Occupational therapy teaches children the functional skills needed for independence in play, motor skills development, self-care, and socialization. Our occupational therapists help children master daily life skills by learning through play while using the fine motor and sensory systems.

Our occupational therapists help children with developmental delays causing difficulties in familiar activities of everyday life. Our occupational therapists help children develop the skills needed to perform everyday tasks. Our therapy targets improving coordinated motor skills and/or use of the hands, as well as promoting skills for listening and following directions, self-regulation, social play, dressing, and grooming. Some other areas of focus may include helping children improve abstract reasoning, problem-solving, decision-making, perceptual skills, as well as memory, sequencing, and motor planning.

Therapy Care occupational therapists are certified by The American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), are licensed by the State of Illinois and hold a master’s or doctorate degrees in Occupational Therapy.

What We Treat

• Feeding and diet sensitivities

• Sensorimotor skills

• Sensory integration

• Body and spatial awareness

• Activities of daily living (ADLs)

• Self-care skills

• Social and peer interaction skills

• Visual-motor integration

• Visual perceptual skills

• Fine motor control and coordination

• Gross motor control and coordination

Our Approach

After a thorough evaluation, our therapist will create a customized therapy plan tailored to accomplish each child’s unique therapeutic goals. It will include the right combination of strategies, including exercises, games, equipment, tools and modalities, and home activities the whole family can participate in. We may also be able to make other types of recommendations for their school and adaptive equipment or devices a necessary.

The key to pediatric occupational therapy, as with therapy in general, is to challenge the child while fostering a warm and welcoming environment. The child thus develops skills while having fun at the same time. When these two aspects of therapy remain in balance with each other, the child is able to make sustained progress toward the goals and ultimately the child is able to maximize his/her potential.

Does My Child Need Therapy?

How do I know if my child may need occupational therapy? Can my child benefit from occupational therapy? These are the two most common questions we receive from parents. There is no clear answer, but there are some indicators to look out for:

• Using silverware or straws age appropriately

• Using zippers, buttons, shoelaces

• Coloring, drawing, tracing, prewriting shapes age appropriately

• Not developing a hand dominance at an age-appropriate time

• Avoiding tasks and games that require fine motor skills

• Avoids or has difficulty going up and down stairs

• Difficulty coordinating both sides of the body

• Noticeably poor balance

• Fearful of feet leaving the ground

• Does not cross the midline of their body playing or doing tasks

• Overly sensitive or heightened reactivity to sound, touch, or movement

• Under-responsive to certain sensations (e.g., high pain tolerance, doesn’t notice cuts/bruises)

• Easily distracted by visual or auditory stimuli

• Emotionally reactive

• Inability to calm self when upset

• Difficulty with imitative play

• Participates in repetitive play for hours (e.g., lining up toys)

• Does not join in with peers/siblings when playing

We Provide Academic Services!

We take great pride in helping our academic partners address their challenges. Meeting your district’s goals through efficient and economically sensible clinical services is the hallmark by which we measure our success.

View our academic services here!