INDIVIDUAL THERAPY

Physical Therapy

  • Pediatric physical therapy focuses on helping children develop the strength, mobility, and motor skills they need to move confidently and independently. Through fun, engaging activities tailored to each child’s abilities, therapists address challenges related to balance, coordination, posture, and overall physical development. Whether a child is recovering from an injury, managing a developmental delay, or strengthening movement patterns, pediatric physical therapy plays a vital role in building the skills they need to thrive.

    At City Kids, we proudly offer Neuro-Developmental Treatment (NDT) therapy, a specialized approach that emphasizes hands-on techniques to improve movement and posture. Our NDT program is led by Kacy Hertz, an experienced NDT trainer and owner of City Kids, ensuring expert care rooted in proven strategies to help children reach their fullest potential.

  • Neuro-Developmental Treatment (NDT) is a specialized, hands-on therapy approach designed to improve movement, coordination, and functional skills in individuals with neurological challenges or developmental delays. Originally developed to support children with cerebral palsy and other neuromotor disorders, NDT has evolved to benefit a wide range of movement difficulties.

    NDT therapists are trained to analyze movement patterns in detail and use gentle guidance, positioning, and handling techniques to help children build better motor control. Rather than focusing solely on isolated exercises, NDT emphasizes practicing meaningful, everyday activities—like sitting, crawling, walking, or reaching—in ways that strengthen the body’s natural movement patterns.

    What sets NDT apart is its personalized approach. Therapists assess each child’s unique strengths and challenges, then create customized strategies to improve posture, stability, and coordination. Sessions are interactive and dynamic, often involving play to keep children engaged while working on essential motor skills.

    At City Kids, our NDT program is led by Kacy Hertz, an experienced NDT trainer and expert in pediatric therapy. With her extensive background, Kacy ensures that every child receives thoughtful, individualized care that empowers them to move with greater confidence and independence.

Occupational Therapy

  • Pediatric occupational therapy focuses on helping children develop the skills they need to thrive in their daily lives. From improving fine motor abilities like grasping a pencil or fastening buttons to enhancing sensory processing and self-regulation, occupational therapy empowers children to gain independence and confidence. Therapists use fun, play-based activities to target essential skills such as hand-eye coordination, social interaction, and self-care routines, ensuring therapy feels engaging and meaningful for each child.

    Occupational therapy integrates Neuro-Developmental Treatment (NDT) techniques to help children improve their movement, coordination, and ability to engage in everyday activities. By combining NDT principles with traditional occupational therapy methods, therapists use hands-on guidance to promote more effective posture, balance, and motor control. This approach is particularly beneficial for children with neurological conditions, developmental delays, or motor planning challenges.

  • You might consider occupational therapy (OT) for your child if they’re facing challenges that make everyday tasks difficult. OT helps children develop the skills they need to succeed at home, school, and in social settings. If your child struggles with fine motor skills (like holding a pencil, using utensils, or buttoning a shirt), sensory processing (such as being overwhelmed by sounds, textures, or movement), or self-care routines (like dressing, brushing teeth, or feeding), OT can provide targeted support to improve these abilities.

    Occupational therapists use play-based activities to build strength, coordination, and confidence while teaching practical strategies to help children navigate daily challenges. Whether your child is working through developmental delays, sensory sensitivities, or motor difficulties, OT offers personalized interventions that empower them to grow and thrive.

Speech and Feeding Therapy

  • Speech therapy helps children develop the communication skills they need to express themselves clearly and confidently. Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) support children who experience challenges with speaking, understanding language, social interactions, and even non-verbal communication. Therapy may focus on improving articulation, expanding vocabulary, strengthening social skills, or enhancing language processing. For younger children or those with developmental delays, speech therapy can also support early communication milestones like making sounds, using gestures, or forming simple sentences.

    In addition to communication support, speech therapy can address feeding and swallowing difficulties. SLPs use specialized techniques to help children improve oral motor skills, manage texture sensitivities, and build safer, more efficient eating habits. By combining play, engaging activities, and family-centered strategies, speech therapy empowers children to build the skills they need to connect with others and thrive in their daily lives.

  • Feeding therapy can be life-changing for families navigating mealtime challenges. Whether a child struggles with picky eating, difficulty chewing or swallowing, sensory sensitivities, or medical concerns impacting their ability to eat, feeding therapy provides personalized strategies to improve these skills. Therapists work closely with families to create a positive, stress-free mealtime environment, offering techniques to expand food choices, build oral motor strength, and promote safe swallowing. By supporting both the child and their caregivers, feeding therapy empowers families with practical tools to make mealtimes more enjoyable, nutritious, and successful.

Therapy Modalities

  • Individual Traditional Therapy

    traditional therapy session, where one therapist works with one child.  We will provide hands-on treatment and work with the family to address specific therapeutic goals and areas of need.

  • Therapy Intensives

    Intensives provide therapy 3-5 times/week to target specific goals, for post-surgery rehab, or when you want to kick it up a notch. Works well during the summer or during spring/winter vacations.

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FAQ

WHAT ARE YOUR HOURS?

M-F 8-6 No Saturdays! No Sundays! Please see "City Kids this Month" for holiday update.

WHERE ARE YOU LOCATED?

In Northwest Chicago, 5669 N. Northwest Highway, between Bryn Mawr and Nagle just off I-90.

We are approximately 15 minutes from the city and between 15 and 30 minutes from surrounding suburbs.

WILL YOU COME TO MY HOUSE?

We do service a few children in the early intervention system at home if the appointment time is available and within an appropriate radius from City Kids. Most children are seen at City Kids in order to fully utilized the playful space and necessary adjuncts and equipment.

ARE YOU IN MY INSURANCE NETWORK?

We are Blue Cross/Blue Shield in-network providers.

DO YOU PROVIDE/ACCEPT EARLY INTERVENTION SERVICES?

Yes, all our therapists are providers for the Illinois Early Intervention system. We are able to provide evaluations, re-assessments, and ongoing-treatment for children in E.I. Individualized therapy and play group sessions can be authorized via Early Intervention if they are warranted for your child. If you are interested in receiving services at City Kids, please contact your Service Coordinator. If you need assistance or have questions, please contact our office.

WILL YOU DO BILLING FOR INSURANCE?

We do submit to insurance companies and Early Intervention if the services have been authorized. The family is responsible for deductibles, co-pays and patient responsible percentages at the time of service.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY AND PHYSICAL THERAPY?

Sometimes, in pediatrics, it is difficult to separate some of the treatment techniques between OT and PT. You can't separate parts of a child! In general, OT places an emphasis on addressing the sensory systems and the upper extremity fine motor skills. PT addresses gross motor skills and the lower extremity.

WHAT IS SENSORY INTEGRATION (SI) THERAPY?

Every human has many sensory systems that contribute to their function in the world-physical, social-emotional and verbal function. If one or more of these systems is disrupted or does not function properly it becomes very difficult to perform tasks, interact with others and have typical relatonships. Sensory Integration therapy provides assessment and treatment techniques that help identify and integrate sensory input to produce a functional outcome. This could be motor planning or executing a task, modulation, regulation or social emotional interaction and relationships. The occupational therapists at City Kids are trained in SI Assessment and Treatment and would be happy to answer any of your questions regarding this issue.

Check out the "Parent's Corner" for more information.

WHAT IS NDT-NEURO-DEVELOPMENTAL TREATMENT?

NDT is a theoretical approach to treatment of individuals with any type of motor dysfunction. NDT utilizes assessment and problem solving to identify a child's primary strengths and impairments in areas of range of motion, strength, biomechanics, motor planning, motor skills and developmental skills. A individualized treatment plan is developed for each child and implemented by the team of therapists with the assist of the playful environment and various pieces of equipment. There is a link on our website for the NDTA organization where you can attain more information.

Please call the office for more detailed information.