Treehouse Services

If your child consistently experiences any of the sensorimotor signs or indicators listed below, and these challenges persist over time, impacting their daily functioning, it is recommended to consider a comprehensive Occupational Therapy (OT) evaluation or intervention:

• Over or under reaction to sensations (sound, touch, taste & smell, light, or movement)
• Seeking increased amounts of sensations, such as constantly touching people or objects, always “on the go”, humming or making repetitive sounds
• Decreased self-regulation such as becoming easily frustrated, impulsive behaviors, need for control, increased tantrums or melt downs
• Decreased attention and listening, easily distracted by sounds, people, or objects in then environment
• Has difficulty in crowded or noisy areas, may cover ears or retreat on a regular basis
• Difficulty sitting still or falls out of chair without cause
• Frequently gets lost or has trouble finding objects in a busy background, such as in a drawer
• Decreased fine & gross motor skills, may appear clumsy, with poor coordination and balance
• Awkward grasp, poor handwriting
• Has difficulty manipulating tools with hands or with tasks that require using 2 hands together
• Difficulty completing self care tasks such as dressing, bathing, brushing teeth, cutting nails, toileting, self-feeding with utensils
• Picky eater, preferring to only eat certain types of food or textures
• Irregular sleep patterns
• Loves movement such as excessive spinning, running around, jumping, crashing into people/objects
• Avoids engaging with movement based equipment such as swings, slides, ramps
• Seeks out deep pressure such as tight hugs, squeezing self into small spaces
• Appears floppy with low muscle tone, decreased strength and stamina, tires easily, slumped over posture
• Often leaning or propping onto furniture, walls, or people
• Trips and falls regularly
• Uses too much or too little force such as writing with too much or too little pressure, moves quickly or with big movements
• Difficulty engaging in reciprocal or two-way interactions
• Difficulty engaging with same-age peers, and maintaining friendships
• Prefers to play alone or difficulty joining into play with others
• Difficulty being flexible with changes in routine or transitioning between tasks

(Adapted from Miller, 2006) https://sensationalkidsot.com.au/home/sensory-processing/#1)

You may consider Physical Therapy (PT) screening or intervention if your child displays the following motor signs:

• Dislikes tummy time or did not tolerate this position as a baby
• Tilts her head always to the same side
• The shape of your infant’s head worries you
• Is not reaching motor milestones (rolling, sitting, standing, walking) as expected or your child did not previously meet them initially and it is affecting their current motor performance
• Frequently trips or falls without any obvious reason
• Seems weak and fatigues easily compared to his peers
• Is reluctant to explore playground equipment
• Has difficulty riding a bike/scooter
• Has an unusual gait

Join us at Gowanus Treehouse, where we welcome your child to engage in play, foster growth, and build connections within our intimate social group and sensory-rich environment. Our dedicated team of Occupational Therapists (OTs) leads the way, guiding children through a journey to enhance their social-cognitive learning skills. Drawing inspiration from the works of experts like Leah Kuypers (OT, Zones of Regulation curriculum), Carol Dweck (Psychologist, Growth Mindset theory), and Michelle Garcia Winner (SLP, Social Thinking curriculum), our program blends effective social emotional learning with hands-on sensory strategies.

Sensory Explorers Social Group
Sensory Motor Play and Social Learning skills for children 4-5 years old

• Engaging and participating cooperatively in a positive, meaningful way via sensory and motor play
• Facilitating pro-social participation, social communication, and engagement
• Sharing an imagination, combining ideas, and joint planning with others
• Keeping your brain and body in a group and following a group plan
• Initiating and responding to peers with reciprocal turn taking (back and forth)
• Improving strength and body awareness in space and in a group
• Recognizing the level of arousal (high, low, or just right)
• Motor planning and spatial awareness during group movement tasks
• Being flexible to transitions and tolerating other people’s ideas (i.e. getting “unstuck”)
• Noticing how other people are thinking and feeling
• Understanding how you or another’s actions affect those around you, developing perspective taking
• Improving voice modulation
• Whole body listening skills that encourage attention to peers and tasks
• Improve coping skills and self regulation
• Identifying emotions, connecting thoughts and feelings
• Overcoming challenges by developing perseverance
• Understanding what’s expected vs. unexpected in a given situation (i.e. situational awareness)
• Develop & use tools to practice positive thinking
• Improving executive functions as demonstrated by being able to follow multi-step directions and routines

Social Detectives Group
Sensory Motor Play and Social Learning skills for children 6 years old and up

• Playing or participating in a group in a positive and meaningful way via sensory motor play
• Gaining perspective taking of others by getting and giving peer feedback
• Developing deeper relationships through improved reading of body language and context of situations
• Improving strength and body awareness in a group
• Recognizing level of arousal (high, low, or just right)
• Time management and planning skills (improving executive functioning)
• Improving executive functions as demonstrated by being able to follow multi-step directions and routines
• Being flexible to transitions and tolerating other people’s ideas
• Practice using flexible thinking and getting “unstuck”
• Making smart guesses about what other people are thinking and feeling
• Understanding how you or another’s actions affect those around you
• Improving voice modulation
• Developing and choosing effective coping strategies to adapt your behavior in a group
• Whole body listening skills that encourage attention to peers and task
• Determining the size of a problem to improve coping skills
• Matching their reaction to the size of a problem for improved self regulation
• Identifying emotions, connecting thoughts and feelings
• Overcoming challenges by developing perseverance
• Practicing Growth Mindset strategies for learning how to tolerate mistakes and striving for progress versus perfection while learning a skill
• Understanding what’s expected vs. unexpected in a given situation
• Develop & use tools to practice positive thinking

Navigators Group 

Social Learning skills for children 8-10 years old

• The Navigators group is geared toward putting social learning foundations into practice and taking the Detectives skills listed above to the next level 
• The child attending this group will be expected to tap into their complex social competencies such as: 
• • “Reading the room” 
  • Expressing their thoughts and feelings in a regulated way
  • Participating in developing the group plans
  • Integrating others’ ideas with their own 
  • Creating social bonds in a group, while simultaneously getting their needs met 

Executives Group 

Social Learning skills for Tweens and young Teens, 10-13 years old

• The newly formed Executives group focuses on building independence in social learning, awareness of abilities and challenges, realistic goal-setting, and growth mindset thinking 
• The child attending this group will be expected to self-monitor and build awareness of their own social learning including: 
• • Taking ownership and accountability for their words and actions 
  • Independence with self-regulation strategies, conflict resolution, and time management skills 
  • Sharpening their executive functioning skills that generalize to home, school, and in the community

We understand that the needs of your child are complex and there are times when we need to provide support outside your child’s OT sessions. Parent coaching calls are available for this reason as an extension of the direct treatment in addition to our customary 15-minute quarterly check-ins.

Parent coaching calls can be with your child’s treating OT or another senior staff member. The OT leading the call will case conference with your child’s treating OT to assist in generalizing any additional strategies or specialized transition plans into the treatment plan. For example, your child may have difficulty in one environment but not as much in another, with transitions in or out of the waiting room, have difficulty with self-regulation at group events, parties, or with daily routines. There may be a specific situation which is becoming a pattern at home, school, or in the community that you would like addressed specifically.

Parent coaching calls are geared toward integrating them into the child’s OT sessions from the lens of the child’s social emotional learning, self-regulation, sensory, and overall developmental needs. Below is an outline of how both quarterly check-ins and parent coaching can be set up.

• Parent Coaching Session: In addition to quarterly check-ins, schedule a 30 to 60 minute block of time with your child’s OT or other senior staff to discuss specific concerns for carry-over to home, school, or the community to further support their progress
  • This could also include designing a transition plan for your child’s OT sessions
  • Session fees are prorated on the current OT hourly rate
  • Reach out to info@gowanustreehouse to schedule an appointment or for more information
• Quarterly Check-In: Schedule a 15-minute time slot for progress updates with your child’s treating OT once per quarter as necessary
  • We also encourage brief email updates from school and home to inform us of situations your child may be struggling with or making progress with and celebrate their successes
  • We also require that we receive an update about your child’s medications to avoid possible contraindications and properly support their needs
  • This is customary and no fee is charged for the first 15-minutes of the call on a quarterly basis
  • Reach out to your treating therapist to schedule an appointment directly

We understand the importance of applying learned strategies across different environments, which is why we offer the convenience of home and school visits to help your child generalize the skills they acquire at our sensory gym. These visits not only benefit your child, family, and team of teachers and support staff, but also provide us with valuable insights to better support their individualized needs and developmental progression. Our visits empower us to provide you with specific activity ideas, tools, and resources tailored to your child’s unique environment. This means that we can equip you with suggestions needed to ensure your child’s success, both at home and in school, making their journey towards sensory enrichment and social growth as seamless as possible.

A typical visit to your child’s school is an hour and scheduled according to the relevance of the child’s particular needs. The visit also requires the written permission and release from the parent. Speak to your treating therapist for more information and to schedule a convenient time for the visit.

Let us personally create a design for your therapeutic sensory play space. Whether you are looking to add a sensory room into your home, school, or facility, we can help you re-imagine the space from scratch or transform an existing space. We have experience in adapting or modifying existing school environments, transforming home spaces into therapeutic sensory play areas, and building out full scale sensory gyms for grant projects in the community.

The services provided will include:

• A two-hour on-site needs assessment will performed to determine the scale of your project by the owner of the practice
• Full Scale Sensory Gym build outs
• Contracts typically offered with 30-hours and include:
  • Securing experienced General Contractor for build out
  • Securing architect for renderings for contractor to follow
  • Following the build out from beginning to end, estimated 12-16
    weeks (TBD)
  • Follow up with staff on proper usage of new space once
    installation is complete
• Classroom sensory design or adaptations
• Contracts typically offered for any size project up to 30 hours, typically
  smaller scale projects, such as building sensory comfort areas and suggestions geared toward the sensory processing needs of all children
• Home sensory design or adaptations
  • Contracts typically offered for any size project up to 30 hours, but typically smaller scale projects such as hanging swings, mapping out appropriate focused areas for home therapeutic activities and carry-over geared toward your child’s ongoing sensory processing needs
• Once your needs have been assessed, we will:
  • Secure experienced General Contractor for build out
  • Secure architect for renderings for contractor to follow
  • Follow the build out from beginning to end, estimated 12-16 weeks estimated (TBD)
  • Follow up with staff on proper usage and safety protocols of new space once installation is complete

Ask us about any size project, small or large, for more information!

See Link for previous sites:

Gym design in Crown Heights Brooklyn

Castle Road, Accra Ghana Psychiatric Hospital