My Kid Doesn’t Have a Job ― So Why Would They Need ‘Occupational Therapy’?

Many people equate the word “occupation” with a nine-to-five job. But no matter where we are in our lives, explains occupational therapist Meredith Hunt, “from infancy to adulthood, we are all engaging in an occupation.”

As a baby, your occupation was to eat, sleep, crawl, and walk, Hunt says. As a preschooler, it was learning how to dress yourself and engaging in imaginative play with friends. And as an older child, it was taking on tasks like writing and typing and participating in band or soccer.

Occupational therapy, or OT, for children strengthens the fine motor skills, sensory motor skills, and visual motor skills they need to function and socialize. Many professionals who work with children, such as pediatricians, psychologists, and teachers, regularly refer them to OT and find the interventions extremely helpful.

They also report how effective OT can be for sensory sensitivities and emotional regulation. “I have found that when I teach parents how to address the sensory concerns from a behavioral perspective, it only treats the symptoms but not the cause,” said Dr. Paula Strauss, a Santa Barbara psychologist. “That’s when I refer to OT, so that the root cause of the sensory concerns can be addressed.”

Similarly, Strauss said, “Many of the kiddos I see have trouble with emotional regulation (think big emotional outbursts) and are easily overstimulated, leading to disruptive behaviors. OT teaches kids how to regulate their nervous system.”

Here are three pediatric occupational therapists working in Santa Barbara who offer different specialties and approaches and focus on different age groups, from infants to preteens.

Home-Based

Dr. Monica Quintanilla Goldstein, Adira Occupational Therapy (adiraot.com)

Adira Occupational Therapy offers a distinctive approach to pediatric therapy, emphasizing family-centered care and individualized, evidence-based services in the comfort of your home. Adira utilizes a learning hierarchy approach prioritizing regulating the central nervous system for infants and children to participate, learn, and reinforce higher-level activities. Adira believes that supporting the well-being of the whole family unit is essential to achieving lasting outcomes.

Dr. Monica is a lactation-informed OT who offers support for both breast and bottle feeding. Adira Occupational Therapy specializes in tethered oral tissues (TOTs), feeding, and myofunctional therapy. Additionally, she supports children with selective eating habits, toilet learning, and self-help skills. Committed to providing holistic care, Dr. Monica prioritizes empowering families with personalized strategies for nurturing healthy developmental milestones.

Nature-Based

Ryan Lynch, Sprout Outdoor Occupational Therapy (sproutoutdooroccupationaltherapy.com)

Sprout Outdoor Occupational Therapy redefines the conventional therapy model by seamlessly integrating pediatric OT with the expansive benefits of the outdoors. This unique and evidence-based approach naturally enhances attention and organization, allowing for an optimal learning environment to build new skills. Ryan Lynch meticulously directs therapy from the evidenced-based, neuro-developmental understanding that sensory processing, emotional regulation, and other foundational sensory motor skills are pivotal to accessing higher level social, academic, and daily living skills. 

Lynch’s therapeutic interventions encompass a range of areas, including sensory processing and sensory integration, fine and gross motor coordination, visual perceptual skills, self-confidence building, and functional daily life skills. He also specializes in executive functioning skill building such as creative problem-solving, social-emotional skills, self-regulation, and improved attention and following directions.

Clinic-Based

Lisa Serby, OT Arts (otartssb.com)

OT Arts is a fully dedicated occupational therapy clinic using the latest sensory integration principles and protocols. We use equipment and treatments to promote enduring neurological change for a calmer and more focused child. OT Arts provides a safe, thoughtfully designed environment with minimal distractions, and we use drawing, painting and arts and crafts as well as other motivating activities to engage children’s interests. 

We focus on increasing skills in the areas of fine motor, self-help, motor planning, and sensory processing, as well as executive functions like self-regulation, following directions, attention and focus, organization, and problem-solving. As a non-public agency (NPA) certified by the State of California, OT Arts serves a variety of families and children ages 2-13, including children diagnosed with autism, ADHD, learning disabilities and intellectual disabilities, as well as gifted children.

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Lisa Serby, MA, OTR/L, founder and director of OT Arts, is a licensed and registered occupational therapist. She has dedicated her practice to the safety and well-being of Santa Barbara’s children and families for more than 20 years through school-based and clinical practice.