Pediatric occupational therapy in Santa Monica for the skills of everyday life

Yes to both. We visit homes in Santa Monica. For a school visit, you give written consent first, and then the school has to agree.

Before a school, preschool, or daycare session, our team phones the staff and checks that the space works. Video sessions are on offer too. From December 1, 2026, OT evaluations at our new Westlake Village clinic can use 1,000 square feet of soft play space.

The everyday jobs of childhood: using the hands, caring for oneself, playing, and handling sound, touch, and movement.

Grip, letter shapes, scissors, and buttons are the focus of handwriting and fine motor therapy. A child who is bothered by sensations, or who craves them, may need sensory integration therapy. When skills show up later than expected, developmental delay therapy can help. For some children, an OT leads feeding therapy.

OTs are part of the district's special education testing team, its programs guide says.

The guide says school OTs work with students alone or in small groups. They focus on fine motor skills, keyboarding, and planning and organization. Does your child have an IEP? The district's responsibilities page says to ask itinerant staff, OTs among them, about goals and services.

The district's Section 504 page says a parent, teacher, counselor, or other staff member may refer a student for a 504 evaluation. That applies when a disability may be affecting the student's access to school.

Private OT can also happen at school when you consent in writing and the school approves. That could be a public campus such as Will Rogers Elementary on 14th Street or Ocean Park School House on Sixth Street.

In October 2026, Westside Regional Center also listed a monthly support group in English and Spanish called Informed Education Partners. The listing said its Education Support Services staff and the Westside Family Resource and Empowerment Center run it on the first Thursday evening of each month.

Some can. Santa Monica-Malibu Unified and the Tri-City SELPA run an Early Start program together. Its staff list includes an occupational therapist and a physical therapist.

It serves children from birth to 3 who live in the Tri-City SELPA and have a solely low incidence disability. The program lists hearing loss, visual impairments, and orthopedic impairments as examples. Its page says it trains and supports families in five areas of development. Physical and adaptive skills are two of them.

Other toddlers with motor delays may qualify for Early Start through Westside Regional Center. Physical and motor development is one of the areas in its eligibility criteria. Private OT with us is open to Santa Monica toddlers either way.

Quickly. The OT evaluation lands no more than 3 business days after your free consultation.

If you would like to start before the report, Santa Monica sessions can begin 5 days after your call. The written findings arrive no later than 14 business days past the evaluation, and a plan comes with them if OT is recommended. As of October 2026, Santa Monica children are not kept on any waiting list for home or video OT.

Learn how the pediatric OT evaluation in Santa Monica works.

Rachel Yashouafar, MA, OTR/L, the co-founder who leads our occupational therapy, still treats children herself.

It depends on the plan. Our partner Village may be able to bill your insurance, and we check your coverage during the consultation.

TRICARE goes through Village, and so do PPO plans that several major insurers sell. Village charges a fee of its own at every visit. Prefer to pay privately? Then the superbill we give you can be filed with your insurer. Here is how Village billing works, along with every payment choice.