Did you ever consider a baby might need physical therapy? Some do and Andrea Cann is a physiotherapist who has specially trained in this area.

"Having worked with adults with long term physical and learning disabilities, I realised the value of early intervention," she said. "The earlier a developmental delay or disorder is identified and treated; more often than not, the long term outcome is much better than intervention introduced later in life. That being said, getting the treatment at some point is still better than none at all," she added.

In her work she assess at risk babies such as those born prematurely. She also tracks their development ensuring that they meet the expected motor milestones like rolling and crawling.

"I provide intervention when indicated to help supplement their development and hopefully reduce the impact of the early delay in later life," she said.

Ms Cann also treats children from the age of eight weeks to 17 years who are born with conditions such as Down's syndrome, orthopedic disorders, and developmental delay.

"My job is to promote function and independence through exercise and intervention that increases such things as strength, motor control, coordination, and balance," she said. "It is important to look at the whole child; their interests, their family, their community, such as school life, and make sure that what they need in treatment is going to be meaningful for their life."

Ms Cann said she spends a lot of time with the family of her paediatric patients not only because many of them are too young to speak but also because the disability tends to impact the entire family.

"While the child's well-being is my main focus, I can't do it all," she said. "It's a collaborative approach for sure. Some families can handle more than others, but ultimately you want to provide helpful ways for families to cope independently, especially if a child's disability is long-term."

While physiotherapists usually give their patients homework, such as doing certain exercises and stretches, Ms Cann explained that her paediatric patients often couldn't be given such directives.

"I work with many patients who can't communicate verbally, either through condition or they're too little, or may be severely limited physically," she said. "But when it comes to potential I never limit what could be, based on where they are today. I have to be realistic about their disease or condition, but inside every body, is a person of value and each person has a purpose.

"So no matter what intervention I employ I try to ensure that each patient knows that they're special and important. I try to do that with the patient's family as well. It takes time to listen to their anxieties, concerns and celebrations, but in the end it's worth it because then we truly are a team working together for the best outcome for the patient."