Collaborative OT Journeys

A Pediatric Occupational Therapy Practice

Working collaboratively using strength- and relationship-based approaches to address challenges

About

Silke Springorum, OTR

Silke Springorum is a loving and relationship-focused Occupational Therapist and mother of two grown children, who embraces the inclusive journey of working with everyone’s strengths. She graduated with high honors from an OT program in Berlin, Germany and is a board-certified and registered occupational therapist, licensed in New Jersey. She has worked for 25 years in many settings in the United States, including schools at all levels, private practices, and homes.

Silke keeps up to date with the latest developments in the occupational therapy profession through continuing education courses, and also continually grows her knowledge and experience through learning with and from her clients and their families. In addition, she engages in related learning in many other areas, including body work, psychology, nature, spirituality, social justice, and music.

She believes that everyone (young people and adults) is doing their best with what they have available to them in every moment. If this creates challenges, it is necessary to acknowledge and validate where everyone is and to understand what strengths, needs, and limitations are at play. Then it is possible to embark on an exploratory and experimental journey together to address the challenges in a holistic way that takes everyone’s perspective and needs into consideration – all this through an Occupational Therapy lens.

Silke works holistically with the young person, family, other providers (therapists, teachers, doctors, etc.) and other people involved (relatives, nannies, tutors, coaches, etc.) toward the goals developed by the young person and their family.

Together we embark on a journey of deeper understanding of what is and creating what can be.

Services

My OT Treatment Principles are:

  • Seeing, understanding, and working with the whole child and their family;
  • Focusing on areas of strength, expanding and calling on them to help address challenges;
  • Exploring, finding, and working on the goals the young person and their family develop;
  • Working in a relationship-based way with everyone involved.

Services offered:

Occupational Therapy enables people of all ages to participate in daily living and supports their health, well-being, and participation in life through engagement in purposeful activity.

With my focus on young people and their families I offer:

  • Individual and small group sessions
  • Parent consultations and coaching
  • School consultations, support, and in-service trainings
  • Virtual sessions if desired

I work with young people and their families who may have or live with:

  • ADHD/ADD
  • Autism (ASD)
  • Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD)
  • Down Syndrome
  • Behavior differences/challenges
  • Executive Functioning differences/challenges
  • Developmental delays
  • Movement and coordination differences/challenges
  • Multiple differences/challenges

Areas of particular knowledge and experience:

  • ADHD/ADD
  • Autism Spectrum Disorder (DIR Floortime)
  • Sensory Integration
  • Social-Emotional Learning, such as the Zones of Regulation framework, Second Step, Move this World
  • Reflex Integration
  • Handwriting and Typing (Handwriting without Tears)
  • Independence in Activities of Daily Living (self-care)
  • School-based OT practice
  • Collaboration with parents/caregivers, other family members, friends, other therapists, teachers, and school personnel, as well as advising and training of anyone else invited by the family.

What is Occupational Therapy and what does it offer?

Occupational Therapy enables people of all ages to participate in daily living and supports health, well-being, and participation in life through engagement in purposeful activity.

Pediatric occupational therapists provide services to help families and their children meet developmental milestones, overcome sensory challenges, and improve self-care, play, and self-regulation skills. Occupational Therapy can help young people in the following areas:

  • Moving (gross and fine motor skills like when playing on a playground or using the small muscles of their hands)
  • Learning (cognitive and organizational skills)
  • Playing (social and emotional skills)
  • Activities of daily living (dressing and grooming)
  • Skills needed for their education (pre-writing, writing, and scissor skills)

Pediatric occupational therapists can treat or manage physical or cognitive conditions that may affect your child’s:

  • Movement and coordination
  • Thoughts, perception, and memory
  • Sensory processing
  • Visual-motor and visual-perceptual skills
  • Self- and co-regulation and coping skills

Occupational Therapy services typically include:

  • An individual evaluation, which includes the young person’s history, life experiences, and interests, as well as the values and activities that are important to them and their family;
  • A personalized intervention plan to help the young person improve their ability to perform daily activities and reach their and their family’s goals; and
  • An outcomes evaluation to make sure that the goals are being achieved.

From: American Occupational Therapy Association. (2020). Occupational therapy practice framework: Domain and process (4th ed.). American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 74(Suppl. 2), 7412410010. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2020.74S2001.

“Bring to every situation: Acknowledgment, being present, kindness, love, and grace.”

Bill McKibben