Frequently Asked Questions

We are currently primarily a private pay practice. In some cases, we have worked with individual families’ insurance providers to provide insurance coverage for our services. Additionally, all of our invoices for clinical services contain billing codes that can be used to submit for insurance reimbursement as an out of network provider. Please feel free to contact us to discuss your particular circumstances.

Above and beyond licensure required by the California Department of Public Health, we have especially high standards for our staff members. Our therapists take continuing education courses that help them stay on the leading edge of new therapy innovations and are contributors to professional groups that share knowledge and experiences​ within their disciplines. Additionally, we only hire the most qualified, reputable staff members in the area, usually after they have developed a solid reputation within the community of specialized services providers in San Francisco.

At BLT, we think we have a unique role to play among therapy providers, and our treatment philosophy allows us to provide high-impact services: ​

1. 1. We believe strongly that the best therapy treats not only the child but also informs the child’s parents, teachers, and clinical care team. While we may only treat a child once per week, the most important development will happen between treatment sessions. We center our treatment services on creating a great care team foundation and communicate regularly with that team to ensure we are all heading in the same direction toward the desired goal.

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1. 1. Social interactions have a dramatic impact on child development. We offer socialization opportunities such as our annual Summer Camp, and Social Language group to give children an opportunity to socialize, learn new skills, and develop confidence in a group setting.

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1. We believe technological innovations can help a care team coordinate and obtain data that better informs care. We have developed our own mobile app to enable parents, teachers, and caregivers to collect information that can be used to discover the most appropriate treatments for individual children.

Yes! Please contact us, and we would be more than happy to put you in touch with parents, educators, or clinicians we have worked with in the past.

Consultations are an opportunity for us to get to know one another during a 15 minute call. We are happy to share our experience and provide advice regarding the best way forward for your family based on your particular needs. We hope we are able to help, but if Build Learn Thrive isn’t the best fit for your situation, we can provide referrals to other providers or recommendations on potentially receiving services through other avenues. We ​always love talking with people in the community who we may able to help!

1. Individualized school/home observation: We can complete individualized school/home observations of children to gather information that may help us address your child’s needs. An OT observation may include gathering information about the child’s strengths and needs from the child and the child’s family, teacher(s), and other people who know the child well.  At the conclusion of an OT observation, the OT will complete a written consultation report for the child, family and school that may include identification of the child’s specific strengths and needs with regard to his motor and/or sensory concerns. Based on the results of the observation, we can provide the following, as appropriate:
   
   
   • Specific activities/exercises that families and school can encourage the child to carry out that may improve performance in school/home activities.
   • Suggestions regarding special items/supplies for use by the child that will improve task performance.
   • Strategies and techniques that may be used by the child, his family and the school/home to accommodate/compensate for specific difficulties.



2. Consultation to Review Medical or School Reports: For many families, the process of obtaining medical information or evaluation results from private providers or school therapists can be daunting. Our OTs can help review medical reports to make sure that the strategies and recommendations in the report are clearly understood and to help provide guidance on appropriate next steps. In-person consultations are best, but we can also do consultations over the home if needed.



3. Informal screening: An Informal screening is a request, which can be initiated by a parent, school administrator, or teacher. This is the first step in identifying a potential child’s need and is used to determine if developmental skills are progressing as expected, or if there is cause for concern. The screening can be carried out in the child’s school or at our BLT location. It is comprised of a close observation of child’s skills, review of work samples given by parents, caregivers, or teachers, and input from parents and teacher.
   
   Screening tools, such as The Battelle Developmental Inventory, Second Edition (BDI-2) and the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency, second edition (BOT-2) can be used in order to determine the need for further formal assessment. The BDI-2 is an early childhood instrument based on developmental milestones. Screening Test consists of a subset of test items from the full BDI-2 item bank. The scoring procedures are similar to those of the full BDI-2, and cut-off scores are provided to help in identifying children who may need additional testing. ​
   
   The Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency, second edition (BOT-2), is a test used to measure gross and fine motor proficiency in both typically developing children and children with developmental disabilities between the ages of four and twenty-one. The BOT-2 Short Form consists of fourteen test items proportionally selected from the subtests of the Complete Form. It can be used as a screening tool and takes less time to administer. If a determination is made that further information is needed, a standardized assessment will be conducted.



4. Standardized Evaluation: A formal evaluation is quite different from a screening. While a screening is a more informal process, an evaluation incorporates the use of standardized testing in order to objectively determine strengths and weaknesses. An evaluation typically includes tests to measure a student’s visual perceptual skills, visual motor integration, motor proficiency and handwriting legibility. It is important to note that most test protocols suggest that tests should not be repeated any sooner than once a year. Assessing a child at closer intervals can reduce the validity of the test, as the tasks can become familiar to the child, and can lead to artificially inflated scores. ​
   
   Once the evaluation testing is completed, a report will be written and reviewed with the parents. The results and recommendations (if any) will be shared with the parent/guardian as well as pertinent persons involved with the child, such as the child’s school teacher. Based on these informal screenings and standardized assessments, a treatment plan will be generated, which would include the frequency and duration of therapy, short term, and long term goals. Recommendations may include 1:1 and/or group weekly occupational and/or speech and language therapy treatment sessions. At times, no actual therapy may be needed, or the therapist may provide some classroom and home recommendations.



5. Treatments: Based on the results of screenings and evaluations, we can provide treatments appropriate for your child. We are happy to provide these services at home or school settings throughout San Francisco and the immediate area (Daly City, Pacifica, and parts of Marin). Treatments are individualized, and we always incorporate fun and creative activities that promote improved overall development.