Pediatric occupational therapy in Lake Balboa, built around your child's day
Buttons, crayons, climbing, and loud rooms: a licensed occupational therapist can work on these with your Lake Balboa child.
Babies up to 18-year-olds
Home, school, or a video call
By business day 14 after the evaluation
Maybe mornings stall because socks, zippers, and shoes take forever. Or maybe your pediatrician brought up OT at a checkup, and you want to know what it is. Pediatric occupational therapy in Lake Balboa can take place right in your home. Occupational therapy, or OT, is help with what a child does all day: playing, learning, and self-care. That can mean hand strength, balance, coping with noise or scratchy textures, and getting dressed. An OT tucks the practice inside play, and you pick up tricks for the breakfast table. No diagnosis or referral is needed.
In pediatric occupational therapy in Lake Balboa, what will my child actually do?
It looks like play, with a purpose behind each game. An obstacle course or a hand game turns into practice for motor, hand, and sensory skills.
Grip, letter shapes, scissors, and buttons belong to handwriting and fine motor therapy. For a child who finds sounds, touch, or movement too much, or who seems to crave more of them, there is sensory integration therapy. If motor or self-care skills are arriving later than expected, developmental delay therapy fits.
An OT can lead feeding therapy too, when the main issue is sensory, like strong reactions to food textures. Whether an OT or a speech-language pathologist leads it is decided at the evaluation. Every plan comes with parent coaching.
Talk through OT for your Lake Balboa child
Send a few lines about what you're seeing. Expect our answer within one business day. Small worries count, too.
Choose home, school, or screen OT in Lake Balboa.
Will an OT come to our house in Lake Balboa?
Yes. Lake Balboa is in our home-visit area. Video sessions are another option, and you can switch between home and video whenever you like.
A school, preschool, or daycare can host OT as well, public or private. Your written consent comes first, and the school's agreement comes next. After that, our team and the school's staff agree on a time, and we make certain the room fits the work.
If an office would suit you better for the evaluation, ask, and a private office can be arranged on Townsgate Road. On December 1, 2026, a clinic of our own opens at 2535 Townsgate Road, with eight treatment rooms. There, OT evaluations can also use a soft play area of 1,000 square feet.
Is there a park in Lake Balboa with an adaptive sports field?
Yes. In October 2026, the city's page for Lake Balboa / Anthony C. Beilenson Park listed an adaptive sports field.
The park's 1.3-mile footpath loops around the lake and is for foot traffic only, though wheelchairs and baby strollers are allowed.
Louise Park, at 7140 Louise Avenue, is another spot to play. In October 2026, its city page listed a children's play area, picnic tables, and a lighted baseball diamond.
Climbing a ladder or catching a ball takes motor planning: figuring out a movement, then carrying it out. That is part of what OT works on. If the playground is where things get hard, tell us on the free call.
Can school-age kids and teens in Lake Balboa get OT?
Yes. Our age range runs all the way to 18, so OT is open to students from kindergarten through high school.
Cohasset Street Elementary says it is proud to include a large number of students with disabilities. Its special education page says many of its special education students join their typical peers in core classes, PE, assemblies, and recess.
For older students, the state school directory lists two public LAUSD magnet schools with Lake Balboa addresses. William Mulholland Middle, on Vanowen Street, covers grades 6 to 8. Lake Balboa College Preparatory Magnet K-12, on Balboa Boulevard, runs from kindergarten through grade 12.
At any age, goals are built around real routines, like keeping up at school or handling big feelings and hard transitions.
Can OT begin before a child starts preschool?
Yes. OT can start in infancy, since we work with children from birth. For babies and toddlers, it is built from play.
North Los Angeles County Regional Center (NLACRC) lists the conditions Early Start eligibility is based on. One is an established risk condition: a medical diagnosis that is highly likely to result in a developmental delay or disability.
If a baby has a medical diagnosis like that, Early Start may be worth asking NLACRC about.
When could the first OT session happen?
As early as 5 days after your first call. That session can come before the written report is finished.
If an evaluation is needed, it comes first, inside three business days of your free consultation. Need the evaluation sooner? You can request a rush evaluation. The written findings reach you inside 14 business days from the evaluation, along with a treatment plan built on graduation goals if OT is recommended. As for waiting lists: as of October 2026, home and video OT has none.
The pediatric OT evaluation in Lake Balboa is explained on its own page.
Rachel Yashouafar, MA, OTR/L, leads OT here and is one of the two people who founded the practice. Among her past roles: school-based OT with a contracted company, including a year in Los Angeles Unified schools.
What are the ways to pay for OT in Lake Balboa?
Two ways: bill your insurance through Village, our partner, or pay the practice directly. Your plan decides whether insurance is an option.
Village handles TRICARE claims, and claims for PPO plans from several major insurers too. Village sets its own per-visit fee on top. Private pay works too; the superbill we provide can go to your insurer for possible reimbursement. Our page on insurance through Village has details, and so does our payment options page.
What Lake Balboa parents ask about OT
Loud noises and scratchy clothes upset my child. Could OT look at that?
Yes, it could. Sensory integration therapy works with strong reactions to sound, touch, or movement. With a parent's help, it can even happen by video, depending on the child's age.
Can my child have speech therapy and OT with you?
Yes, and both happen through one practice. For a child who needs both, the two therapists and you work from one shared plan.
When does OT end?
The written plan sets graduation goals. They spell out the skills that would show a child is ready to finish. Keeping a child in therapy they no longer need is something we never want.
We also offer OT in Van Nuys, Northridge, and North Hollywood. Your child can see a speech-language pathologist with us in Lake Balboa as well, and the Lake Balboa page covers the rest.
Not sure if your child needs therapy?
Start with a free 15 minute consultation. No commitment, just clarity on whether your child would benefit and what the next step looks like.
Speech therapy and occupational therapy for children ages 0 to 18.
“Our results revealed a potential role for occupational therapists with typically developing children in schools.”
You see your child at the park, at the table, and in the morning rush. If one of those keeps feeling harder than it should, call and tell us a bit about what worries you.
Request your free 15-minute consultation
Tell us what you are noticing about your child. A licensed therapist and our team read every message. Within one business day, our team calls to learn what you need and check insurance, then sets up a free call with Nita, Rachel or both. The consultation is free, lasts about 15 minutes, and carries no obligation. There is no waiting list. If you would rather talk now, call (805) 702-3427.
Send a few lines about what you're seeing. Expect our answer within one business day. Small worries count, too.
