Our Blog

Stuck inside with your kids during the snow storm? We've got you covered! COTA John Sundbo offers ideas for how to keep your kiddo progressing through their goals.

Sensory-Friendly Santa is BACK and will visit Play Works on Saturday December 18th between 8:30am and 12:30pm! Santa is taking individual 10 MINUTE appointments for your child with sensory differences (and their siblings of course!).

This FREE class is available to all families in the Gorge area! Come with your baby and your questions, and learn from Joanna Hallam, Pediatric Physical Therapist, as you play together!

La escuela está de vuelta, pero es posible que nuestros niños no estén preparados para la estructura mejorada y la producción de trabajo esperada que la acompaña. Ya sea en persona o en línea, pasar de un verano sin preocupaciones y guiado por el juego a la rigidez de un adulto puede ser una transición difícil para cualquier niño.

School’s back in session, but our kiddos may not be ready for the increased structure and expected work output that goes along with it. Luckily, we have some strategies that can make this transition smoother and increase your child's success!

Curious about whether pediatric therapy is right for your family? Take this quick online screening to learn which behaviors may indicate a need for an initial assessment! Currently set up to assess benchmarks for children ages one through six.

Working on speech skills with your child? These are the favorite games of Nicole Kvist, CCC-SLP to help kids develop their skills! Read on to find out about the unique ways she incorporates speech and language into a mix of board games and free online games.

Beginning in May the interdisciplinary team at Play Works will provide autism evaluations for children aged 20 months to 18 years.

There is hope! Occupational Therapist Riley Thomas often recommends activities to address Executive Functioning deficits at home. While they can vary based on the child’s age, these home interventions are at the top of our list!

Any activity where your child has to follow instructions and complete tasks independently is beneficial to the development of the child's Executive Functioning. Here are two of our favorite recipes to use with kids at Play Works!

As local schools are reopening for in-person learning, you may begin to notice your child struggling to stick to the new schedule, with tantrums and distractions galore. If following a series of instructions to get ready in the morning (brush teeth, get dressed, eat breakfast, put on shoes) seems to be too difficult for your child, or if teachers are reporting emotional outbursts and chronic time management struggles, your child may be struggling with their Executive Functioning skills.

Sometimes a child's most difficult behaviors have a very logical (and treatable) explanation. This is often the case for kids who have Sensory Processing Dysfunction. Here are five behaviors that could indicate your child should see an Occupational Therapist!

As part of a #ShareTheLove campaign all month long, Play Works is matching donations made to SafeSpace Children’s Advocacy Center of the Gorge. We will match every dollar donated on our GoFundMe campaign or in-person at the 12th street clinic, up to $2,000.

The basics of ABA, and how Play Works’ expert behavior analysts can help your child gain the skills and confidence they need to build a strong foundation for life.

Play Works Children’s Therapies in Hood River, Oregon continues to remove barriers for all children to receive critical pediatric therapy services for children with disabilities, even during these trying times.

Visual perception refers to the brain’s ability to make sense of what the eyes see. This is not the same as visual acuity which refers to how clearly a person sees (for example “20/20 vision”).

Some children’s feet turn in when they walk. This is called intoeing or ‘pigeon toe’ and is very common in young children. It is one of the most common normal variants in children and is usually seen in both feet but may be just one.

Dr. Joan Arvedson, PhD shares her pioneering research, instruction, and clinical work with infants and children who have feeding/swallowing disorders.

There are critical milestones that we track to make sure that your baby is on track for developing speech and language along the expected continuum.

Torticollis- Latin for “twisted neck” — is a head tilt caused by a shortened neck muscle typically on one side of the head.

Play Works Children's Therapies now provides Teletherapy for Occupational and Speech & Language Pathology treatment for children from infancy to 18 years of age.

Play Works Children's Therapies and the Hood River community at large is fortunate to have access to outpatient Spanish/English speech-language evaluation and therapy services.

Pediatric Speech-Language Pathologists are able to identify a delay in even the youngest children.