Occupational Therapy

At Step Forward Therapy, our Pediatric Occupational Therapy program is designed to empower children to actively engage in daily activities, fostering their development at home, school, and within the community. Our expert therapists specialize in a spectrum of areas crucial for a child’s growth, including sensory integration, feeding, coordination, fine motor skills, handwriting, attention, social-emotional regulation, and executive functioning skills.

Areas of Specialization

Emotional Regulation Difficulties
    • Supporting emotional well-being and regulation.
Feeding Therapy
    • Addressing feeding challenges through specialized approaches like the SOS method for picky eaters.
Social Skills Challenges
    • Fostering social interaction and understanding.
Activities of Daily Living (ADLs)
    • Enhancing independence in daily tasks.
      • toileting, grooming (brushing teeth, hair), dressing, bathing
Balance and Coordination Difficulties
    • Supporting physical coordination challenges and foundational physical skills.
      • Core Strengthening, Upper Body Strengthening Vestibular Training (balance), and Postural Control: Developing foundational physical skills.
      • Bilateral Coordination: Coordinated use of arms and hands.
Body and Spatial Awareness
    • Fostering awareness of one’s body and surroundings.
Organizational Difficulties
    • Providing support for improved organizational skills.
Sensory Regulation
    • Offering interventions for overall sensory well-being.
Fine Motor Skill Development
    • Enhancing precision in small hand movements.
      • Improved handwriting skills including spacing, sizing, grasp: Targeted interventions for precise writing skills
Visual Motor Development
    • Enhancing visual-motor coordination.
Difficulties Related to Change Acceptance
    • Supporting children in adapting to changes.
Behavioral Challenges
    • Addressing and managing behavioral difficulties.
Sleep Regulation
    • Providing support for sleep-related challenges.
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Common Diagnoses and Conditions Addressed

Our therapy program provides comprehensive support for a diverse range of conditions, including, but not limited to the following.

ADHD (Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder)
    • Targeting attention and focus challenges.
Autism Spectrum Disorder
    • Supporting individuals with sensory and social communication difficulties.
Down Syndrome
    • Addressing developmental and motor skill challenges.
Sensory Processing Disorder / Sensory Integration Dysfunction
    • Providing intervention for sensory-related difficulties and enhancing the ability to process sensory input.
Apraxia
    • Supporting motor planning and coordination.
Auditory Processing Disorder
    • Addressing challenges related to auditory information processing.
Cerebral Palsy
    • Enhancing motor function and coordination.
Hypotonia (Low Muscle Tone)
    • Addressing challenges associated with reduced muscle tone.

Some areas our Occupational Therapy can help:

A child who has a delay in meeting fine and/or gross motor milestones

A child who is having trouble with skills in activities of daily living like feeding and dressing

A child with balance and coordination difficulties

A child who has difficulty with organization

A child who has difficulty with handwriting

A child who overreacts or under-reacts to movement, touch, or sound

A child who is struggling with behavioral social skills

A child who is a picky eater

A child who demonstrates no hand preference after age 6

A child who struggles to regulate his/her activity level

Meet Our Occupational Therapists
A child with blond hair lays on his stomach on a scooter and crawls across the floor to reach the game he is playing.
One of our occupational therapists, Michaela, plays a game with two kids during an occupational therapy session. The two children are moving game pieces on the board as Michaela smiles.
One of our occupational therapists, Sam, is hugged by two children during an occupational therapy session. Everyone is smiling big in the photo.
A photo of one of our speech therapists working with a child on a puzzle. the photo is taken from above so it is an ariel view of the therapist, the child, and a my little pony puezzle.
This photo shows Miss Stacey, our preschool teacher, making popsicles with her preschool students. The kids are helping pour a measuring cup of milk into a bowl. Everyone is smiling and watching attentively.
A photo of one of our lead therapists, Mr Mike, working with a child to write words on a whiteboard and work on pronunciation. The child is in a red shirt and sitting on the ground pointing at the whiteboard. Mr Mike is watching the child attentively.
This photo is of one of our occupational therapists. She is closely looking at a craft that her and the child created. They both look on and are impressed.
A photo of one of our occupational therapists sitting at a table with a child. The two of them are next to each other as they play a strategy game. Both of them have big smiles on their face.
A photo of one of our speech therapists, Micc Rachel, and a child she is working with in speech therapy. Rachel is holding up a mirror and pointing to her tongue as the child sees himself in the mirror to practice saying the same sound.
A photo of one of our occupational therapists, Miss Danielle, sitting at a table with a child working on a craft. Danielle and the student both hold up their finished product which is a bumble bee.
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What Our Families are Saying

Step Forward Therapy is a place where not only do they care about your child and their development but also the entire family. Our kids enjoy going there to “play”!

Step Forward is simply amazing!! Our daughter has worked with OT’s, PT’s, and SLP’s and the progress she has made during the two years we have been with them is tremendous!

We attend SFT for speech and have been so happy with our experience. Michele, is an outstanding speech therapist, her love and passion for what she does shines through.