The office is open to the community during this time for children to explore, climb, jump, swing and play. Parents/caregivers and their children may drop in during designated times without a reservation or appointment. Parents / caregivers are responsible for supervising their children during these open gym times. Please check the calendar for scheduled times and age-ranges. The cost is $9 cash per child or $12 credit per child per one-hour visit.

The team at Empirical Pediatric therapy offers evaluations and treatment in the areas of receptive and expressive language delays, phonological processing and articulation delays, auditory and language processing disorders, pragmatic deficits, reading, spelling and written language problems. For children and adolescents who struggle with vocal speech, our staff also offer augmentative and alternative communication training. Our speech language pathologists, behavior analysts, and occupational therapists may all play a role in helping children with communication challenges.

We work with families to identify and reduce their child’s problematic behaviors such as tantrums, aggression, non-compliance and self-injury. We conduct a functional assessment or analysis of the problematic behavior to determine why the behavior is occurring. Then, we develop and implement a plan that involves teaching new appropriate behaviors and applying function-based consequences to reduce problematic behaviors. We provide hands-on training to parents and caregivers so that they may implement the plan and see results outside of our center.

We offer evidence-based, therapist facilitated social skills groups. We strive to form groups that are age-appropriate and developmentally-appropriate. Unique goals are set for each child, taking into consideration parental priorities. Each session, the therapist plans fun and engaging activities for the children that provide opportunities to develop skills such as sharing, turn taking, and peer communication. Data are collected on goals during social skills groups to ensure that each child is making progress. The data are shared with parents, along with recommendations for carrying-over skills at home and in the community.

Both children with developmental disabilities and neurologically typical children may struggle with a variety of feeding problems. Some of these problems may include:

Empirical Pediatric Therapy offers intensive toilet training programs, for both neurologically typical children as well as children with disabilities. In these intensive programs, staff work individually with your child in your home, typically over the course of one weekend. The toilet training program uses an evidence- based, behavior analytic approach to teach your child to independently initiate using the toilet when needed, rather than relying upon adult reminders to use the bathroom at scheduled times, as well as complete all components of the toileting process such as wiping and washing hands.

Within our center, we can target a wide variety of independent living skills, such as dressing, eating, handwashing, brushing teeth, pill swallowing, and some basic chores. We are also within walking distance of restaurants, shops, and a community center where older children and adolescents can practice skills like shopping and navigating through the community safely.  

Our occupational therapy staff conduct evaluations of fine and gross motor skills. Fine motor skills include use of the small muscles in the hands to complete tasks like cutting, drawing, writing, buttoning, or tying a shoe. Gross motor skills involve using larger muscles for movements like running, jumping, climbing, skipping, hopping, throwing, or catching a ball. We use a wide variety of fun toys and games, paired with evidence-based procedures, to develop fine and gross motor skills. Our gross motor gym is ideal for improving strength, coordination, balance and endurance.

Empirical Pediatric Therapy offers evidence-based direct instruction and precision teaching in basic reading, writing, and math skills. These services can help to boost the academic skills of children with and without disabilities.