Individual & Group Therapy

Learn More About Our Occupational Therapy and Speech / Language Services

What We Do

​Little Hands services include Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy, Social Skills Groups, Learning / Academic Support, and Parent Education. We also provide comprehensive home and school programs and consultation to support each child's goals.​

  • Occupational Therapy Evaluation and Treatment Sessions
  • Social Skills Groups
  • Self-Regulation Groups
  • Kindergarten Readiness
  • Co-Treatment with Speech and Language Pathologist
  • Speech & Language Therapy

Who We Work With

We work with children from birth to their teenage years who may need support in the following areas:

  • Sensory Processing Differences
  • Speech & Language Delays
  • Feeding Challenges & Food Sensitivities
  • Anxiety (OCD, Selective Mutism)
  • Developmental Delays
  • Learning Differences (Dyslexia, NVLD, ADD/ADHD)
  • Autistic Spectrum Disorders
  • Visual Perceptual Challenges
  • Fine or Gross Motor Skills
  • Social Skills
  • ​Behavioral Modification
  • Academic Support
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  • Individual Treatment
  • Group Treatment
  • For Schools
  • We utilize a Sensory Integration frame of reference in all aspects of the therapy process and provide treatment for all ages ranging from infancy through adolescents with a broad range of developmental challenges including congenital developmental delays, sensory processing issues, Autistic Spectrum Disorders, ADD/ADHD, social skill challenges & fine and gross motor skill delays.

    Evaluation Services

    Evaluation and subsequent treatment for a variety of developmental challenges but not limited to: Sensory Processing Disorder, ADD/ADHD, Autistic Spectrum Disorders, Congenital developmental delays, Motor coordination challenges such as Motor Coordination Disorder, Fine motor delays, and visual perceptual challenges, Handwriting difficulties, Emotional and physical self-regulation Issues, Feeding and sleeping concerns as well as social skill development.

    Direct Occupational Therapy Treatment Session

    Therapy sessions incorporate play and other intrinsically motivating activities for the children paired with challenging therapeutic tasks aimed at fostering greater capabilities and higher skill levels. Therapists are certified in the following programs, which are utilized in their therapy sessions:

    Consultation Services

    Family consultation for the following but not limited to Developmental concerns, Sensory processing challenges, Social skills, Self-regulation, Adoption issues, School placement for your unique child.

    Early Intervention Home Assessments

    In-home assessments for children 0-3 years of age to provide Occupational Therapy Services in the comfort of your child’s home and natural environment. Sessions are collaborative with parents and therapists and are play based.

    School Based Assessments

    Therapists offer school-based assessments to determine if your child’s school placement is well suited to max their potential. School-based assessments are also part of our comprehensive evaluation process.

    Co-Treatment Therapy Session

    One child matched with Occupational Therapist and Speech Language Pathologist. Therapists co-treat children who have needs in the areas of speech and occupational therapy. Not only do sensory activities and movement promote speech and language production, but it adds to the fun and helps to avoid therapy “burn-out” from children who already have busy schedules. Since these sessions are more intense than single-therapist sessions, treating the “whole child” typically leads to quicker and more noticeable progress.

    Feeding Therapy

    The SOS (Sequential Oral Sensory) Approach to Feeding is a family-centered program that addresses problematic feeding behaviors in children, with an emphasis on children aged 12 months to elementary school age.  The SOS Approach specifically focuses on providing a comfortable environment to allow the child to explore and learn about food properties while allowing them to interact and engage with the food in a playful manner.  SOS employs a transdisciplinary approach using systematic desensitization to treat children with feeding difficulties and considers the whole child as it relates to their level of development, including sensory skills, motor skills, cognition, and oral-motor skills.

    Speech & Language Therapy

    Individualized speech and language therapy for children with a wide array of speech and language delays and disorders, including:

    • Articulation & phonological disorders
    • Receptive & Expressive language delays/disorders
    • Social pragmatic deficits
    • Cognitive communication
    • Motor speech disorders
    • Autism Spectrum Disorders
    • Literacy Skills
    • Auditory/Language Processing disorders
    • Voice disorders
    • Fluency disorders
  • Therapy sessions are carefully crafted to meet the needs of each child. Groups range from 2-6 children and are all based on the foundations of the self-regulation curriculum, called the zones of regulation. Groups are dynamic, fun and energizing for the children.  Children are paired according to developmental age level and parent goals.

    Courageous Kids – A social skills group for the anxious child

    Courageous Kids is a group behavioral therapy program designed by Occupational Therapist, Gabrielle Perelmuter MOT OTR/L, from Little Hands OT.  The program has been designed to support preschool and elementary aged children with various anxiety based disorders such as (but not limited to):

    • selective mutism
    • sensory processing disorder
    • high functioning ASD

    The goal of the program is to support children with communicating and participating more freely and comfortably in school and other social settings.  We create a classroom-like setting that offers children a safe environment to practice verbal participation, or what we call “courageous talking”, “courageous moving” and “courageous playing”. Children are positively reinforced for being brave and courageous!The group is co-led by Occupational and Speech Therapists and its curriculum is designed through the leading research

    The group is co-led by Occupational and Speech Therapists and its curriculum is designed through the leading research in sensory integration, social thinking and research from the child mind institute.

    Please contact us if you are interested in joining our group.

    Self-Regulation Groups

    Children work together to learn the following self-regulation skills: Understanding their own unique sensory system, matching their arousal levels to a particular activity, tools to assist with self-regulation in a classroom, tools to assist with emotional self-regulation when interacting with others and independence in identifying their individualized sensory needs.

    sibling sessions

    In therapist-facilitated sessions, siblings engage in various play-based intervention activities that foster cooperation and teach self-regulation strategies to encourage improved problem solving during sibling conflicts. Parents and caregivers are educated on various strategies to implement in the home environment to best support happy and cooperative sibling relationships.

    Social Skills Groups

    Groups target skill enhancement in the following areas: making and keeping friends, entering play, appropriate play, showing good sportsmanship, flexibility in play, physical and emotional regulation during play and expressing/ understanding feelings during play. A

    Groups target skill enhancement in the following areas: making and keeping friends, entering play, appropriate play, showing good sportsmanship, flexibility in play, physical and emotional regulation during play and expressing/ understanding feelings during play. A sensory-motor based approach is implemented to assist the children in learning and practicing skills through movement and understanding their bodies in relation to their environment.

    Kindergarten Readiness Groups

    Children learn with their peers how to be prepared for Kindergarten. This exciting and dynamic group focuses on the following skills: easing transitions, understanding the expectations of a classroom, handwriting readiness, making new friends, following directions and self-regulation in a classroom setting. The group is guided through a sensory integrative approach incorporating movement, art and music. Lessons are taught in a multi-sensory environment to help children optimize learning. The Handwriting Without Tears curriculum is used to provide a foundation for the children’s pre-writing readiness and handwriting skills, in a fun, tactile and creative way.

    Feeding Therapy

    1. SOS – The SOS (Sequential Oral Sensory) Approach to Feeding is a family-centered program that addresses problematic feeding behaviors in children, with an emphasis on children aged 12 months to elementary school age.  The SOS Approach specifically focuses on providing a comfortable environment to allow the child to explore and learn about food properties while allowing them to interact and engage with the food in a playful manner.  SOS employs a transdisciplinary approach using systematic desensitization to treat children with feeding difficulties and considers the whole child as it relates to their level of development, including sensory skills, motor skills, cognition, and oral-motor skills.
    2. Food School  – Our feeding groups at Little Hands adhere to a basic tenet of the SOS Approach: meet children at their developmental feeding level. This means that we never force a child to eat a non-preferred food. Instead, we guide children in climbing a developmental hierarchy of feeding skills and behaviors through active play and interaction with a variety of foods. This evidence-supported approach contributes to long-term improvement, so that children are able to increase food diversity comfortably and successfully at home, school, on playdates, at birthday parties, and everywhere in between. We offer feeding interventions using a peer group model, as this is an incredibly effective and powerful treatment modality in feeding therapy.
    3. Food Scientist – As a part of the SOS approach to feeding, we also offer a “Food Scientist” adaptation to the SOS intervention to support children who are aware of their feeding difficulties or have been experiencing feeding challenges for a number of years.  Food Science groups employ various treatment strategies including having the children verbally and cognitively engage with food to increase their food range.

    Social Dyads

    Social dyads are offered to children who have received an Occupational Therapy evaluation/assessment and whose Occupational Therapy goals entail social skill development and/or self-regulation goals. This dyad provides children with an opportunity to participate in therapy sessions with a peer working on similar goals.

  • Little Hands is a certified Nonpublic Agency (NPA). We are a therapist-run agency that offers occupational therapy and speech/language services to public and charter schools in the Greater Bay Area.

    We have extensive experience in typical and atypical child development and in working on behalf of the children, collaboratively with teachers and school staff. Our Occupational Therapists and SLPs work with caregivers, school teams, and other professionals as needed to develop successful plans for meeting IEP goals and objectives.

    All therapists hold degrees, certifications, and licenses required by the State of California and our national credentialing association. Through professional collaboration and continuing education, they provide leading-edge expertise across a wide array of specializations.

    We encourage you to contact us to learn more.

    Gabrielle Perelmuter, Clinical Director
    MOT, OTR/L
    Occupational Therapist

    (415) 531-3027
    gp@littlehandsot.com

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Summer Camps 2024

Enroll by May 10, 2024

Our camps are conveniently organized by month (June & July). Reach out to Emily, our camp coordinator, with any questions.

Emily O’Brien, Clinic Coordinator & Administrator
(415) 758-2768  |  eo@littlehandsot.com

Summer Camps

  • Self-Regulation & Social Skills Intensive (Ages 6-10)
  • Self-Regulation & Social Skills Intensive (Ages 3-5)
  • Kinder Buddies
  • Courageous Kids
  • Let’s Get Organized!