TheraPeeps brings pediatric occupational therapy directly to Capitola homes, schools, and daycares. No clinic, no commute, no disruption to your child’s routine. Capitola has no dedicated pediatric OT practice of its own. Families who need SOS Approach feeding therapy, sensory support, or developmental OT have historically had to travel, and that barrier is what our mobile model removes.

Our most-requested services in Capitola center on feeding therapy and sensory integration. Your child is seen in the same kitchen where mealtime challenges happen, the same backyard where sensory needs show up, and the same routines that shape their daily life. That real-world context makes intervention more precise and helps skills generalize faster.

TheraPeeps provides a full range of pediatric occupational therapy services in Capitola. Our therapists come to your home, school, or daycare so that therapy fits into your family’s life. Whether your child is struggling at mealtimes, showing sensory sensitivities, or presenting with developmental or fine motor delays, we build an individualized plan around their specific needs.

Services we provide in Capitola:

• Feeding therapy (SOS Approach-trained; picky eating, texture aversion, mealtime anxiety)
• Sensory integration and sensory processing support (SIPT and STAR certified)
• Emotional and self-regulation
• Fine motor skills and handwriting
• Gross motor and coordination development
• Play-based developmental therapy
• DIR/Floortime (relationship-based intervention)
• Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) for nervous system regulation
• Autism support (Board Certified in Autism; neuro-affirming approach)
• Nature-based therapeutic groups
• Occupational therapy evaluations (ages 0-8)
• Pediatric self-care and daily living skills

Feeding difficulties and sensory processing concerns are the most common reasons Capitola families contact us. Many children in coastal environments encounter sand, saltwater, and unpredictable outdoor textures daily. For children with tactile or vestibular sensitivities, those experiences can be genuinely difficult. Families come to us across a wide range of diagnoses and concerns. Many reach out before any formal diagnosis has been made, and no diagnosis is required to begin services. Our team identifies patterns early and builds a plan that supports the whole child.

Conditions and concerns we commonly support:

• Sensory processing disorder (SPD)
• Feeding difficulties, food refusal, and extreme picky eating
• Autism spectrum disorder (ASD)
• Developmental delays
• ADHD and attention difficulties
• Emotional dysregulation and frequent meltdowns
• Anxiety with a sensory or developmental component
• Fine and gross motor delays
• Handwriting difficulties (dysgraphia)
• Hypotonia (low muscle tone)
• Tactile, auditory, or vestibular sensitivities, including sensitivities to sand, water, and natural textures common in beach environments
• Social and play skill delays

Call us: (650) 204-0677

We eliminate the specialist commute. Highway 1 and 41st Avenue are the primary routes out of Capitola. With a young child and a weekly appointment, that drive adds up. We come to your home so that consistent, expert therapy is something your family can actually sustain.

Our feeding and sensory credentials are among the strongest in the region. Founder Brooke Olson, OTR/L holds SOS Approach certification for feeding therapy and SIPT and STAR certification for sensory integration. These credentials are uncommon and address the mealtime and sensory challenges Capitola families most frequently raise.

We work in your child’s real environment. Therapy in a clinic cannot replicate what happens at your kitchen table or in your backyard. Seeing your child where challenges actually occur allows us to intervene more precisely and build strategies that generalize into daily life.

We do not use ABA methods or compliance-based frameworks. Our approach is relationship-based and developmentally grounded. Your child builds real skills because they feel safe and supported, not because they were trained to perform them.

Our team brings over 20 years of combined clinical experience. Every child is seen by a seasoned clinician. That depth of experience means faster, more accurate clinical decision-making for your family.

TheraPeeps is a private-pay practice. We provide detailed superbills after every session so you can submit for out-of-network reimbursement with everything your carrier needs already included. Many Capitola families carry PPO plans or HSA-compatible coverage that reimburses specialty services. If a parent works for a Silicon Valley employer with offices in San Jose, Santa Clara, or the broader Bay Area, their plan may include meaningful out-of-network benefits for pediatric OT.

A superbill is an itemized receipt with all the diagnostic and procedure codes your carrier needs to process an out-of-network claim. Many families are reimbursed for a meaningful portion of therapy costs through their out-of-network benefits. If you are unsure whether your plan includes out-of-network benefits, call the member services number on the back of your insurance card and ask specifically about outpatient pediatric occupational therapy reimbursement. We are happy to walk you through how to use your superbill once you have confirmed your benefits.

To ask about rates or get started, call us at (650) 204-0677 or request an evaluation online.

Call us: (650) 204-0677

Do you travel to Capitola to provide therapy, or is this service only for Peninsula families?

Yes, we serve Capitola and the broader Santa Cruz County area directly. We know that one of the biggest frustrations for Capitola families is how far they have to travel to access pediatric specialists. Our in-home model was built to solve exactly that problem. A TheraPeeps therapist comes to your Capitola home, private school, or daycare so your child receives consistent, expert care without anyone having to leave the village. Contact us at (650) 204-0677 to confirm availability and scheduling in your specific area.

Are there any pediatric OT providers based in Capitola itself?

There is currently no dedicated pediatric occupational therapy practice based in Capitola. Families in the area typically face a choice between the clinic options in Santa Cruz or making the longer drive toward San Jose, neither of which is easy when you are also managing a child with complex needs and a full family schedule. TheraPeeps fills that gap by bringing mobile, in-home pediatric OT directly to Capitola. You get specialist-level care without the commute.

My child has sensory issues around water, sand, and outdoor textures. Can OT actually help with that, especially living near the beach?

This is one of the most common reasons Capitola families reach out to us, and it is something we are specifically trained to address. Living near Capitola Beach and Soquel Creek means your child encounters sand, saltwater, wind, and unpredictable textures constantly, at the Esplanade, on the Soquel Creek Trail, at Jade Street Park, and throughout daily life in the village. For children with tactile, vestibular, or auditory sensitivities, those everyday experiences can trigger significant distress. Our therapists hold SIPT and STAR certification in sensory integration, among the most rigorous credentials in the field, and we use a graduated, relationship-based approach to help your child build genuine tolerance and even enjoyment of the sensory world around them.

How is feeding therapy different from just working with a picky eater?

Picky eating exists on a spectrum, and when a child’s food refusal is affecting nutrition, growth, family mealtimes, or school participation, it has usually moved beyond typical toddler pickiness into territory where skilled intervention makes a real difference. At TheraPeeps, our feeding therapy is grounded in the SOS (Sequential Oral Sensory) Approach, a structured, evidence-based method that addresses the sensory, motor, and behavioral components of eating together. We work in your home kitchen, at your actual table, with the foods and tools your family uses. That real-world context is one reason in-home feeding therapy tends to generalize faster than clinic-based work.

My child was just diagnosed with autism. Where do we even start with OT?

For Capitola families, the reality after a new diagnosis is that there are very few local specialists to turn to. The pediatrician may offer a referral, but the nearest clinic options require navigating Highway 1 or driving north toward San Jose, and many families find themselves on long waitlists before they ever get an appointment. Starting in-home with TheraPeeps removes that barrier entirely. The first step is an evaluation, a structured, play-based assessment that looks at your child’s sensory processing, motor skills, self-regulation, feeding, and daily living skills to identify where OT support will have the most impact. From there, we build an individualized plan in the environment where your child actually lives. Our approach is neuro-affirming and relationship-based: we follow your child’s lead, build on their strengths, and work on goals that genuinely improve quality of life for your whole family. Call us at (650) 204-0677 to schedule an evaluation.