My occupational therapy work with children and families is informed by the neurodiversity movement, human development, infant mental health, reflective practice, and a low-demand approach to caregiving. I value your child’s strengths and do my best to help you find ways to support your child through their relationships and environment.
Past Examples of My OT Work
1. Evaluating your child’s sensory profile and offering strategies that center your child’s sensory health and wellness and support your child in getting their sensory needs met. This can also include best ways of presenting information and communicating with your child to support their access to learning and participation across environments.
2. Supporting caregivers in understanding potential reasons behind certain observable actions/behaviors they see in their child and strategies to support their child in a way that affirms their needs. For example, you might notice your child regularly refuses or “acts out” in certain ways when asked to complete a task. I have helped caregivers explore why this is and accommodations we can make that support your child in getting their needs met.
3. Supporting children and adolescents who have difficulty completing personal hygiene activities such as toileting, incontinence care, bathing, teeth-brushing, applying deodorant, and changes related to puberty/menstrual care.
4. Supporting families in building a morning and/or evening routine for their child that helps them to start/end the day with reduced stress and builds their child’s energy for the day.
5. Supporting children and adolescents in accessing mental health care/counseling through co-treating or collaborating with their therapist to accommodate your child’s sensory needs during their sessions.
6. Supporting families in building their child’s sense of autonomy throughout the day to reduce their child’s stress and build their sense of self and self-esteem.
7. Supporting families in working with school teams to build accommodations and supports that center the needs of their child or adolescent.
I am currently accepting only a very limited number of private family clients due to my responsibilities as a faculty member at Carlow University. Please see my logistics and fees page for more information.
Call 412-746-1200 or email heartofgoldpgh@gmail.com to request a welcome packet with more details about occupational therapy support for children and families.