INTRODUCTION
What is Pediatric Occupational Therapy?
Occupations are the everyday activities that your child wants or needs to do, like playing, learning, and participating in daily routines. Occupational therapy practitioners are distinctly qualified to support kids and teens in developing the skills they need to engage in these activities — and in addressing specific barriers that get in the way.
At Blume, our OTs look at the whole child, considering how motor skills, sensory processing, regulation, executive functioning, and daily routines all work together to support your child’s unique needs.
Whether your child has a formal diagnosis or is simply needing support, we meet them where they are and collaborate with you and your child to set meaningful goals.
AREAS OF FOCUS
How OT Can Help
Occupational therapy helps kids and teens develop the skills they need for the “work” of childhood: playing, learning, and growing. If your child needs support in any of these areas, we're here to help.
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Fine Motor Skills
Executing small movements with precision, including manipulating toys, drawing, handwriting, using scissors, and managing fasteners and utensils.
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Sensory Processing
Understanding, organizing, and responding to the sensory information we receive throughout the day.
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Gross Motor Skills
Building the strength and coordination needed to plan and implement whole-body movements when navigating a playground, riding a bike, or playing sports.
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Body Awareness
Understanding where your body is in space (proprioception) to support coordination and safety when navigating the environment.
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Executive Functioning
Developing the skills to plan, initiate, sequence, and complete complex tasks, including organization and time management.
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Emotional Regulation
Developing interoceptive awareness and coping strategies to notice, understand, and respond to internal body cues and emotions.
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Visual Perceptual Skills
Perceiving and processing visual input to produce an action, which help us with reading, writing, locating items, and solving puzzles.
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Self Care & Daily Routines
Supporting engagement in dressing, feeding, hygiene, and other activities of daily living.
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Self Advocacy
Empowering your child to understand, communicate, and advocate for their own cognitive, sensory, and physical needs across environments.
WHO WE WORK WITH
Supporting Kids, Teens, and Caregivers
A formal diagnosis is not required to benefit from occupational therapy. We work with children and teens across a wide range of needs, backgrounds, and abilities.
Diagnoses We Commonly Support
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Autism
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ADHD
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Sensory processing differences
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Down syndrome
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Cerebral palsy
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Developmental delays
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Anxiety
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PTSD and trauma history
Everyday Occupations We Support
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Daily routines and self-care skills (dressing, hygiene, feeding, sleep)
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Play: exploring interests, problem-solving, and building motor skills
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Educational participation: managing scissors, handwriting, executive functioning, and visual motor skills
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Affirming social connection, identity exploration, and self-advocacy
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Regulation to participate in daily activities
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Environmental access through adaptations and accommodation
OUR APPROACH
Neurodiversity-Affirming Care
At Blume, our Occupational Therapists are grounded in a neurodiversity-affirming, strengths-based approach. We believe that differences in the human brain and experience are natural and that every child deserves to engage in a meaningful life as their authentic self.
What that looks like in practice:
We presume competence.
We celebrate your child's unique strengths and build upon them to promote meaningful skill development.
We prioritize safety and connection first.
Nervous system regulation and felt safety are the foundation of all higher-level learning and growth.
We shift the environment, not the child.
We look to make adjustments to the context to support your child’s ability to engage in the world around them.
We foster intrinsic motivation.
We build sessions around your child's interests and follow their lead, ensuring that skill development and carryover are meaningful.
We respect your child's autonomy.
We honor their needs and meet them where they’re at to ensure their voice is heard throughout the therapeutic process.
We listen to and learn from lived experience.
We continuously learn from the neurodivergent community to inform our practice.