OTA The Koomar Center offers a variety of services to support our clients across home, school, college, and work environments. These may include setting up a sensory space at home, providing activities and accommodations within the classroom and educating teachers and professionals working with the client.
Home Consult: Setting Up a Sensory Space at Home
At OTA The Koomar Center we are committed to supporting our clients in varied environments. In addition to therapy it is often beneficial for an individual to have regular opportunities in the home environment to engage in sensory-enriched activities to support optimal self-regulation and participation in daily activities. If a child’s sensory needs are intense, this may require that a specialized sensory environment or sensory space be developed in the home. At OTA we have highly qualified staff with specialized knowledge in sensory integration equipment who can facilitate setting up such a sensory space in your home.
If you are a current client of OTA, the sensory space consultation process involves the following:
A 30–minute consult will take place between your treating therapist or evaluation therapist and the consult therapist to determine the therapeutic goals, special considerations and any safety concerns for the client. The therapists will also discuss which swings, structures and equipment are appropriate to meet the client’s needs.
The consult therapist will contact you directly via phone or email to schedule an appointment time to visit your home and obtain preliminary information on where you want your sensory space to be developed. The home visit will usually last for 1 to 1½ hours (not including travel time). You will be billed for the time required for the visit plus travel time to and from your home (at a reduced travel time rate). It is highly recommended that a contractor or the individual who will be completing the work be present for this visit. During this visit the consult therapist will:
- Determine the best location for your sensory space, either using an existing room or discussing the design of a new space.
- Discuss options and provide information on suspension equipment. While we can offer advice on types of equipment, we are not structural engineers and request that all structural questions be directed to your contractor or structural engineer.
- Discuss placement and design of structures (ball pits, club houses, climbing structures, zip lines, etc.).
- Discuss options for flooring and padding.
- Discuss equipment priorities and provide information on options for purchasing and building yourself.
- Discuss sensory-friendly color schemes and visual clutter control.
- Review a budget for the project and help you to prioritize to get the project underway.
If your contractor is not able to attend this visit, the consult therapist will produce a detailed written plan of the sensory room recommendations and complete a brief phone consult with the contractor. This process will add an additional 1½ to 2 hours of billed time onto the home consultation time.
If you are not currently an OTA client we request that you go to the getting started page on our website and complete the appropriate intake form. Our intake coordinator will contact you to discuss how to proceed. Click here for a printable document.
Teacher Conferences/IEP Meetings
Many individuals with SPD benefit from accommodations designed to help them to be successful across all environments. Your treating therapist will be happy to complete a school visit to observe your child’s performance in the classroom. Following the visit you will receive a report describing accommodations that can be implemented to support your child’s performance.
Teacher conferences, in person or via phone consults, can be scheduled to support a teacher to understand the unique sensory needs of your child.
You may also request that your therapist attend your child’s IEP meeting to offer advice about your child’s sensory needs as they pertain to the classroom.
Education and Presentations
Our therapists are highly trained specialists in pediatrics and sensory integration with many years of clinical experience. We provide clinical training to OT students from a variety of universities as well as to therapists from around the country. We also offer presentations and lectures around the country to parent groups, therapists, educators and other professionals.
Recent presentation topics have included:
- Sensory Integration Theory, Research and Practice
- Understanding Sensory Processing Dysfunction
- Supporting a child with SPD to be successful in the classroom
- Fiddle and Focus
Presentations and overviews are tailored to the individual needs of the audience and can involve lecture style presentations as well as case study presentations and equipment demonstrations. To request more information, please email admin@otathekoomarcenter.com.
The Spiral Foundation also offers an webinars, courses and “live talks” to educate professionals on Sensory Processing Dysfunction and related topics. For a list of upcoming lectures, click here.
Professional Consultations for Challenging Clients
OTA offers consultation to occupational therapists, speech and language therapists and other professionals working with challenging clients. A senior therapist or director will review videotapes and reports and then set up a consult over the telephone or Skype to offer insight into potential sensory integration challenges and offer recommendations for intervention. These services are billed at an hourly rate.
Consultations are also available with our specialty coordinators including:
- Listening Interventions
- Visual-Vestibular Intervention
- Oral Motor/Feeding Therapy
- Manual Therapies
- Interactive Metronome®
To set up a consultation please email our executive assistant at admin@otathekoomarcenter.com