OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY

OUR OCCUPATIONAL THERAPISTS WORK TO HELP CHILDREN DO THE THINGS THEY NEED AND WANT TO DO THROUGH THE THERAPEUTIC USE OF DAILY ACTIVITIES (OCCUPATIONS).

Children’s Therapy Place provides pediatric occupational therapy services to children so they can live life to its fullest by helping promote health, and prevent or live better with injury, illness, or disability.

Special Programs

Handwriting Without Tears

Handwriting Without Tears– Our therapists are trained in the Handwriting Without Tears curriculum. Handwriting Without Tears intervention addresses developmental and appropriate foundational skills for handwriting. The curriculum is research-based and uses an engaging multisensory approach for children to learn and improve writing skills. Parents are also provided tips and resources to carryover learning in the home.

Sequential Oral Sensory (S.O.S.) Approach to Feeding

Sequential Oral Sensory (S.O.S.) Approach to Feeding– Children’s Therapy Place now offers feeding therapy using Dr. Kay Toomey’s Ph.D. Sequential Oral Sensory (SOS) Approach to Feeding, a systematic desensitization program respected and used worldwide to treat feeding issues. It can also be used to treat oral motor delays. We offer individual and group feeding sessions.

Some of the red flags that may indicate a child is in need of feeding therapy include:

- - Ongoing poor weight gain
  - Weight loss
  - Ongoing choking/gagging
  - Coughing during meals
  - Inability to transition to baby food purees or solids
  - Family is fighting about food with child
  - Parent repeatedly reports the child as difficult for everyone to feed

Therapeutic Listening®

Therapeutic Listening®-Is a specific sound based intervention focusing on developmental and sensory processing challenges. It uses organized sound patterns and music to impact the nervous system to increase attention, balance, body awareness and control, communication, social engagement, and organization of sensory input. This is an evidence-based protocol that helps children become more organized, improve behavior regulation, and to have more frequent and positive therapeutic outcomes.

Astronaut Training

Astronaut Training– A specially designed program which addresses 3 different and very important sensory systems: the vestibular, visual, and auditory systems. Functional improvements in the child are seen with spatial awareness, general movement coordination, sensory regulation, attention, visual tracking, and locating and perceiving sound in their environment.

The program uses a rotary board to test a child’s responsiveness to rotary movements. When a child is positioned in sitting and lying, the head is positioned to activate the inner ear hair cells while the eyes are closed to create a post rotary nystagmus (flickering of the eyes). The rotary board is rotated in counterclockwise and clockwise directions for up to 10 seconds with directional music input provided. Post rotary, the nystagmus of the eyes is assessed to determine the child’s response to the input. Most children’s response should last up to approximately 7 seconds. When it is determined that a child has an atypical response, various treatment protocols are implemented to assist the child in integrating their vestibular, visual, and auditory processing.

Zones Program for Self Regulation

Zones Program for Self Regulation– A cognitive-behavioral approach to help individuals learn self-regulation skills. The Zones framework is designed to address underlying emotional and sensory regulation deficits and help children move toward independent regulation. Our therapists utilize the program and its numerous visuals to help children determine their alertness level, behaviors, and how they may be affecting themselves and those around them. Children are able to take tools into their daily lives and effectively manage behavior and feelings.

Specialty Areas

Fine Motor Development

Sensory Processing

Motor Coordination

Handwriting

School Function & Participation

Visual Perceptual Skill Development

ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder)

Autism Spectrum Disorder

Pervasive Development Disorder (PDD)

Down Syndrome

Self-Regulation

Self-Care Skills

Social Skills

Feeding

Sensory Diets

DISCOVERING ABILITY IN EVERY CHILD