Pediatric occupational therapy helps children build the everyday skills that childhood requires - dressing, eating, writing, playing, managing big feelings, and keeping up at school. An occupational therapist looks at the underlying skills behind a difficulty, not just the difficulty itself. The word occupational confuses almost everyone. For a child, their occupations are play, learning, self-care, and friendship. That is what we are treating.

If your child is consistently struggling with something their peers manage - handwriting, mealtimes, transitions, coordination, or emotional regulation - an evaluation will tell you whether OT can help. You do not need to be certain before you call. Common reasons families reach out: illegible or effortful handwriting, an extremely limited diet, meltdowns around transitions, strong reactions to noise or clothing textures, clumsiness or avoiding playground equipment, difficulty dressing independently at an age when peers can, or a teacher raising concerns.

Yes. A significant portion of our caseload is autistic children. Our approach is to support the child in front of us rather than to make them appear less autistic. We work on sensory regulation, motor skills, daily living skills, and self-advocacy - the things that expand what a child can do and choose. The goal is never to change who your child is.

The evaluation takes 60 to 90 minutes and mostly looks like play. We talk through your concerns and your child’s history, then assess reflexes, fine motor and visual-motor skills, sensory processing, strength, coordination, attention, and daily living skills. You leave with a written report, measurable goals, and a recommendation - typically within 48 to 72 hours. Our Process page walks through each step in detail.

Yes. Lakeside Occupational Therapy is an approved direct-pay provider for the Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities, administered by Step Up For Students. If your child has an active award, you can select us as a provider in your Step Up account and pay for therapy from those funds. You apply to Step Up directly - we cannot apply on your behalf, but we are happy to walk you through what the application asks for.

We are a private-pay practice. When a practice bills insurance, the insurer sets the terms - how many visits are authorized, how long the authorization takes, and when therapy has to stop. Those decisions are made by someone who has never met your child. Private pay means the plan is set between you and Janelle, with no authorization delay before starting and no cap imposed partway through. On request we provide a superbill, an itemized receipt you can submit to your insurer for possible out-of-network reimbursement.

It depends entirely on what we are working on. Some children meet their goals in a few months; others work for a year or more. Sessions are typically 30 minutes, once a week, though some children benefit from longer or more frequent sessions. Goals are reviewed on a regular schedule and we discharge when they are met. We will always tell you honestly where your child is against their goals - a practice that keeps children longer than they need is not doing its job.

Item descriptionNo to both. You do not need a referral to book an evaluation with us, and your child does not need a diagnosis. Many of the children we see have no diagnosis at all - an occupational therapy evaluation assesses function, not diagnosis, and a child can benefit from OT without any label. If you plan to seek out-of-network reimbursement from your insurer, they may require a physician referral. It is worth asking them before the evaluation.