Bay Area Families

TEDDY 

Teddy is an outgoing, joyful, curious, creative, and almost always in motion very tall little boy. Teddy loves to build with legos, laugh, draw, and run. 

Teddy’s challenges are with fine-motor skills, self-regulation, and sensory processing. 

Teddy was saying that he hated school and was getting minutes off recess for not being able to pay attention, wanting to move or play with friends. After a parent teacher conference, I learned that he really struggled with transitioning into classes, especially first thing in the morning, and sometimes refused to do what teachers said.   He had trouble staying in his seat and being quiet, often singing or talking to himself or others.  He would get very down on himself if his work didn’t look just right. The hardest was Teddy was saying things like that he wished he wasn’t alive. His life was getting really hard and I didn’t know how to support him better. 

Teddy has grown so much since he started at OT Studio. He is not saying he wishes he wasn’t alive, he is enjoying so much more of his day in classes and actually saying he likes writing and doing reading practice.  He is able to regulate much more easily and is starting to do things on his own to regulate himself.  Teddy loves OT and is starting to feel more at home in his body, confident, and capable. I am deeply grateful for the shifts I’ve already started to see in him and I know it’s just the start. 

As a single mom and teacher with no financial support from family, I do not have the financial resources to meet these needs of my child on my own. Being able to go to OT Studio gives Teddy the happy and confident childhood I want for him for a strong foundation for life. 

ORION

Orion, the eldest of two, is curious and imaginative, passionately exploring interests like drains, fans, and lively outdoor adventures—a passion he's proudly shares with his little brother.  

Orion was diagnosed with autism and sensory processing disorder shortly before his fourth birthday.  Since then, we have actively pursued various supports to facilitate his growth, development, and learning. Although Orion continues to face challenges, particularly with social interactions and adapting to new learning experiences, he remains determined and resilient.

Since beginning at OT Studio, we've observed remarkable improvements in Orion’s sensory regulation, fine motor skills, core strength, and overall comfort at school. The targeted sensory inputs provided through OT have helped Orion feel calmer and more confident, significantly enhancing his ability to engage socially and academically. He can be visibly more relaxed, regulated, and less anxious. These changes profoundly improved family dynamics, reducing tensions and allowing Orion and his little brother build stronger bonds, enjoying much more frequent unsupervised playtime together.

OT Studio has become an indispensable support system, guiding us through Orion’s evolving needs, and providing valuable strategies tailored specifically to him.  We deeply appreciate OT Studio’s thoughtful partnership as it continues to empower Orion to reach his fullest potential, both academically and personally.

Receiving financial support through this grant makes the Interactive Metronome summer intensive accessible to Orion, a resource that would otherwise remain beyond our reach. Given Orion's particular challenges in social interactions and significant sensory processing needs, this intervention holds the promise of furthering his growth, bolstering his skills, and enhancing his overall quality of life. We are deeply grateful for the opportunity this grant provides, enabling Orion to continue making meaningful progress toward his many goals and aspirations.

LINCOLN

Lincoln is a 5 year old, with funny little quirks, we as his parents attributed to being born at the height of the pandemic.  At age 3.5, we decided to start him in a co-op nursery school to give him some exposure to other children and help him come out of his shell. Though he was one of the teachers’ favorite kids, it became apparent that he was struggling with certain things that other kids his age were able to do with ease, such as sitting for circle time.  As Lincoln got older, we started facing significant challenges with his development affecting daily activities and some sensory processing concerns.

Receiving services from OT Studio has been a transformative step for our family. The individualized approach to therapy provides Lincoln with the skills and support needed to navigate everyday tasks and improve overall quality of life, as well as prepare him for kindergarten in the fall. 

As parents, we strive to support Lincoln in overcoming obstacles and challenges that he faces in everyday life, but it has been emotionally and financially taxing to provide the necessary therapy and interventions.  This grant allows us to continue this important therapy and ultimately ensure that Lincoln has consistent and personalized care required for meaningful progress. We are so thankful for this support and Lincoln continuing his work at OT Studio.

BENJI

An outgoing kid, Benji is fast to make friends and enjoys playing kickball and Beyblades during recess time. Benji’s current obsession is anything related to Godzilla (movies, related series, toys) and can name all the monsters featured in the movies. 

From preschool, we noticed that Benji had outbursts of anger, mostly brought on by frustrations of a task or peer play, or in reaction to other peer’s emotional outbursts. His reactions were “fight/flight” in nature. We also noticed challenges with fine motor skills, especially around initial writing and drawing related skills which brought on anxieties and self-esteem issues. We later realized that Benji needed tools to help with overstimulation and regulation (sensory processing).

The skills Benji has learned in his OT sessions have helped us become better and more observant parents. Being able to observe the way our OT team has turned their work into fun and engaging games, especially when we were doing OT via Zoom during lockdown or when our child has been under the weather, have been a great teaching tool for us and allowed us to see how they work through helping him develop regulation skills. Lora and Julia have always been transparent at explaining with us what they are doing in sessions with Benji and ways we can adapt them at home with the materials we have and when/how these skills or games can be useful in our everyday lives.

Receiving a grant for OT sessions has significantly alleviated the financial stresses on our family, allowing us to access essential therapeutic services without the constant worry of going over our monthly family budget. This financial support makes it feasible for our family to commit to the consistent and long-term therapy often required for meaningful progress. With the grant, our family can focus on our child, Benji’s, development and well-being, ensuring that he is able to receive the necessary therapy to improve his daily living skills, independence, and overall quality of life.

CHARLOTTE

Char is a sweet kid who loves art. She just started Kindergarten and loves being a helpful friend to others. Since preschool we have received feedback that Char is the kind of kid who other kids gravitate towards. She has a calming presence that helps other kids self-regulate. She's an only child and lives with both parents and her "little sister" - our family dog.

From a young age we noticed Char's sensory sensitivities. Transitions were really hard.  We finally adapted our drop off so we would say goodbye by pushing her on a swing, something we later learned is an OT method of getting that sensory input to help her cope and adapt for that transition. Char also didn't want to be hugged by anyone except her parents and even that was sparingly. If she got a single drop of water on a T-Shirt it needed to be changed immediately. Despite being a calming presence to others, as soon as she would get home from school we would deal with hour long meltdowns. No matter what we did or tried, we just couldn't get her to calm down. We weren't sure what to do or if this was just normal kids’ stuff.  

OT has given our family skills to help Char self-regulate. It helps with sensory processing and helps making facing the world a little easier. By adding things like a trapeze inside our apartment and having a greater knowledge base of sensory input activities that help with self-regulation, it's like night and day. Hour long meltdowns are a thing of the past. And when we have dysregulated moments, we have a toolkit for what to visit to help us get out of them. 

Char (still on her own terms) enjoys hugging friends and trusted adults. I remember the first Thanksgiving where she hugged all of her grandparents and aunties. That to me is priceless. She also has engaged in group hugs with friends and even a "massage train"!  All things I can't have fathomed before we started OT.

Char recently got her first haircut! Something that sensory wise wasn't an option before. She had long hair down to her midback and recently felt confident enough to take the risk and cut it to a bob. This might seem small, but the amount of confidence she has gained is night and day. This haircut has helped her come into her own in new ways and without the sensory support I don't think she ever would have gone for it.

We were going to have to stop OT because we couldn't afford it. We feel so lucky and grateful to the Starry Foundation that our child can still get the care she needs. Having to cut care our child needs because we can't financially afford it is a total gut punch. With the help of the Starry Foundation, it makes the expense manageable so we can give her the support she needs.

PENELOPE

Penelope is 4 years old and was born prematurely with intestinal abnormalities. She underwent surgery immediately after being born, had most of her small intestines removed, and was diagnosed with a rare lifelong disease called Short Bowel Syndrome. For 3 years she relied on getting her nutrients through an implanted IV. This intravenous line prevented Penelope from doing typical physical activities that would interfere with the IV line, such as playing in dirt, sand, exercising, etc. The overabundance of restrictions caused her to have a variety of developmental delays, particularly with gross motor and feeding skills. 

In 2021 Penelope had her central line removed, but her delays remained. Penelope's gross motor skills are still very delayed and she struggles with mood swings and difficulty with transitions. Since starting at OT Studio, she has made leaps and bounds in overcoming some of her sensory aversions. She started preschool in the fall and can often be seen getting dirty in the sand and water with her friends! Her insurance is no longer covering her sessions at OT Studio and her single-income family will not be able to continue her necessary therapy without assistance. Thank you.

ETHAN

Ethan is 9 years old and struggles with some fine motor skills, auditory/visual sensitivities, and the ability to regulate his body at appropriate times. He's been working at OT Studio and I believe it's been helping. 

He seems more confident and able to use his words more often when feeling dysregulated.  I think OT is important because it's helping him to filter out things that make him uncomfortable, and in turn he's expressing himself with more self-control. This helps him in general, with social, emotional, and academic skills. As well as helping lower our entire family’s stress level incredibly.

The results we've seen so far have been positive, and we really hope to continue so that he can continue to improve filtering things that make him uncomfortable.  Getting this type of support is very expensive and we are grateful your grant makes it possible to continue. Thank you.