Glencoe, Illinois
SD 35 puts a full team around your child at school: OT, psychologist, social worker, speech-language pathologist, reading specialist, nurse, and teachers. That is a real strength. But the team's job ends at the school door. When your child falls apart during dinner, fights every step of the bedtime routine, or refuses to join a birthday party, the school report card does not tell you what to do next. Private pediatric OT can help close that gap for Glencoe families.
Your therapist
Laura O'Brien, OTR/L, has spent more than thirty years helping North Shore families turn confusing sensory and motor challenges into clear, workable plans. She does not hand parents a printed sheet of exercises and say good luck. She teaches you in the room, in the moment, so you know exactly what to do when your child melts down at home.
Glencoe families value strong schools and high standards. Laura's practice reflects that same expectation. Every session includes parent coaching. You leave understanding why your child reacts the way they do and what you can change starting that evening.
Last reviewed: April 2026
What parents say
These are not behavior problems. They can be signs of sensory processing, motor planning, or self-regulation challenges that respond well to the right kind of support.
Understanding your options
SD 35 embeds OT into building-based Pupil Service Teams at each of its three schools. Your child's OT works alongside a psychologist, social worker, speech-language pathologist, reading specialist, nurse, and classroom teachers. Services are coordinated through TrueNorth Educational Cooperative and target skills that affect classroom performance: handwriting, scissors, self-help in the school setting, and sensory regulation during academic tasks.
Mealtime battles. Haircut meltdowns. Getting through a grocery store without falling apart. Riding a bike with neighborhood friends. Sleeping through the night. School OT ends when classroom goals are met. The challenges that wear your family down at home sit outside the school's scope, no matter how strong the Pupil Service Team is.
That is the gap private OT fills. Laura focuses on the skills that matter at home and in the Glencoe community. Many families work with both school and private OT at the same time because the goals are completely different.
In-person and Zoom
Laura guides you through activities in real time using household items. Your child works on hand strength with clothespins and Play-Doh while you learn why deep pressure before meals can reduce fidgeting. Telehealth is especially practical for Glencoe families balancing multiple children and packed after-school schedules. Laura mails you specific materials before your first session.
About 22 minutes from Glencoe. Your child swings, climbs, and crashes through activities that organize their nervous system. You are in the room the entire time, watching what works and learning how to recreate it at home. The gym has suspended swings, crash pads, and climbing structures that most homes and schools do not have.
Either way, you leave every session knowing exactly what to do between appointments.
Parent strategies
Before dinner: Have your child do 10 wall push-ups. Stand arm's length from the wall, hands flat, push in and out slowly. This heavy work sends calming input through the joints and muscles and often improves sitting tolerance at the table. If your child stays seated longer or fidgets less, their body needed that input.
New food refusal: Put one new food on the plate alongside two familiar foods. Do not ask your child to eat it. Just let it sit there. Over several meals, your child may begin to touch it, smell it, or taste it on their own terms. Removing the pressure around unfamiliar textures can reduce mealtime stress for the whole family.
Common questions
The Pupil Service Team does strong work at school. But their scope is classroom performance. If your child struggles with self-care at home, has sensory sensitivities that affect meals or bedtime, or avoids activities outside of school, private OT can address those areas. Many Glencoe families use both.
The district offers free developmental screenings for children birth through five, in the fall and spring. Those screenings identify whether further evaluation is warranted, but they do not provide therapy. If your child is struggling now, there is no reason to wait for the next screening cycle. You can start with a free screening form through Laura's practice today.
Trust what you see at home. If daily tasks feel harder than they should, if your child avoids certain foods or textures, or if sensory issues disrupt family routines, an evaluation can help clarify what is going on. You do not need a referral from the school to start.
Getting started
Start with a free screening form so Laura can understand your child's needs. Many Glencoe families come to her after the Pupil Service Team's school-based OT ends or after a developmental screening raises questions they want answered now. Call with questions about how private OT works alongside your child's school program.