Pediatric Occupational Therapy for Helios School Families in Sunnyvale
Supporting Gifted Learners at Helios School
Helios School draws some of Sunnyvale’s most intellectually curious and driven young learners — children who often arrive at school already reading, reasoning, and asking questions far beyond their grade level. But giftedness rarely travels alone. Many gifted children experience what educators and clinicians call asynchronous development: their minds sprint ahead while their emotional regulation, sensory processing, and fine motor skills develop at a more typical pace. The result can look like big meltdowns, difficulty transitioning between activities, sensory sensitivities in busy classroom settings, or struggles with handwriting despite exceptional verbal ability.
TheraPeeps specializes in exactly this profile. Our lead occupational therapist, Brooke Olson, OTR/L, brings deep expertise in sensory integration, emotional co-regulation, and developmental play — skills that directly complement the project-based, experiential learning environment at Helios and the school’s strong social-emotional learning curriculum. We provide in-home pediatric OT throughout Sunnyvale, meaning therapy happens where your child is most comfortable, in a setting that reflects real daily life rather than a clinical room.
OT Services for Helios School Families in Sunnyvale
TheraPeeps offers a full range of evidence-based pediatric OT services delivered in your home. Our services are tailored to the unique needs of each child — including the gifted and twice-exceptional kids who make up much of the Helios community.
- Sensory Processing and Sensory Integration (SIPT and STAR certified)
- Emotional and Self-Regulation Therapy
- DIR/Floortime Intervention (10+ years trainer experience)
- Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) for nervous system regulation
- Feeding Therapy (SOS Approach certified)
- Fine Motor and Handwriting Skills
- Executive Function Support (planning, task initiation, flexible thinking)
- Autism Support (Board Certified in Autism)
- Nature-Based Therapeutic Groups
- Comprehensive Developmental Evaluations
What We Evaluate and Address
Gifted children often don’t fit neatly into diagnostic categories — but that doesn’t mean they don’t need support. TheraPeeps works with children across a wide range of presentations, many especially common among the asynchronously developing learners who attend Helios.
- Sensory Processing Disorder and sensory sensitivities
- Twice-exceptional (2e) profiles — giftedness with sensory, learning, or developmental differences
- Asynchronous development — intellectual ability outpacing emotional or motor development
- Autism Spectrum Disorder (including high-functioning and PDA profiles)
- ADHD and attention and impulse regulation
- Anxiety presenting as rigidity, avoidance, or emotional overwhelm
- Feeding difficulties and food selectivity
- Fine motor and handwriting delays
- Difficulty with transitions and flexible thinking
- Social-emotional development challenges
What Sets TheraPeeps Apart for Gifted and 2e Children
Gifted children at schools like Helios often have a mismatch between what they can do intellectually and what their nervous system can handle emotionally and sensorially. This is the exact space where occupational therapy shines — and where TheraPeeps’ credentials run deep.
Our lead OT holds SIPT and STAR certification for sensory integration, DIR/Floortime trainer status with over a decade of experience, Board Certification in Autism, SOS Approach certification for feeding, and Safe and Sound Protocol training. These are advanced post-graduate specializations rarely found together in a single practitioner.
Where Helios’s SEL curriculum builds the social-emotional vocabulary and school community, OT builds the neurological foundation — the regulated nervous system, the motor skills, the sensory tolerance — that allows a child to actually access those social-emotional tools. We work closely with families and, when appropriate, with school teams to ensure strategies transfer into the Helios classroom and home. We are not an ABA practice. Our approach is neuro-affirming, developmental, and relationship-based.
Private-Pay Pricing and OON Reimbursement
TheraPeeps is a private-pay practice. We provide detailed superbills after each session that you can submit to your insurance carrier for potential out-of-network reimbursement. Many Helios families carry PPO plans — through tech employers in Sunnyvale and the broader Bay Area — with meaningful out-of-network OT benefits. Call member services on your card and ask specifically about out-of-network occupational therapy coverage for pediatric diagnoses.
If your employer offers an HSA or FSA, occupational therapy is typically a qualified medical expense and can be paid with pre-tax dollars.
Contact us at (650) 204-0677 to ask about current session rates and evaluation fees. We are happy to walk you through the superbill process before your first appointment.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes — this is one of the most common profiles we see. Giftedness and sensory processing differences frequently co-occur. A child with exceptional intellectual ability may still have a nervous system that struggles to filter sensory input. Occupational therapy addresses the underlying regulatory and sensory differences, giving your child tools to manage their nervous system and recover more quickly when things feel overwhelming.
No. A diagnosis is never a prerequisite. Many Helios families come to us with a concern — a child described as intense, inflexible, or overwhelmed — without a formal label. We complete our own comprehensive evaluation and build a care plan based on what we find.
Asynchronous development means a gifted child’s intellectual, emotional, and physical development advance at different rates. A child who reads at a fifth-grade level may still have the emotional regulation of a typical seven-year-old and fine motor skills that trail behind both. OT addresses the motor and sensory-regulatory gaps directly — building the regulated nervous system that allows a child to actually access their full potential at school and at home.
Helios’s SEL curriculum builds the vocabulary and the classroom community for emotional learning. OT builds the neurological and physiological foundation — sensory regulation, motor development, interoceptive awareness — that makes it possible for a child to access those tools. They work at different levels of the nervous system and are genuinely complementary. When a child’s nervous system is better regulated, the social-emotional skills Helios teaches have a much stronger foundation to build on.
Call us at (650) 204-0677 or fill out our online intake form. No referral is required. We will reach out to schedule an initial phone conversation, learn about your child’s profile, and answer every question about cost, logistics, and what to expect. We serve families throughout Sunnyvale and the broader Bay Area.
Ready to Get Started?
Call us today to get started, or fill out our intake form.
