Park Ridge, Illinois
Your preschooler has a wonderful team at Jefferson Early Childhood Center. The classroom specialists work with her on fine motor skills and social play. But at home, getting dressed takes 40 minutes, socks feel wrong every time, and breakfast ends in tears before you even get to the car. Pediatric occupational therapy for Park Ridge families can help with the part of the day the school does not see.
Your therapist
Laura O'Brien, OTR/L, has spent more than thirty years helping families in communities like Park Ridge figure out why daily life feels so hard when school seems to be going fine. Her office is five minutes from Park Ridge on Oakton Street in Des Plaines. Most families here come in person, though Zoom is always available when schedules get tight.
Laura doesn't just treat your child. She teaches you what to do between sessions so the work carries over into real life. You leave every visit understanding why your child responds the way they do and what you can do about it starting tonight.
Last reviewed: April 2026
What parents tell Laura
These are not behavior problems. They can be signs of sensory processing differences, motor planning delays, or retained reflexes that need targeted support outside the classroom.
Understanding your options
Park Ridge-Niles SD 64 has nine schools serving PK through 8th grade. Jefferson Early Childhood Center offers specialists in every classroom for ages 3 to 5, supported by a Preschool for All grant. For older students, OT is available as a related service through an IEP, typically targeting handwriting, scissors skills, and classroom attention.
Getting dressed. Tolerating hair brushing. Eating a varied diet. Managing sensory overload at birthday parties. Riding a bike with neighborhood friends. School OT is designed around academic participation. When those goals are met, services end. But the struggles at home and in the community often keep going.
That's where private OT fills in. Laura works on the life skills that matter at home and in your Park Ridge community. Many families use both school and private OT because they cover different ground.
In-person and Zoom
Laura guides you through sensory and motor activities using household items. Your child crawls through a tunnel made of couch cushions while she explains what the resistance is doing for their body awareness. Telehealth works well for weeks when the schedule is packed or when a sibling is napping.
Five minutes from Park Ridge. Your child swings, climbs, and does heavy work on equipment built for sensory integration and reflex work. We practice real-life skills like shoe-tying on an unstable surface to build balance and motor planning at the same time. You watch, ask questions, and leave with a plan for the week.
Either way, you leave every session knowing exactly what to do between appointments.
Parent strategies
Before getting dressed in the morning: Roll a tennis ball firmly along your child's arms and legs for about 60 seconds. Use enough pressure that it feels like a deep massage, not a tickle. This deep-pressure input can calm the tactile system and often reduces sensitivity to clothing seams and sock textures. Try it every morning for one week. If you notice less fighting over clothes by day four or five, your child's nervous system is responding to the input.
After school, before anything else: Let your child jump on a mini trampoline or do 20 jumping jacks. Jumping provides strong input to the joints and muscles that can help reset a nervous system that has been holding it together all day. Time it right after walking in the door, before homework or snack. If the after-school meltdowns decrease, this tells you your child needs a sensory break between school and home demands.
Common questions
Jefferson has excellent classroom support for ages 3 to 5. If your child is progressing at school but still struggling with self-care, sensory sensitivities, or motor skills at home, private OT addresses what the classroom program was not designed to cover. Many Park Ridge families use both.
You see Laura at every session. There is no rotation of therapists and no corporate schedule dictating your child's care. She teaches parents what to do between visits so progress happens at home, not just in the clinic. When you call, you talk to Laura. When you have a question between sessions, you hear back the same day.
Trust your instincts. If daily tasks feel harder than they should, if your child avoids certain activities, or if sensory issues interfere with family routines, a screening can help clarify what is going on. Common signs include difficulty with self-care compared to peers, extreme reactions to textures or sounds, and poor coordination.
Getting started
Start with a free screening form so Laura can understand your child's needs. Many Park Ridge families come to Laura after Jefferson or SD 64 screenings, wanting to know what private OT can add. The office is five minutes from Park Ridge. Call with questions about how private OT works alongside your child's school program.