services
It can feel scary or discouraging to sign your child up for an evaluation of any kind. But having been through multiple evaluation processes elsewhere, we can easily say that our occupational therapy and speech evaluations at Little Light were the least stressful, most enjoyable, and most accurate evaluations we've been through. If you believe your child could benefit from occupational or speech therapy, or if you're looking for a new clinic, we can't recommend Little Light highly enough. We will be forever grateful for the ways they've helped our family.
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— Kara, Jonathan's mom
what is occupational therapy?
Occupational Therapy is a health profession that helps people improve the functioning of their nervous systems in order to develop skills, leading to success in everyday life.
Occupational therapy at Little Light focuses on sensory processing and relationship-based direct intervention. We are firm in our belief that our priorities for therapy must be targeted toward your child, their social participation, self-esteem, and your family’s joy in life.
occupational therapy
who needs occupational therapy?
If someone has suggested your child may have sensory issues or has sensory processing disorder, we’re here to help. You might notice that your child has trouble doing age-appropriate tasks such as buttoning his shirt, tracing letters, catching a ball, or tying his shoes. Some children may be able to do age-appropriate tasks but have a hard time because of sensory integration problems. If your child avoids movement, hates messy/dirty hands, covers their ears with loud noises, seems like the ‘wild child’ who can never calm, can’t handle tags and seams on clothes, or demonstrates delays with things their peers can do, schedule an evaluation today.
how does occupational therapy work?
A child’s occupation is play, and occupational therapy relies a lot upon fun, enjoyable activities that help your child target their challenge areas. Activities are designed by our therapist to develop relationship, improve sensory processing, strength, and coordination (plus a lot more!). Treatment takes place in our awesome therapy gym where we can use swings, a climbing ladder, and ball pit to help make lasting changes in the way your child’s brain works. We make work look like play, and we make it look FUN…all while YOU are there with us.
what is sensory processing?
“Sensory Processing Disorder or SPD (originally called Sensory Integration Dysfunction) is a neurological disorder in which the sensory information that the individual perceives results in abnormal responses.
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Sensory processing refers to the way the nervous system receives messages from the senses and turns them into responses. For those with Sensory Processing Disorder, sensory information goes into the brain but does not get organized into appropriate responses. Those with SPD perceive and/or respond to sensory information differently than most other people. Unlike people who have impaired sight or hearing, those with Sensory Processing Disorder do detect the sensory information; however, the sensory information gets “mixed up” in their brain and therefore the responses are inappropriate in the context in which they find themselves.
who needs sensory processing help?
Is your child struggling to keep it together at school? Do they struggle with self-esteem? Are behavior reports piling up from school? Sensory issues might be the answer. Kids who are struggling with sensory processing difficulties might display some of the following:
how do we help?
We are East Texas’ experts in helping families understand sensory processing disorder! With over a decade of specialized care for children and extensive training to become Level 1 Certified in Sensory Processing Disorder at the STAR Institute in Denver, Colorado, we know what it takes to make a difference for your family. We utilize evidenced-based intervention strategies, following an intensive model developed at STAR. At Little Light, this approach is a proven success in making changes for your child and your family. On top of that? We promise, it really is fun!
Extreme meltdowns & tantrums
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Very picky eater, doesn't like the way things feel
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Clumsy, disheveled, messy kiddo
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Frequent bad behavior reports from teachers
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Over-reacts to loud noises, textures, tastes
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Often hurts others without realizing it
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Does things slowly & struggles to start tasks
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Anxious or worried, easily startled or cries
A more formal definition is: SPD is a neurophysiologic condition in which sensory input either from the environment or from one’s body is poorly detected, modulated, or interpreted and/or to which atypical responses are observed. Pioneering occupational therapist and psychologist A. Jean Ayres, Ph.D., likened SPD to a neurological “traffic jam” that prevents certain parts of the brain from receiving the information needed to interpret sensory information correctly.
sensory processing
working as a team
Working with families is a top priority at Little Light. Our desire is for your child’s light to shine for ALL to see, not just us in the clinic! During sessions, parents are deeply involved in play and therapy…every time! On top of that, approximately 20% of all sessions are parent collaboration. We set aside time for adults only, to really focus on making sure parents and other caretakers understand the child’s sensory processing struggles and how to best treat it during the natural course of daily life.
parent empowerment
what will we talk about?
That depends! What is important to YOU and for your family? Here, we don’t set goals based on tests or checklists. We sit down as a team, determine what matters to your family, and work together to highlight meaningful changes we want for your child. Your priorities determine our focus in therapy. We’ll also have sessions to problem solve through trouble behaviors and daily struggles that come up for you and your family. Ultimately, we are here for you!