Irvine, California

Sensory Integration Therapy in Irvine, CA

Occupational therapy for children whose nervous systems have trouble making sense of movement, touch, and sound, in a two-story sensory gym built for the work.

All of our occupational therapists are trained in sensory integration. Most children come once or twice a week, and every plan starts with an evaluation rather than a template.

Schedule a tourCall or text (949) 835-3746
1,002+ children served Serving families since 2016 Two-story sensory gym Ages birth to 12

What sensory integration therapy is

Every second, your child's brain takes in more information than it could possibly use: the tag in a shirt, the hum of the lights, where their feet are, how fast the room is moving. Most of the time the brain sorts that flood automatically, keeps what matters, and lets the rest fade.

For some children that sorting does not happen smoothly. Ordinary input arrives too loud, or too faint, or in the wrong order. A hand dryer is unbearable. A tag is a crisis. Or the opposite: a child crashes into furniture all day looking for input strong enough to register.

Sensory integration therapy gives the nervous system carefully chosen, purposeful experiences of movement and touch so it gets better at organizing them. It looks like play on a swing. It is closer to targeted practice for a system that has been working too hard.

The senses nobody taught you about

Most of us learned five senses in school. Three others do quiet, constant work, and they are usually where the difficulty sits.

Vestibular

Your sense of movement and balance, run from the inner ear. It tells a child whether they are upright, tipping, spinning, or still. When it is unreliable, children either crave movement constantly or avoid it entirely. We work it through swinging, climbing, and controlled spinning.

Proprioception

Body awareness: knowing where your arms and legs are without looking. When the signal is faint, children bump into things, press too hard with a pencil, or hug too tightly. Heavy work, pushing, pulling, and climbing turn the volume up.

Tactile

Touch, which is not one sense but several running at once. A child may be fine with a firm hug and undone by a light brush against an arm. Sand, water, and varied textures build tolerance and, more importantly, curiosity.

Signs your child may benefit from sensory integration support

Children can be sensory avoiders, sensory seekers, or both at once depending on the sense and the day. All of it is worth an evaluation if it is getting in the way.

Too much coming in

  • Overly sensitive to sounds, lights, or touch
  • Meltdowns in busy places like stores, parties, or assemblies
  • Distress over clothing tags, seams, haircuts, or nail trims
  • Avoids messy play and certain textures
  • Trouble with transitions between activities

Not enough getting through

  • Constantly seeking movement: jumping, crashing, spinning
  • Cannot sit still, even when they want to
  • Presses too hard, hugs too tightly, plays too roughly without meaning to
  • Chews on clothing, pencils, or fingers
  • Seems to notice pain less than other children

The body in space

  • Appears clumsy or unsure where their body is
  • Bumps into furniture and doorframes
  • Struggles with dressing, feeding, or toothbrushing routines
  • Avoids playground equipment other children enjoy
  • Tires quickly during physical play

What a session looks like

Fifty minutes that look like the best gym class your child has ever had.

  • It starts with an evaluation. Before any of this, we assess how your child actually processes input, and build the plan from that rather than from a standard protocol.
  • Your child leads, the therapist steers. The activity has to be motivating or the nervous system does not engage with it. So we follow what your child is drawn to and build the challenge into it.
  • The equipment is the intervention. Swings, a climbing wall, a zip line, crash pads, tunnels, obstacle courses, and tactile play, each chosen for what it asks of a specific system.
  • Once or twice a week. That is the usual rhythm. Families who want to move faster sometimes add an intensive block over a school break.
  • Parent coaching is part of it. The strategies that matter most are the ones that work in your car, your bathroom, and your grocery store.
  • Neurodiversity-affirming. The goal is a child who is comfortable and able to participate, not a child who stops being sensitive.

Inside the sensory gym

Two floors of equipment, all of it chosen for a reason. This is what your child would actually be working in.

Climbing wall with coloured holds and a platform swing in the sensory gym at Tumble N' Dots Child lying on a therapy bolster while an occupational therapist supports her Crawl tunnel, crash pad, and foam obstacle shapes set up in the therapy gym Foam obstacle course laid out across the sensory gym floor Child sitting on a therapy roll with an occupational therapist during a session in Irvine Therapist and child at the platform swing beside the crash pit Child in a rainbow lycra hammock swing during sensory integration therapy Climbing wall, wooden climbing ladder, and platform swing in the two-story sensory gym Foam wedge, gym mats, and crash pad set up for movement work
Come see it in person

Ways we support sensory needs

Sensory integration is one part of what we do. See all pediatric therapy services for the full picture.

Child working on fine motor skills during pediatric occupational therapy in Irvine

Pediatric occupational therapy

Sensory integration sits inside occupational therapy. Where fine motor skills, handwriting, self-care, or regulation are also part of the picture, they are worked on together.

Occupational therapy in Irvine
Child at the table during a feeding therapy session in the Tumble N' Dots clinic kitchen

Feeding therapy

Food refusal is very often a sensory story before it is a food story. Where texture and smell are driving the problem, feeding therapy runs alongside sensory work.

Feeding therapy
Sensory gym set up for an intensive therapy week in Irvine, CA

Intensive therapy programs

Several sessions a week over spring, summer, and winter breaks. For sensory work in particular, the repetition tends to build momentum faster than a weekly schedule.

Intensive programs
Therapist and child working on sensory motor skills, the same approach used in partner classrooms

School collaboration

A classroom is a sensory environment a child cannot leave. We work in partner classrooms across Orange County and attend IEP meetings so strategies carry into the school day.

School collaborations

Children we work with

We see children from birth through age 12. Many of the children who benefit most from sensory work have no formal diagnosis, and a referral is not required to start.

Sensory processing differencesAutismADHD and ADDSensory seekersSensory avoidersMotor planning difficultyDevelopmental delaysAnxiety and regulation challengesFeeding difficultiesDown syndromeCerebral palsyPremature birth history

Paying for sensory integration therapy

We are an out-of-network provider and are not contracted with any insurance plan, which means we do not bill your insurance directly.

  • You receive a detailed superbill twice a month, on the 1st and the 15th, with every code your insurance needs to consider reimbursement.
  • Superbills are always available in your parent portal, so you are never waiting on us for a copy.
  • Sensory integration therapy is delivered as occupational therapy, which is generally an eligible FSA and HSA expense.
  • Many of our families do receive reimbursement. Rates vary by plan, and insurers pay families directly.
Read the out-of-network reimbursement guideMeet our therapy team

Sensory questions parents ask

Is sensory integration therapy the same as occupational therapy?
Sensory integration is an approach used within occupational therapy, not a separate profession. Your child would be seen by a pediatric occupational therapist trained in sensory integration, and where other occupational therapy goals matter too, they get worked on in the same sessions.
How do I know if my child really needs it?
The test we use is interference. Nearly every child has sensory preferences. The question is whether those preferences are shrinking your child's world: places they cannot go, clothes they cannot wear, foods they cannot eat, activities other children join and they do not. If the answer is yes, an evaluation is worth having.
How often will my child come?
Most children attend once or twice per week. Some families add an intensive block over a school break, which for sensory work in particular tends to build momentum faster.
How long is a session?
Sessions are typically 50 minutes.
Does my child need a diagnosis first?
No. Many of the children who benefit from sensory integration work have no formal diagnosis at all. Some insurance plans require a referral for reimbursement, so it is worth checking with your carrier.
My child seeks movement constantly. Is that the same problem as a child who avoids it?
They can be two versions of the same underlying difficulty. A seeker is looking for input strong enough to register, an avoider is protecting against input that arrives too loud. Plenty of children are both, depending on which sense and which day. The evaluation is what tells them apart.
Will this make my child less sensitive?
That is not the goal, and we would be wary of anyone who promised it. The goal is a child who can participate in the things that matter to them, with strategies they and you can use when a situation gets to be too much.
Do you take insurance?
No. We are an out-of-network provider and do not bill insurance directly. We provide a detailed superbill twice a month that you can submit for possible reimbursement, and occupational therapy is generally FSA and HSA eligible.
What ages do you work with?
Birth through age 12.

Come see the gym

Photographs only go so far. Book a tour with our clinical staff, walk both floors, and bring your questions.

Schedule a tourCall or text (949) 835-3746