupational Therapy from the University of North Dakota and is back in the area with plans to open a clinic in Cassville to serve the needs of children with developmental delays.
“I have 20 years of experience offering physical and occupation therapy to both adults and children,” Wolf said. “The Cassville clinic will provide only pediatric therapy, though. It will be a satellite clinic to my Holiday Island clinic, which primarily serves senior citizens.”
Wolf’s goal with the Cassville clinic is to provide outpatient services locally, so that patients do not have to drive to a larger city in order to obtain therapy for their children with special needs.
“Not only can parents bring their children to my office, we can meet them where they are: in daycare or at home, for example,” she said. “It’s good to get family members and caregivers involved in therapy sessions so a child will have a well-rounded team to meet their needs.”
Wolf explained the difference between physical and occupational therapy, which, essentially, has to do with the difference between fine motor skills and gross (large) muscle skills.
“Physical therapy has to do with mobility and balance,” Wolf said, “while occupational therapy is more centered around upper body skills, such as speech, vision and cognitive ability.”
Wolf is currently seeking a speech therapist to work from her Cassville site.
“While adults may be able to ‘graduate’ from therapy after a set amount of weeks, children with developmental disabilities often need therapy indefinitely to meet different needs as they grow,” she explained.
“Early intervention with therapy,” she added, “is critical for children with developmental delays.”
Wolf, who spent years as a “traveling therapist” for 13-week stints in various locations around the country, was on assigment as a therapist for the Berryville school district, then later for the hospital in Eureka Springs, when she realized the need for a therapy clinic in that area.
“Many aging residents,” she said, “were driving as far as Bentonville or Fayetteville for physical therapy. Not an easy drive, even if you’re young. With that thought in mind, after talking it over with my husband Robert (also a Cassville native), I decided to rent clinic space in Holiday Island just to see how things went.”
They went exceedingly well.
“In no time, the demand for service was so great that we outgrew our rented space,” she said. “We ended up building a new facility. In addition to serving senior citizens, the Arkansas clinic - Wolf Wellness Center - is contracted with five northwest Arkansas school districts to provide services for children.
“I had been asked to bring therapy services to Cassville earlier,” Wolf continued, “but I didn’t think the time was right. I was too busy in Arkansas. Then along came COVID-19, which changed a lot of things for a lot of people. When COVID-19 shut down the Arkansas schools we were contracted to provide service for, I suddenly had therapists without work. That’s when I realized it might be time to branch out into Barry County and begin serving needs here.”
Wolf rented space between Blake Fields’ office and the barber shop at 607 Main Street and installed specialized sensory play equipment for children with autism, sensory processing disorder and other developmental delays.
She is currently seeking a speech therapist to work from her Cassville site.
On Thursday, June 11, from 3 - 7 p.m., Wolf is offering a sneak peek of her pediatric therapy clinic to area physicians, teachers, child care providers and parents of children with special needs.
A ribbon-cutting is planned for 11:30 a.m., Friday, June 12, corresponding with an open house from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. the same day. Anyone seeking more information is welcome to stop by.
The clinic will be doing business under the name of Wolf Pediatric Therapy Services of Barry County. Parents may call 417-847-7061 to schedule an appointment for their child.