Pediatric Occupational Therapy

Our clinic highly prioritizes and respects both the child’s and their families’ preferences, wants, and needs throughout their occupational therapy journey/experience. We value and view each family as a whole and encourage them to become active members of our therapy team.We pride ourselves on respecting the voices of each child. Each occupational therapist is highly trained, mentored, and provided with encouragement and freedom to utilize clinical reasoning skills, critical thinking, and we validate their unique therapeutic style.

We are a teaching clinic. We frequently take OTR and OTA students from all over the country. We also serve as an observation site for local family practice physicians in their first year of residency. Being a professional education site ensures our practice is of the highest quality, evidence-based, and effective. This would not be possible without the trust and generosity of our families who allow students to work with their children.

“Occupational therapy is the only profession that helps people across the lifespan to do the things they want and need to do through the therapeutic use of daily activities (occupations) (American Occupational Therapy Association, 2021). Occupational therapy practitioners enable people of all ages to live life to its fullest by helping them promote health, and prevent — or live better with — injury, illness, or disability.”

• (AOTA, 2021)

Our therapists have advanced degrees in their field, have passed national exams, and are all fully licensed to practice in the state of Colorado. As a practice, we provide our clinical staff the necessary resources to obtain ongoing continuing education to stay current in their fields. In addition, many of our therapists have received specialized training in specific treatment approaches or areas of specialty. For individual staff biographies, please visit our team page

Pediatric OT practitioners work with children and their families to develop the necessary skills to participate in things they want and need to do. They need to do it through play (a child’s primary occupation) or participation in other age-appropriate activities. Pediatric OT practitioners use a holistic perspective and evidence-based approaches to engage children in meaningful ways to increase their overall function, performance, and participation in many environments. This approach can mean learning new skills at each stage of development or rehabilitating abilities lost due to injury or illness. Occupational Therapists do not diagnose clients; we evaluate and treat symptoms and challenges resulting from diagnoses.

People often wonder what the difference is between OT and PT as their roles overlap and frequently collaborate. Even though they address similar issues, the approach of the PT is more exercise based while the approach of the OT is more activity based. It is important to note that both OT and PT are beneficial to a child’s success as they address critical skills that facilitate the development of children. At this clinic we offer OT only.

We treat a variety of wonderful children with many unique needs that include, but are not limited to children with:

Age ranges: Birth to 18

• Prematurity and newborn developmental issues
• Prenatal drug exposure
• Torticollis
• Autism
• Cerebral Palsy or other movement disorders
• Genetic disorders
• Sensory Integration/Processing deficits
• Motor deficits related to developmental, neurological, coordination, dyspraxia, muscle tone, strength, neurological, or residual reflexes
• Social and behavioral disorders related to sensory and motor deficits
• Learning differences
• Handwriting deficits
• Attention deficits
• Self-care difficulties
• Feeding issues
• Visual impairments
• Visual perceptual disorders

We ask the family to complete an Occupational Profile, a summary of the child’s medical and developmental history, their patterns of living, values, needs, and what challenges they face in their daily lives. This summary is optimally provided to the clinic before an in-person evaluation. The evaluation consists of a parent/guardian interview and a play-based assessment, allowing the child to engage and interact in the clinic naturally while being observed and assessed by an OTR and COTA. The child will participate in a standardized evaluation if appropriate. Parents may be asked to complete standardized checklists. A plan of care is developed with goals that include family priorities.

If you have concerns or have been advised by your doctor, teacher, etc, that your child might benefit from occupational therapy please contact our office at 719-253-7727 for more information.

Each child’s schedule is determined based on their individualized plan of care. We are primarily in-clinic but also offer telehealth services when necessary.

• Every other week
• Every week
• Track (2 weeks on, 1 week off)
• Appointments are typically 1 hour but can vary.

Occupational therapy practitioners provide early intervention services to children ages birth to three years old who exhibit developmental differences.  Delays in typical development that we may address through occupational therapy include gross motor skills, fine motor skills, reflex integration, social/emotional skills, and cognitive skills. The first three years of a child’s life are a critical time for development. Therefore, if a delay is suspected, it is best practice to begin treatment as soon as possible.

Occupational therapy practitioners can also treat infants with Torticollis. Torticollis is a rare medical condition where the child’s head is tilted toward one side with the chin elevated and leaned toward the opposite side of the head. The cause of this condition is the shortening of the sternocleidomastoid muscle in the neck. Torticollis can be congenital (present at birth) or acquired (developed as an infant due to positioning preference). Positioning and movement techniques are used to restore neck movement and to reverse/stop the progression of skull deformity and craniofacial asymmetry. Treatment of Torticollis will also help to improve the quality of developmental milestones.

Family involvement during treatment for infants and toddlers is vital. Therefore, during all visits, the therapist will partner and work alongside parents/caregivers to provide proper education, techniques, and strategies to continue building skills in the home and everyday routines. 

Therapy sessions typically last 55-60 minutes. Your child’s therapist skillfully utilizes equipment, the environment, and things your child enjoys to work toward goals created in the plan of care. A session for school-aged children typically involves the creation of a visual schedule and participation in 4-5 activities.

Parents are always welcome to participate in their child’s therapy sessions.

Play requires the brain and body to work together. When a child is immersed in play, the brain creates new neural pathways faster and more efficiently than repeating the same task with minimal motivation. Therefore, each session involves play to maximize your child’s learning and growth potential.

As OTs, we adapt your child’s environment and incorporate tools (swings, toys, and games) to provide ample opportunity to develop these foundational skills. These skills may include sensory integration and processing, adaptive skills, postural skills, eye-hand/eye-foot coordination, rhythm, timing, sequencing, gross motor skills, fine motor skills, and social interaction skills.

• Your child will participate in therapy throughout the clinic space, depending on their goals for the day. This allows for spontaneous or planned interactions with other children or therapists and allows for the use of the variety of equipment available. Parents are ALWAYS welcome to be a part of their child’s therapy session.

  • ADL Room
  • Art Room
  • Infant/toddler Room
  • Conference Room
  • Handwriting Room
  • Quiet Sensory Room
  • Social/Game Room
  • Staff Office
  • Training Kitchen
  • Two Gyms
  • Waiting Room