In instances where the family and therapist decide that in-home visits will facilitate greater gains in child development, we offer an in-home therapy approach. This allows sustainable progress as children learn and practice skills in the spaces they live in every day. By working directly within the family setting, we can better collaborate with caregivers, fostering an environment that supports the child’s development while integrating therapeutic strategies into daily life. In-home sessions allow for goals to be directed toward self-care skills, activities of daily living, and routines that are dependent on the context of the home. It allows the therapist to directly address these skills, with little worry about carryover of a new skill set translating to the child’s everyday environment. It is also appropriate in helping to design and implement actionable sensory strategies for the family to use and in modifying the child’s environment. To stay consistent with my nature-based philosophy and approach, I will integrate nature (e.g. backyard, or elements from nature) and outdoor spaces into these sessions when appropriate, in collaboration with the family.
Flexibility to move from nature-based to home-based occupational therapy also allows us to maintain continuity of care over periods of extreme weather that we sometimes experience here in Austin. Home-based treatment will be offered to maintain consistency with a regular treatment schedule when weather is not conducive to an outdoor based approach.