BDI Playhouse is an amazing environment and resource for a variety of supportive services -…read morespeech/feeding, occupational, and physical therapy. They have created an incredible environment both physically and culturally. My daughter loves coming to speech therapy - an unbelievable feat! Between the gyms full of fun equipment to bounce, swing, climb, and jump on and the toys/games room filled to the brim with so many types of activities, BDI really lives up the "playhouse" in their name. All the therapists incorporate play into their sessions, either switching between exercises and fun, or combining the two!
Everyone I've encountered seems to genuinely enjoy their job. When you walk into BDI, there is an upbeat positive feeling throughout- therapists greeting their next appointments as well as saying hello to the other kids they see. The other patients are happy to see their buddies (therapists) too! You can tell that everyone cares deeply about their patients. A wonderful benefit of their multidisciplinary office is the collaboration between therapists and disciplines. If your child needs multiple services, the therapists are in one location and can easily work together, determining the appropriate order and timing for the different services. It is much less coordination for the parent, both from a scheduling perspective and a patient approach. The patient gets better care with less friction. And, if the stars and schedules align, sometimes you can get back to back appointments to minimize visits to the office too!
My daughter has worked primarily with Amy for speech therapy, with some physical therapy from Lisa. Amy has a kind welcoming demeanor that was absolutely perfect for my daughter, who takes time to warm up to new people. Amy moves at Viv's pace while still getting through the therapy exercises. She is able to gently reign Viv in when she is being less than cooperative. Amy is realistic about what is and is not feasible for daily homework and keeps it to the most impactful exercises. We love Miss Amy! Lisa is also wonderful, regularly checking in with Viv to see how things feel and making sure nothing hurts. She doesn't dismiss Viv's feelings and reactions, but uses them to guide treatment. There is a level of respect and consideration for the kids that they don't always receive from grownups.
I have also gotten to be a patient at BDI for physical therapy, specifically for Craniosacral therapy (CST). I've had long standing challenges around breathing/posture/stress and have spent many years working through these with exercise, speech, physical therapy, and more. Lisa, Andrea, and Cassie at BDI have been an incredibly important part of improving these issues. I have been a tightly wound person my whole life, never good at relaxing. Other than coming out of anesthesia after surgery, I've never truly felt relaxed in my body until a few sessions into CST. I hadn't consciously taken a real, full, deep breath using the correct primary breathing muscles until my CST sessions at BDI. Now that I know what a relaxed state and a full deep breath feel like, I can get much closer to replicating them on my own through home practice. I feel calmer. My posture has improved- my shoulders are less rounded and my rib cage moves a lot more. I'm able to use these improvements in my Pilates practice to make more lasting improvements. The actual sessions are wonderfully relaxing.
I highly recommend BDI Playhouse - an exceptional environment providing supportive services to kids and grownups. I'm so glad we found BDI Playhouse!