Petals Pediatric Therapy
Services
Evaluation
What to Expect
Step 1: Getting to Know Your Family
Your first visit begins with a conversation. We take the time to listen to your concerns, answer your questions, and learn about your child's medical history, developmental milestones, strengths, interests, and daily routines. We want to understand what is important to your family and what goals you hope your child can achieve.
Step 2: Observing Your Child
Next, our occupational therapist interacts with your child through fun, engaging, and age-appropriate activities. While your child may simply feel like they're playing, we're carefully observing how they move, respond to sensory information, interact with others, solve problems, follow directions, and complete everyday tasks.
Depending on your child's age and needs, we may assess:
-
Fine motor development
-
Hand strength and coordination
-
Visual motor integration
-
Handwriting readiness
-
Sensory processing
-
Balance and body awareness
-
Motor planning
-
Attention and regulation
-
Self-care skills such as dressing, feeding, and grooming
-
Play and social participation
Standardized assessments may also be completed when appropriate to better understand your child's developmental skills.
Step 3: Reviewing the Results
After the evaluation, we discuss our findings with you in a way that is easy to understand. Together, we'll identify your child's strengths, discuss areas that may benefit from intervention, and answer any questions you may have.
If occupational therapy is recommended, we'll create an individualized treatment plan with measurable goals designed specifically for your child.
Our goal is for you to leave feeling informed, supported, and confident about the next steps.
Intervention
Personalized Therapy That Builds Skills Through Purposeful Play
Every therapy session is designed around your child's unique strengths, interests, and goals. We believe children make the greatest progress when therapy is meaningful, engaging, and fun.
Although many activities look like play, every game, obstacle course, craft, or movement activity has a therapeutic purpose.
What Happens During Therapy?
Check-In:
Each session begins by checking in with both you and your child. We'll discuss any changes at home or school, celebrate successes, and address new concerns that may have come up since your last visit.
Preparing for Success:
Some children benefit from sensory activities before beginning more structured tasks. We may use movement, swinging, climbing, deep pressure activities, or sensory exercises to help your child regulate their body and prepare for learning.
Skill Development
Your therapist will guide your child through individualized therapeutic activities that target their treatment goals.
Depending on your child's needs, sessions may focus on:
-
Improving hand strength and fine motor coordination
-
Learning to use scissors, pencils, crayons, and classroom tools
-
Developing handwriting and visual motor skills
-
Increasing independence with dressing, feeding, toileting, and grooming
-
Improving sensory processing and emotional regulation
-
Building attention, organization, and executive functioning skills
-
Increasing coordination, balance, and motor planning
-
Developing confidence through play and problem-solving activities
Activities are continually adjusted to provide just the right amount of challenge while allowing your child to experience success.
Parent Education:
Before each session ends, we'll review your child's progress with you, discuss what was worked on during therapy, and provide practical activities or strategies you can easily use at home to continue building skills between visits.
We believe therapy is most successful when families are active partners in the process.
Consulation
Supporting the Entire Team Around Your Child
Children grow best when everyone is working together toward the same goals. That's why consultation is an important part of the services we provide.
Our occupational therapist partners with parents, caregivers, physicians, teachers, daycare providers, and other professionals to ensure your child receives consistent support across every environment.
What Consultation May Include
-
Reviewing developmental concerns with parents
-
Discussing therapy recommendations
-
Collaborating with physicians and referral sources
-
Communicating with teachers and school staff
-
Providing classroom or home recommendations
-
Suggesting sensory strategies and environmental modifications
-
Recommending adaptive equipment or tools when appropriate
-
Helping caregivers understand how to support skill development during everyday routines
Our consultations are collaborative, practical, and individualized. Rather than offering one-size-fits-all advice, we develop strategies that fit naturally into your family's daily life.