What We Do

 

Using the DIR model, POP provides comprehensive and respectful pediatric therapy, creating a solid foundation for growth across multiple domains of a child's life.

Through play-based interactions, the DIR model promotes functional communication, problem-solving skills, abstract thinking, and logical reasoning. Its long-term developmental focus aims for sustainable improvements rather than just teaching specific skills. This approach aligns well with neurodiversity-affirming practices, respecting each child's unique way of interacting with the world.

By celebrating the child's interests and ways of engaging, therapy can boost self-esteem and confidence. Furthermore, because therapy occurs in natural, meaningful contexts, children are more likely to generalize learned skills to other situations.

Early Intervention

Within the Illinois Early Intervention System, POP therapists provide services to children age birth through three in the home and community settings.


Feeding Services

Affirming individual and group services that emphasize positive mealtime interactions. POP also offers lactation counseling and TOTS (Tethered Oral Tissues) certified therapists.

Home and Daycare visits

POP is dedicated to making our therapy services as accessible as possible for all families by providing the opportunity to see children in the home or at daycare when they are not able to come to our clinic location.

 

Tween and Teen Programming

POP provides a variety of unique programming for tweens and teens, including peer-led social groups, community-based groups, and executive functioning support to promote life skills and independence.

Therapeutic Groups

Pop offers a variety of groups focusing on sensory integration, attention and regulation, and developing friendships. Other groups focus on skills around self advocacy, peer education and collaboration around meaningful themes, celebrating neurodivergent communication and interaction skills, and providing a safe space for kids to explore social relationships with peers.

 Our Services

 

Occupational Therapy

At POP, our occupational therapists support children in their everyday life activities, including the occupations of play, self care, and development of motor skills. We recognize and respect the unique strengths and individual differences for each of our clients. We provide a safe place for children to learn how to better interpret and modulate sensation to support their sensory processing, self-regulation and attention skills. Through play and motivating activities, our occupational therapists also support fine and gross motor coordination, visual motor/visual spatial skills, motor planning, and executive function.

Our occupational therapists are trained in a variety of models and approaches including but not limited to:

  • Sensory Integration and Sensory Health 

  • DIR/Floortime

  • Trauma-Informed Practice
    Interoception Curriculum 

  • Interactive Metronome (IM)

  • Reflex Integration and Rhythmic Movement Training

  • Responsive Feeding Therapy and Infant Feeding/Breastfeeding Support

  • Handwriting including Kinesthetic Approach to Handwriting, Handwriting Without Tears, Typing Without Tears, and Size Matters

  • Auditory Interventions including Therapeutic Listening and Integrated Listening Systems (ILS)

  • Infant feeding specialty to include breastfeeding support/bottle feeding as well as transitions to solids. 

Physical Therapy

Our licensed pediatric physical therapists (PTs) at POP treat from an affirming, functional, and kid-centric manner, Our physical therapists can assist children with mobility and increased range of motion, strength, balance, and coordination. 

Our PTs work with older children and their families to develop movement and gross motor skills needed to promote active participation in home, school, and community environments. 

Our therapists are specially trained to work with children ages 0-18 years old (Clinic, Early Intervention, and broader community environment) with movement impairments, regardless of origin. Physical therapy sessions are individualized to meet your child's needs. 

Pediatric physical therapists provide any of the following services as part of their goal-directed plan of care:

  • Breath support and diaphragmatic breathing

  • Developmental activities

  • Movement and mobility

  • Gait training

  • Strengthening exercises

  • Motor planning and learning

  • Balance and coordination activities

  • Recreation, play, and leisure

  • Lower extremity orthotic assessment

  • Posture and positioning

  • Parent education

 

Speech Therapy

Speech therapy at our clinic goes beyond just improving speech and language skills; it's about empowering children to communicate effectively and confidently in their own way across all modalities and environments.

Through a collaborative and compassionate approach, our therapists prioritize a safe and inclusive space where children feel accepted and understood. Our therapists are trained to support both analytical and gestalt language processors of all ages and are happy to collaborate with parents and educators. 

Our therapy sessions are designed to be engaging, interactive, and fun, incorporating a variety of evidence-based techniques and activities that cater to different learning preferences and sensory needs.We focus on building not just speech and language skills, but also confidence, self-esteem, and fostering peer connection through play.

Services we provide include:

  • Gestalt Language Processing (GLP)

  • Augmentative Alternative Communication (AAC)

  • Receptive and Expressive Language Development

  • Speech Sound Therapy

  • Feeding 

  • Motor Speech Disorders 

  • Affirming Social Experiences

  • Interactive Play Groups 

  • Fluency/Stuttering Support 

  • Executive Functioning 

Mental Health

We are a neurodiverse affirming team who are dedicated to including all aspects of your family’s identity in our therapeutic approach. Therapists support the emotional wellbeing of children and families in a caring and sensitive manner. A wide variety of areas are addressed including developmental differences, family dynamics, behavior concerns, and functional social/emotional development. We provide support through the network span of families including parents, infants, children and adolescents. Our staff specializes in the social-emotional needs of the child including self regulation, trauma, and the mastery of significant developmental hurdles (feeding, toilet training, and limit testing and diagnosis). Our team consists of therapists that have extensive experience in emotional regulation, developmental 0-18 and we treat a range of diagnoses. We also provide school and daycare support. 

We promote creative thinking and problem solving, encourage open communication, emotion identification and expression, cultivate empathy and respect while providing a safe environment.

We work with your child and family using a variety of therapeutic interventions including:

  • Play therapy

  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

  • Infant Mental Health

  • DIR Floortime

  • Early Intervention

  • School collaboration

  • Family therapy

  • Parenting