About
Outdoor Kids OT knows that modern busy lifestyles are depriving children of essential experiences needed for a happy and healthy childhood. They offer playful nature-based pediatric therapy groups to connect children to nature as a foundation for their optimal health and wellness throughout life.
Outdoor Kids OT specialized niche is providing expert outdoor occupational therapy to help kids grow more coordinated, confident, and connected to self, others, and nature. Outdoor Kids OT serves children with ADHD, autism, or other developmental challenges, ages 4-10.
Program Details
Founded in 2015 in Oakland, California, Outdoor Kids Occupational Therapy, Inc. (OKOT) offers group and individual occupational therapy services for children aged 4-10 years old whose developmental challenges impact their ability to participate in daily life activities. OKOT believes our modern busy lifestyles often deprive children of essential experiences needed for healthy development, including time spent in nature. OKOT was founded to emphasize and use nature connections as the foundation for childhood health and wellness. The benefits Dr. Park Figueroa sees in her young clients who experience nature-based occupational therapy services and time spent in nature include improvements in coordination and confidence, and connectedness to themselves, others, and nature.
OKOT serves children in Berkeley and Oakland, California, as well as Madison, Wisconsin. Group sessions at OKOT take place September through May to encourage routine and connection among group participants, which include an occupational therapist to lead the group, volunteers to help facilitate group activities, and five to six child participants. Many of these children receive occupational therapy services from OKOT and others are peer playmates, who have previously graduated from receiving occupational therapy services or are considered typically developing. During the summers, OKOT offers week-long camps as group sessions. All groups incorporate daily emotional wellness check-ins, mindfulness activities, a snack, crafts, and time for free play and nature exploration.
Dr. Park Figueroa and her team at OKOT also created the ConTiGO (Connection & Transformation in the Great Outdoors) Approach™, which utilizes evidence-based practices from multiple disciplines to provide high-quality nature-based services to children and youth. Pediatric therapists or therapist assistants may enroll in the ConTiGO Approach™ program to become a Certified Nature-Based Pediatric Therapist™ or Certified Nature-Based Pediatric Therapist Assistant™.
Dr. Park Figueroa also hosts the Therapy in the Great Outdoors Community & Podcast, to support nature-based pediatric therapists of all kinds.
Contact Laura Park Figueroa, PhD, OTR/L support@outdoorkidsot.com 510-481-8114 Outdoor Kids Occupational Therapy Therapy in the Great Outdoors
Services Offered
Group and individual occupational therapy services utilizing the ConTiGO Approach™. All therapists are Certified Nature-Based Pediatric Therapists™ in the ConTiGO Approach™.
Population Served
Children ages 4-10 with ADHD, autism, or other developmental challenges that impact their participation in daily life.
Staff Composition
- 5 Occupational Therapists
- 2 Group Assistants
- 20+ Volunteers
- 1 Executive Assistant
- 1 Administrative Assistant
- 1 Chief Operations Officer (COO)
- 1 Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Cost to Participate
Services are private pay and offered in packages that include assessment, therapy sessions (group or individual), collaborative goal setting session with parents, consult calls, and progress reports. In 2024, services cost $37-$50/15-minute unit, depending on the location. Generous scholarships are offered to any family in need via a scholarship application process.
Related Article
Q & A with Dr. Laura Park Figueroa
What inspired you to develop the ConTiGO Approach and what did that process look like?
LPF: When I first started my outdoor practice, I didn’t know any other therapists who were primarily working outdoors with children. I read a ton of books and research to figure out how to make outdoor therapy effective…and I found that a lot of the activities recommended for typically-developing children seemed to NOT work for the children that I was serving in my practice. I learned through a lot of mistakes and reflection in those early years. Eventually, I developed the ConTiGO Approach to share what I learned with other outdoor-loving pediatric practitioners– to give them resources and support to become skilled nature-based pediatric therapists much faster than I did!
What value have you seen peer playmates to have within group dynamics at OKOT?
LPF: Peer playmates help deepen the play experiences for the group by being active participants, showing interest and engagement in activities, contributing ideas and comments to group discussions, and modeling community-supporting behaviors for others in the group. Children who are receiving OT in the group may do these things as well.
What is your favorite group activity to observe, lead, or participate in?
LPF: I love any activity where children are building or constructing with loose parts. It is always so fun to see what they create on their own without adult prompting. Making toy boats from recyclables is always a hit. We’ll put out baskets of corks, rubber bands, twist ties, duct tape, container lids, toothpicks, and other random items and invite the children to try to build a boat that will float. After the boats are done, we hike to a creek or pond to try them out…and then some kids make “edits” to their build of their boat, if needed. :)
What season is the most challenging to facilitate therapeutic services outdoors in?
LPF: Anything below 20 degrees Fahrenheit (-6 Celsius) or above 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 Celsius; especially if also humid!) can be really exhausting for the therapist. In the cold, the right gear is essential. In hot and humid weather, access to water and shade is essential to avoid heat exhaustion.
What is one thing you would tell professionals interested in exploring taking their services outdoors?
LPF: Get in community with other nature-based therapists! There’s a free interdisciplinary community with loads of information at www.therapyinthegreatoutdoors.com
