What’s Different About A Total Approach

A Total Approach offers children’s occupational therapy unlike any other therapy in the world. Using a holistic and individualized method, A Total Approach creates a family-centered, child-led therapy environment where children make significant progress fairly quickly.

If your child has attention, sensory, or learning disabilities, read on to learn how A Total Approach could help them learn how to process information more nimbly and reshape their own positive self-perception.

What Makes A Total Approach Unique?

We offer a child-led process that welcomes the family into the therapy environment. We’ve assembled a group of dedicated professionals, including occupational therapists and speech-language pathologists, to support each child’s individual needs and involve their parents in the process.

We call it “equipping the child and empowering the parent.” It’s not just a drop-off, pick-up model of therapy. We invite the parents into the sessions and use a consultative developmental therapy model, where we talk to the parents at scheduled appointments to keep everyone on the same page. 

We even provide videos of your child’s sessions, including comments from the Director Maude LeRoux, OTR/L, SIPT, RCTC, DIR® Expert Trainer. This further enriches the process with additional insights to use at home.

How is Your Philosophy Different From Other Therapy Centers?

You may have heard of a different approach called the operant approach, which focuses on ending certain behaviors. However, the operant method is only about addressing a single performance problem. It’s a very limited solution.

With the holistic developmental approach of A Total Approach, we offer so much more. We go beyond one skill deficit, performance issue, or anxiety, and examine how the child is forming their total sense of self based on how they experience their world. We don’t just look at behavior; we also consider emotions.

It’s a dual approach – a balance between the performance and emotions of a child. We dig deeper to find the “why,” and then take it a step further by saying, “We can change the why.” It’s about reshaping the child’s self-perception to think, “I can do this.” 

How Frequently Will Therapy Take Place?

The timing varies. At first, we might see your child daily for 2 to 5 hours a day and this may go on for a period of 2 weeks. This is known as an initial intensive meeting schedule. Research on neuroplasticity has indicated that high intensity and high frequency interventions are extremely effective in creating the pathways toward change.

Thereafter, we could move to a less frequent schedule of seeing your child once or twice a week for about 6 to 8 weeks. Then we might go back for another intensive schedule, then take another break to once a week therapy. It’s common to do a cycle of three intensives, followed by a longer-term, ongoing therapy schedule if needed.

Of course, this entire schedule depends on the unique needs of your child. Our plan will always be designed to support your child and help them find the best results possible.

Will My Child Benefit From Therapy Quickly?

Many children show significant responses just within the first intensive phase. In fact, they may gain such great results during the initial weeks that the positive effect lasts for months or years to come.

For other children, it may take longer and require careful planning over the long term. Timing matters. In order to benefit your child optimally, we may need to add certain therapies and solutions at precise points in the process.

A Total Approach is about looking at the full spectrum of each child. We will work diligently to address the areas of your main concern, and we will also address secondary issues that may be having an impact. The process could go quickly or more slowly, depending on your child’s needs.

Do You Provide Therapy Online?

If you live in Pennsylvania, the answer is yes. While we can offer certain online mentoring and consultation appointments to anyone in the world, state law requires that many therapy services must be provided in-person at our clinic in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania if you reside in the US, outside of Pennsylvania. If you live abroad, please contact us for a solution for you.  Contact us for a consultation about which services we can provide online and which require in-person appointments.

What Kind of Impact Will it Have for My Child and My Family?

Rather than explaining it ourselves, we’d like to share some heartfelt words from happy parents who have seen their children blossom through A Total Approach.

“At ATA, I’m no longer alone. I no longer have to figure everything out for myself. I have open, willing collaborators who are always available to help me keep my son’s treatment program at an optimum place … Over and over I hear from teachers and other professionals that they are astounded at the amount of progress my son has made.”

-Jona

“The difference in Sam was remarkable. He was lighter, and happier, and had the tools and capacity to be kinder and more helpful with his siblings. He was also no longer nearly as reactive. If he fell or hurt himself, he would simply get up and keep going, whereas prior to his work at ATA he would have had meltdowns.”

-Ingrid

“My youngest son had major issues with his speech and hearing. He essentially was not talking, saying single words and labeling but having a very hard time communicating … I could cry talking about all the progress he has made. His speech blows me away. We now have conversations, he has a sense of humor, he tells me he wants to do it. I feel like I finally got to know my little boy.

-Nichole

If you’d like to read more about the real experiences other families are having with A Total Approach, click to see more testimonials. We also welcome you to contact us for more information about our unique approach to helping children succeed.