How We Came to Work With the Whole Child. The story behind On Track Occupational Therapy + Multisensory Reading
Years ago, Scott and I ran a pediatric occupational therapy clinic.
The majority of the people we saw were families. Primarily mothers. Moms who brought their children to us because they were struggling with sensory integration.
Their children were anxious.
Overwhelmed.
Having difficulty regulating.
Having difficulty participating in school.
And after doing our own evaluations, and talking to parents, and doing a bit of a deeper dive into home life and family rhythms...
the conversation almost always turned to school.
And anxiety around school.
And so we started looking a little deeper.
When I did a deeper literacy evaluation, again and again, we found significant reading needs.
Needs that either the school hadn't caught...
the student couldn't report...
or the parents simply didn't know how to recognize.
And that changed everything.
Because sometimes what looked like a sensory problem...
was also a reading problem.
Sometimes what looked like anxiety...
was a child who was struggling to keep up with the words on the page.
And sometimes the child couldn't tell anyone.
They just knew that school felt hard.
That was how On Track Occupational Therapy became
On Track Occupational Therapy + Multisensory Reading.
But secretly...
this was always my dream. :)
The perfect marriage
I went back to OTA school because I thought it would help me help my son.
After his brain surgery, I wanted to understand more.
I wanted to know how to help him.
But I also had another dream.
I had a background in teaching reading, and special education.
And I dreamed of a way to combine that background with occupational therapy.
To bring the two worlds together.
Nine years later...
here we are.
The perfect marriage of pediatric occupational therapy and Orton-Gillingham-based reading and spelling intervention.
But there is something else at the heart of our work.
Something that is perhaps even more important than the tools in our tool bags.
Before we reach into our tool bags...
Our practice is firmly rooted in an occupational therapy term called therapeutic use of self.
It sounds very clinical.
But really, it means something quite simple.
We use ourselves to connect with our clients.
Our personalities.
Our humor.
Our curiosity.
Our ability to notice.
We don't believe that a child needs to sit down and immediately perform for us.
Before we reach into our tool bags...
we connect.
We play games.
We tell silly riddles.
We chat.
We find out what matters to them.
And what matters to their families.
And all the while...
we're learning.
We're evaluating.
We're noticing.
What are this child's strengths?
Where are the weaknesses?
Where do they bravely forge ahead?
And what holds them back?
Because a child is never just a reader.
Or a writer.
Or a speller.
Or a child with sensory integration needs.
They are a whole person.
And we want to know that whole person.
We work with your whole child.
That's really what we do here at On Track.
We work with your whole child.
And we work from the inside out.
Sometimes that means reading.
Sometimes writing.
Sometimes spelling.
Sometimes occupational therapy.
And sometimes...
we combine it all.
Under one roof.
Because these things aren't always separate.
The child who struggles to sit still long enough to read may need something different from the child who can sit perfectly still but cannot decode the words.
The child who avoids writing is most likely not lazy.
The child who says they hate reading may not hate stories.
They may hate the feeling of struggling with something that everyone else seems to find easy.
So we look.
We listen.
We get curious.
And we figure it out together.
And there is one more thing.
If our sessions aren't joyful...
we're doing something wrong.
That doesn't mean everything is easy.
It doesn't mean there isn't hard work.
There is.
Reading can be hard.
Writing can be hard.
Spelling can be hard.
Learning something new can be hard.
But hard and joyful can exist in the same room.
A child can work hard...
and laugh.
A child can struggle...
and feel successful.
A child can be challenged...
and still feel safe.
That's the kind of learning environment we want to create.
Because we believe connection comes first.
Then curiosity.
Then learning.
And perhaps this is why I keep coming back to something I say often:
Children don't fall in love with reading first.
They fall in love with being read to.
They fall in love with your voice.
Your stories.
Your laughter.
The feeling of curling up beside someone they love with a book.
And that is why the work we do isn't only about reading instruction.
It is about helping children - and families - find their way back to connection.
Back to curiosity.
Back to joy.
Sometimes that means a multisensory reading lesson.
Sometimes it means occupational therapy - and rough and rough-and-tumble movement.
Sometimes it means being silly together.
Sometimes it means sitting quietly for a minute before we begin.
And sometimes...
it's all of those things.
Because we aren't just teaching a child to read.
We're helping a child discover that they can learn.
That their brain has strengths.
That struggling doesn't mean failing.
That learning can feel good.
And that there are people beside them who believe in them.
That's On Track.
That's why we do what we do.
Connection.
Joy.
Peace of mind - for you and your child.
If you're looking for fun literacy activites to do with your child, download our guide for "Gentle+Joyful Tips to Get Your Kids Reading and Writing".
Or try The Read-Aloud Ritual Guide.
And follow along as I build CANOPY, a bespoke, guided literacy mentorship for families who want more support than a workbook, an app, or a once-a-week tutoring session can provide. Currently *under construction. Reach out if you'd like to hop in at the Beta rate.
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