FAQs

Occupational therapy is a misunderstood profession - an occupation is simply anything you want, need, or have to do during the day; from sleeping to eating to getting dressed to working, to cleaning. OT is like the utility knife of the medical field - we have so many areas we can address and so many ways to help.

For children, their occupations include self-care, play, education, and social interaction. Underlying impairments in physical, cognitive, and/or social-emotional skills can make engaging in these tasks a challenge for the child and their family. OT is uniquely suited to break down tasks (called task analysis) to determine what is required of the task to establish why the child is having difficulty and providing directed, personalized intervention to improve these skills for participation in everyday activities!

The goal of OT is not only that the child learn new skills related to sensory integration and regulation, but to help the family as a whole understand their child. My job is to support the entire family in learning the underlying reasons for why a child does what they do and how to best support them. Every family wants their child to live a successful, independent, fulfilling life. Your child can do that AND have sensory differences. It's my job to help you find that path.

This varies, based on the age of the child, the degree to which the differences are impacting daily functioning, the willingness to carry over concepts in between sessions. If we are doing weekly sessions, I usually see the child for 1 or 2 of 168 hours of that week. And our brain learns by repetition. If we are able to create an effective, yet attainable home program that is implemented consistently, you should start to see results quickly! But it takes time for change to happen in the brain, so don't expect change overnight!

Each child's needs are very unique and it's hard to put a firm timeline on how long therapy is needed. However, I'm a firm believer that therapy shouldn't be a "life sentence," if done well. I follow an episodic care model. Therapy is like going to the dentist - you go and they deep clean your teeth, but they don't brush and floss your teeth every day for the rest of your life! Lifelong therapy limits a child's ability to just be a kid and have some unstructured time. Therapeutic breaks also give your child time to really integrate the information and skills acquired during therapy.

Yes, I am currently credentialed with Medicaid (fee for service), Absolute Total Care (ATC), Blue Cross Blue Shield (all plans), Healthy Blue, Aetna, and Tricare (non-network provider).

However, if your child has other insurance plans, I will provide a superbill for you to submit for any insurance reimbursement they may be willing to provide. I will work with each family to address financing, if this is an issue. Out of network insurance benefits can be verified through Reimbursify or by calling your insurance company directly to discuss out of network benefits.

The insurance industry typically dictates how frequently a child can be seen. Historically, this has been a once or twice a week model. However, with the research supporting intensives, the therapy community is actively working to educate insurance companies on the benefits of an intensive model. It is more costly for them up front, but saves money in the long run.

Some insurance companies will cover a higher frequency, short duration model; but not all. It helps if the referral is written to specify the frequency/duration recommended.

If insurance will not cover this, private pay or grants can be used to fund intensives.

Intensives allow your child to get a big burst of therapy over a short period of time, allowing the brain to make changes quickly. For years, once a week therapy sessions have been the industry standard. But research has STRONGLY supported the use of intensives! Traditional therapy services are beneficial and necessary, but the intensive therapy model provides a lasting, effective change in the central nervous system that takes less time than traditional therapy. Why spend years of your child's life in therapy, when you can do less therapy and get the same results?

Sensory integration and regulation are the foundation of EVERYTHING we do. From thinking to moving to interacting with others. From the time we wake up to the time we go to sleep, we need these systems to be a well-oiled machine in order to be our best selves. These processes take place at a lower level in our brain - usually at the level of the brainstem. In order to access higher level centers in our brain, like communication, these systems have to be working well and in synchrony. If not, the body will not devote energy to anything but the foundational skills. Once we address these foundational skills, there are more resources available in the brain for other things, like speech, learning, and behavior management.