Occupational Therapy Clinic

Scope of Care

Occupational therapy is skilled treatment that helps individuals achieve independence in all aspects of their lives. It gives people the "skills for the job of living" and enhances the quality of their lives.

More specifically for children and youth, occupational therapy is concerned with a child's ability to participate in daily life activities or "occupations" such as self-care, play, and school-related activities. We provide individual, multi-disciplinary, and interdisciplinary evaluations, family/caregiver training, and skilled therapeutic interventions. OTs use their unique expertise and understanding of the impact of disability, illness and impairment on functional skills to design interventions that promote development, establish foundational skills, address sensorimotor processing and modify environments to support participation in daily activities.

Services We Provide

Evaluation

We strive to provide comprehensive assessment and treatment services for individuals 0-21 years of age and their families. Additionally, we provide services to adults with developmental disabilities. We collaborate with the family, other healthcare professionals, early intervention programs, schools, and community agencies to establish appropriate care plans and coordinate therapy efforts.

Treatment

Individual and/or group occupational therapy is available. Parent or caregiver education and home programs are vital to our interventions. Our therapists work closely with family members, school staff, community agencies and other healthcare professionals to coordinate therapy goals and objectives. The focus of treatment might include improvement in:

• upper extremity neuromotor and musculoskeletal status
• developmental skills
• activities of daily living skills
• integration of sensory motor processing
• visual perceptual motor skills
• motor skills for school activities
• oral motor skills
• prevocational/vocational skills

We also provide assistance with adaptive equiment/technology, and we apply splints to prevent deformities.

Service Providers

We are fortunate to have over ten knowledgeable occupational therapists with many years of education and experience in pediatric evaluation and treatment. Our therapists also are committed to clinical training and research aimed at improving evidence-based practice. In addition to conventional occupational therapy services, we have therapists specially trained in sensory integration, neurodevelopmental therapy, feeding therapy, constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT), assistive technology, splinting, therapeutic listening, floor time, and child passenger safety.

How to make a Referral

Referrals are welcome from any source including parents, educators, caseworkers, physicians, and other health/allied health care providers. Many families require a referral from their primary care provider in order for their insurance to cover the service; if this is the case, our bilingual administrative staff can help you with the process. For more information, or to initiate a referral, please call 503-418-0290.

Resources

• American Occupational Therapy Association (external link)
• Assistive Technology (external link)
• Autism Speaks (external link)
• Cerebral Palsy (external link)

Research

CDRC occupational therapists are involved in multiple, on-going research endeavors including projects on typical childhood development, constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT), feeding issues in children with Smith-Lemli Opitz Syndrome, assessment & management of pain in children with disabilities, and central nervous system stem cell transplant for children with Batten's Disease.