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Pediatric Occupational Therapy

Mind & Motion's Occupational Therapy for Kids

Kid's Occupational Therapists specialize in working with children and are trained to create opportunities for them to master developmental tasks and achieve independence in their home, school, and community. A child may be referred to an occupational therapist because of: clumsiness, difficulty with the grasp or motor skills, and difficulty playing or socializing effectively. Primarily, a screening is done to assess the functioning of visual, fine motor skills, and sensory processing skills. After the initial screening is completed, occupational therapy for kids would involve an evaluation to determine the level of development of the child. In addition, informal clinical observations and parent interviewing help the therapist to determine how well the child's sensory processing systems function and how effectively he/she can motor plan within his/her environment. Once the assessment is at its finishing point, the therapist most likely will determine whether therapy is recommended and the rationale for treatment. Our Occupational Therapists address difficulties in motor planning, gross and fine motor skills, feeding, sensory integration, self-care, handwriting, and executive functioning. Occupational Therapy strategies and programs incorporate Sensory Integration, Astronaut training, Therapeutic Listening, Beckman Oral Motor ®, and Handwriting without Tears ®. The occupational therapists utilize various types of measures to help the following issues; sensory processing, sensory integration, motor planning (praxis), fine motor skills, handwriting skills, play and social skills, self-care, oral motor function, environmental adaptations, and adaptive equipment modifications.

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Sensory Integration & Astronaut Training

Occupational Therapy

What to Expect From Us

Step 1: Complete the Allied Health Intake Form and Schedule an Evaluation.

The AH intake form provides a detailed account of important developmental milestones which will give the evaluator an idea of the concerns that need to be addressed during the evaluation. The evaluation is about an hour long. A parent will need to be present for the clinical interview, and to complete any evaluation forms. If you child has an IEP or 504 plan, we will need it during this session. Availability for these sessions can depend on seasonality, but we can typically schedule within two weeks of the Intake Form being received. For most insurance companies, the evaluation is a billable service every 6 months.

Step 2: Evaluation Complete, Plan of Care Created, Qualification for Services.

Once the appointment has been completed, the evaluator then scores all materials and creates a write up of the Evaluation. If the patient qualifies for services, a Plan of Care (POC) is created by the evaluator. This POC outlines recommended treatment goals and a recommended frequency of treatment. At our practice, the average frequency of treatment for Occupational Therapy is 1 hour per week. Intensive programs average at two 1 hour sessions a week. This frequency is subject to insurance approval. The average timeframe for a Plan of Care is around 6 months.

Step 3: Primary Care Physician Approval, Insurance Authorization.

We send the completed Evaluation and Plan of Care to your Primary Care Physician (PCP) for their review, their signature on our Plan of Care, and a prescription for the service. More often than not, insurance authorization is required for this service. We send the reviewed Evaluation, and Plan of Care to your insurance company for prior authorization. If your child has an IEP or 504 plan, we will need to send that as well. This step in the process can take up to 2 weeks depending on your Primary Care Physician and insurance company.

Step 4: Insurance Approval and Scheduling Reoccurring Therapies.

Once we receive the insurance authorization, a member of our team will reach out to update you on the outcomes of the request for services, frequency recommended and expected out of pocket charges for each session. Insurance authorizations are subject to any requirement the insurance company deems necessary.

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Frequently Asked Questions about Occupational Therapy for Kids

When do I receive a copy of the evaluation report and plan of care?

A final copy of the evaluation and plan of care with goals will be provided to the client during their first therapy session. If you would like this information sooner, please let us know!

Will the evaluator be the ongoing Therapist?

We do our best to coordinate schedules with any other services you may receive at our practice. As a result, the client’s evaluator may not be the client’s ongoing therapist. You will be notified of this during scheduling. Please let us know of any preference while we are scheduling!