Metro Roundup: New sensory gym provides OT services for children

Occupational therapy isn’t just for adults.

At BOOST Kids, which opened on Oxmoor Road in January, owner Shea Beshara offers specialized occupational therapy services for children.

“We evaluate and treat any kind of developmental skill that is needed for kids to engage in their daily occupations,” Beshara said.

These “occupations” for kids include play, school and self-care. For example, Beshara said one relatable issue for many parents is a child who needs feeding therapy.

“They either have underlying diagnoses — like autism, Down syndrome or failure to thrive — that we work with to help their nutritional intake,” she said. “But then we have other kids with no underlying developmental delays, no concerns, just what we call ‘problem eaters’ — when you cross over that threshold from picky eating to actually being a real concern.”

Beshara said she has seen parents who come in and say their child will only eat six foods. Each child is different, but Beshara said she can begin to tackle this issue by working on the child’s oral motor skills, decreasing anxiety or improving coping strategies.

Over the course of therapy with Beshara, children will meet all of their goals, eating multiple types of protein, fruits and vegetables, Beshara said. Parents will excitedly tell Beshara that their children ate their entire school lunch that day, she said.

“It’s always really exciting,” Beshara said. “A lot of people will say, ‘Oh, they’ll grow out of it. Everybody has problems eating.’ But think about it from a parent’s perspective and a child’s perspective. We eat on average three meals a day and two snacks. So it’s difficult every single day for five times a day … and it leads to long-term deficits in other areas.”

Another example Beshara shares is handwriting therapy. Maybe the child’s fingers are too weak or their visual motor skills are behind, so they have trouble forming the letters correctly. While this isn’t a severe delay, Beshara said, it impacts the child’s life every day and can lead to the child feeling frustrated in school or comparing themselves to other children.

BOOST Kids was originally located in Birmingham and was in one large room. The new Homewood space has four treatment rooms — ideal during the pandemic so children can be spaced out and have individualized sessions — and a custom sensory gym. The gym has stairs, a slide, monkey bars, a zip line, a rock wall, balance beams, swings, a mini trampoline and more.

“The whole point of OT across the lifespan is to help clients meet their goals through meaningful occupations, and a kid’s main occupation is play,” Beshara said. “So we use play to meet every goal we set.”

The business currently has three occupational therapists, and Beshara said her goal is to hire another occupational therapist as the caseload increases and to also hire a speech therapist in the future.

Before the pandemic hit, BOOST Kids offered yoga for children. These services have been put on hold during the pandemic, but Beshara said she is looking for safe ways to bring this back. The skills children can develop in yoga — strength, balance, coordination, body awareness and more — are directly related to what Beshara does in her occupational therapy practice, she said.

Beshara is also certified to offer Integrated Listening Systems, an intensive program for children who have delays in several areas.

BOOST Kids is located at 1754 Oxmoor Road, and sessions are by appointment only. Visit boostbirmingham.com for more information.