1:1 Therapy sessions
45 minute therapy appointments that will vary in frequency depending on your child's needs and depend on the services that they are already receiving (school therapy, home-based teams, etc.). Ideally we would see your child once a week initially to set up programs at either the clinic or at your home. Later as skills are being generalized and goals are being mastered, sessions may decrease in frequency and may only occur as needed.
We tailor your child’s session to their needs that day..
We use floor-time principles to follow a child’s lead, yet expand the interaction to help steer them towards learning skills
We follow sensory integration principles in our sensory motor gym that meets Jane Ayers fidelity measures
We have visuals to help scaffold or structure a session when it is beneficial to provide predictability
Parents are encouraged to stay in a session and learn along with us. Yet may also leave to provide the child an opportunity to explore a different side of themselves safely in a trusting relationship with their therapist
As part of the therapeutic hour, the therapist will:
write notes after each session for you to review and/or share with other service providers
discuss homework or activities to try at home between appointments.
email resources or deliver handouts related to that session’s focus or area of learning
Feeding Therapy
Several of our OTs have done courses/training in the SOS Approach to Feeding & Feeding Disorders in Children. The Sequential-Oral-Sensory approach is NDA and is not behavioual. The assessment starts with looking at oral-motor function. Are there weaknesses with chewing or swallowing certain textures. Then treatment can be done virtually, 1:1 or in groups. SInce eating is such a social activity, feeding progress may actually include parent coaching. Parents can share videos and try different playful activities.
Zoe is currently accepting new feeding therapy referrals. She can do parent intakes/coaching virtually from any location in BC. She can do in-person assessments to make therapy plans in Vancouver and the North Okanagan/Vernon area. Zoe can then supervise other OTs/RAs/BIs on the team to continue with feeding therapy. Even if feeding is not the primary goal, we can at least include food activities into our sensory integration activities.
Sometimes we peel beets, use them as paint brushes. Then we paint our arms like tattoos, maybe even put on beet lipstick. It is a playful sensory exploration approach. The goal is to increase exposure to new foods, feel ing safe around food, and no pressure to eat it right away. If french fries are a favourie preferred food
Groups
We offer small groups of 4-6 kids matched on skill level to run fun group activities. The following programs work well in groups:
Hiking club: go out for walks in the woods to learn about nature’s sensory ecosystems
Snowsports club: love snow and want to meet others who do too. We can hike, snowshoe, ski, snowboard, XC ski
Life skills: learn to take transit (bus/skytrain) to shop, eat, or meet friends for fun
Cooking: learn how to plan a meal, grocery shop on budget, and cook together in a real kitchen
Feeding: structured snack time to introduce new foods to picky eaters
ALERT program for sensory-based emotional-regulation "How does your engine run?"
School-Readiness: fine motor skills, pencil skills, drawing, cutting, printing
Supportive social friendship groups for kids or teens
Consultations
We are available to help consult on home-based behaviour therapy teams. In these sessions we may work with a Behaviour Interventionist (BI) to train them on how to deliver specific OT procedures, so that they can be carried out daily as part of their ongoing behaviour programming.
We are also available to attend team and school meetings to help advocate for services and share procedures/techniques with other service providers (Supported Education Assistants, Teacher Aides, etc..)