OUR FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

 

Understanding OT

  • Occupational therapy helps children improve their motor, physical, sensory, and cognitive skills. The “just right challenge” provided in occupational therapy enhances kids’ self-esteem and gives them the confidence to develop.

  • We work with children with sensory processing disorder (SPD), Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Down Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, genetic disorders, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and other neurodevelopmental delays.

    We treat kids not labels— so please come for a consultation if you’re not sure.

    • Difficulty with fine and/or gross motor skills —difficulty with jumping, balancing, and general clumsiness.

    • Struggling to keep up with peers in school— not writing, coloring, cutting, opening their lunch or putting on their coat for recess.

    • Difficulty meeting classroom expectations— trouble sitting at circle time, maintaining personal boundaries or staying on task.

    • Meltdowns/ Tantrums and difficulty with self-regulation.

    • Strong reactions to sensory input— covering ears in public restrooms, refusing to wear jeans, having to get socks “just right.”

    • Difficulty with completing ADL’s — demonstrating difficulty with dressing, bathing, or self-feeding

    • Behavioral challenges

    • Low self-esteem by building self-confidence

  • Parents often recognize that their child could benefit from activities to burn energy, improve coordination, or practice rule-following. So, they start activities such as gymnastics, soccer, and karate. For many kids, these activities are wonderful extracurriculars that support their physical and mental growth. For some kids, these activities compound their frustrations.

    Regular meltdowns at an activity can indicate that the child doesn't have the assumed foundational skills. The "Just Right Challenge" approach of play-based pediatric occupational therapy may be what they need. OT builds children's balance, focus, coordination, frustration tolerance, and other foundational skills so they have the tools and capabilities they need for fun activities.

Child working with a certified Occupational Therapist

General

 
  • We participate with Kaiser Permanente and are out-of-network for all other insurance providers.

    We will provide families with a Superbill for each session via the online portal Fusion, which contains all the necessary information, including ICD-10 and CPT codes, for your insurance company to reimburse you directly should you decide to submit the claim. We encourage you to call your insurance policy to determine the benefits & out-of-network reimbursements available in your policy. We have a helpful checklist for determining your insurance benefits on our blog. Many families who receive reimbursement find that their insurance covers 50% to 75% of their session costs, making the cost per session similar to an in-network co-payment. Use of a Health Savings Account (HSA)/Flex Spending Account (FSA) is another way to reduce the cost of therapy.

    We have thoughtfully chosen this approach to focus on treating your child with the best, individualized care without the impact of insurance policies.

  • Check out our full blog post about the consultation appointment, including tips about how to prepare your child.

  • Occupational Therapy appointments are 50 minutes long. You are welcome to drop off or stay, but either way, please be in the waiting room at 45 minutes past so that we have the time needed to make a smooth transition and talk to you about the session. We will discuss what we did that day and answer any questions. We are very sensitive to the children listening, so we are positive and growth-focused during this discussion time.

  • Our play-based therapy means many kids ask for their parents for the games, tools, and supplies to have at home or school. We’ve compiled our recommendations on the “Our Favorites” page. There are many places to purchase these items, but we link to Amazon to make it easy for parents.

    We are also an Amazon Associate, so we earn from qualifying purchases (which means that if you click on the link on this page and make a purchase, we may receive a small commission.) This does NOT result in any additional cost to you and does not impact which items we pick as our favorites. The affiliate money we earn helps pay for the volunteer programs we facilitate - thanks for your support.

  • You are welcome to drop off your child or stay. If you choose to stay, our clinic has a waiting room, three restrooms & a kitchen in addition to our four therapy rooms. The waiting room has WiFi, children’s toys, and a library of our favorite books available as resources for our families. In the kitchen, you will find snacks, water, tea, and coffee. You and your family are welcome to enjoy them; we want you to be comfortable.

Child on bolster platform swing for pediatric occupational therapy

If you have a question that isn’t on this FAQ page please contact us.