acorn pediatrics

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We provide Occupational Therapy support from infancy through graduation with the mission to ensure your child grows into their unique potential

At Acorn every child is evaluated in areas of sensory and emotional regulation sensory integration motor planning and developmental patterns to identify areas of need but more importantly areas of strength so as to build a strength based plan to promote whole child development and support functional needs across various life transitions meeting their fullest potential supportive of family vision and collaboration with education institutes

Pediatric population with Autism Spectrum, Dyspraxia, Apraxia, Fragile X Syndrome, Down Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, ADD/ADHD and various manifestations of Sensory Integration Disorder and various Developmental Disorders.

Services Offered for Children Evaluation Consults Direct Services in Person and via Telehealth Early Intervention birth to 3 program Center based private therapy for school aged children Social Group for teenagers Home and community based support and planning Support for IFSP IEP transition planning and team collaboration Services Offered for fellow OTs Mentoring Services Drawing from our deep experience across different settings and age groups our therapists offer mentoring services for therapists just entering this exciting and very rewarding career path Mentoring can be accessed as biweekly or monthly consults that include case discussion treatment planning as well as initial practice set up PLUS we are always looking to add to the Acorn family of therapists

What does Occupational Therapy address?

Behaviors stemming from motor and sensory system disorders.

Few Signs of Motor Related Concerns:

Child might appear clumsy and fall / bump into things
Difficulty with imitation, understanding task sequence, executimotor task, generalizing things learnt from one area to another.
Difficulty with items needing bilateral coordination and small motor skills like buttoning, opening snack packs
Difficulty with handwriting
Weak grasp and poor posture
Preschool/ school will share concerns with classroom behavior.

Few Signs of Sensory Related concerns:

Child might have be picky with daily tasks like eating, dressing, grooming, sleeping;
Difficulty making transitions; anxiety or difficulty with change;
Difficulty with loud noises and busy spaces;
Difficulty with reading, finding objects from visual clutter
Over activity or under activity and/or difficulty regulating in different environment
Difficulty grading force/ pressure and deceased body awareness or position in space awareness

About the founder

Ami Gandhi is the founder of Acorn Pediatric Therapy LLC in Crystal Lake, IL. She got her bachelor’s degree in Occupational Therapy from University of Mumbai, India in 1996 and has been working with pediatric population in United States since 1999. She works as an occupational therapist specializing in pediatrics serving children and teens with Autism Spectrum, Fragile X Syndrome, Downs Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, ADD/ADHD, executive dysfunction and various manifestations of Sensory Integration Disorder and other developmental disorders. In addition to outpatient pediatrics at the Crystal Lake clinic, she collaborates at a DIR – based clinic in Glendale Heights IL. She works in Early Intervention. She consults with schools, group homes and adult programs in areas to support families transition their children into adult living. She was a board member of Northern Illinois Center for Autism for 7 years and advisor to the board for another 2 yrs. She has experience volunteering for the children of refugees at the English Learning Preschool Program at Heartland Alliance for 2 years. She has training in DIR approach, Therapeutic Listening, Astronaut training, STEPSI, M.O.R.E, Praxis and is a student of MNRI approach. She has a keen interest in supporting children with challenges with motor planning, self regulation and organization so that they can foster their individual strengths, form good relationships, connect with people and resources in their community and work towards growing into their full potential.