Starfish Therapies

Starfish Therapies Starfish Therapies is a pediatric therapy company that is committed to making a difference for children one child at a time.

We provide physical therapy for children ages 0-22. We work with kids with torticollis, developmental delay, orthopedic injuries, cerebral palsy, down syndrome, autism, post-operative, and many others. We also have many fitness programs for kids starting at newborn and covering all of their growth and development. We additionally see kids in San Francisco and Palo Alto. Please contact us to find out our availability in those locations.

06/11/2025

Adapted switches and toys can be used in so many ways. Thanks to we have some pretty awesome ones in our clinic.

We use them all the time for kids that have limited mobility and hand function to kids that need motivation.

As you can see in our videos the toy provided the engagement and focus for one guy to work on eccentric control in his left leg by finding just enough force to activate the switch. The focus allowed him to hold the position for longer periods of time to work on his endurance and balance also. And sorry for the crying in the background but if you listen he says
‘This is a pretty cool toy’ -high praise indeed!

Notice also how our other friend uses it for reaching and attending to the toy while activating it. We purposely placed it on the side that is more challenging to turn towards to increase the benefits of the engagement.

How do you use adaptive toys?

Follow us for more fun therapeutic ideas!

05/16/2025

We are loving using Anni’s Chair with our kids to help them transition into standing and get weight through their feet.

This chair is so well designed by that it encourages upright posture and forward weight shift. The kids like to so much they want to stay sitting😂

But seriously the stability and support is great and the grooves and forward slope really helps with improving positioning and transitions!

We love seeing these little ones increase their mobility and independence!

05/09/2025

Let’s look at environment and task and how it impacts performance.

In the first video while walking on a line on the floor stance time on each leg is close. Right side still stands a little longer.

In video two walking on the same size line but now it is a balance beam elevated, stance time on the left significantly decreases. So by elevating the narrow surface performance changed.

In video 3 we added cups to step over with the right foot to attempt to increase stance time on the left. There was some increase but still the majority of the time was spent on the right leg. So here we changed the task but kept the environment the same and had a slight change.

In video 4 we changed the task again and had the child tap a cone with their right foot. This resulted in increasing the time they had to stand and balance on their left leg. They also turned toward the cone to increase their stability so this would be something that we may account for next time.

Hopefully this gives you ideas for stance time but also shows you how you can adjust task and environment to get different results!

For more activities you can do with your kids check out our superhero boot camp cards!

Comment HERO to get the link!

🟢 PROUDLY SUPPORTING WORLD CP DAY WITH 🟢We’re standing united in our WAWOS green shirts to celebrate World Cerebral Pal...
03/24/2025

🟢 PROUDLY SUPPORTING WORLD CP DAY WITH 🟢

We’re standing united in our WAWOS green shirts to celebrate World Cerebral Palsy Awareness Day!

is on a powerful mission: Supporting and celebrating children with Cerebral Palsy and related neuromuscular delays through innovative design and technology. Their commitment goes beyond awareness - they’re actively breaking down barriers and creating real change.

By supporting WAWOS, we’re:
* Empowering children with CP
* Promoting inclusive community participation
* Providing financial, clinical, and social support
* Changing the conversation around disability

Every shirt tells a story of hope, strength, and unlimited potential.

Together, we’re building a world where everyone belongs, regardless of ability. 💚

A special thank you to WAWOS for leading the way in support, innovation, and inclusion!

Who doesn’t love a holiday to do themed activities? Well we have a FREE activity for you! Help our leprechaun find the p...
03/13/2025

Who doesn’t love a holiday to do themed activities? Well we have a FREE activity for you!

Help our leprechaun find the pot of gold and get some gross motor fun in!

Comment RESOURCE and get access to all of our FREE resources including this St. Patrick’s Day Activity!

02/24/2025

How is your chin tuck? This is a great way to check it out as well as work on it.

You’ll notice the challenge he is having in the first video and how he is trying to use his arms to help. He can’t maintain it and he falls back into suboccipital extension. This is because it is a stable position that he compensates with for upright posture.

I dare you to try this and tag us for your videos!

Working on a chin tuck starting with little babies can help their overall core development and posture. This isn’t something that should be forgotten about and can be worked on at any age (a great way to counteract all the time we as adults spend at a computer).

Chin tucks also help to decrease open mouth breathing.

If you found this helpful please Like, Share, Save, Follow for more content!

02/19/2025

Learning a new skill. It is complex and can have so many components to it. Here are a few components:

1. Problem Solving/Motor Planning: the understanding of the new skill and what you need to do

2. Coordination: getting your muscles to turn on and off at the right time so that your body can move the way you want

3. Balance: being able to stabilize your body in certain positions to allow for you to move

4. Strength: your muscles need enough force to move your body

5. Motor Learning: your body is able to combine and build on practiced components rather than starting from square one each time

There are other components too but these are some basics. Acquisition of a task can get stuck at any point so we are often teasing apart what area we need to target. Based on how they respond to the exercises and practice can guide how we progress or alter our intervention.

These videos are taken one week apart. How did we get success (the second video is the first time ever for success with this transition in this way).

Comment your thoughts to find out!

02/10/2025

Jumping with both feet!

This is a skill that can be hard for kids who have weakness or a preferred side. Try adding a squishy ball or other object between their feet (or even knees) that they have to hold onto while they jump.

Start with jumping on level ground. As that gets easier add jumping over, off, on as ways to increase the challenge. As the challenge of the jump changes the ability to use both legs gets harder!

What other ways do you work on this? If you just want to work on jumping in general type JUMP in the comments for our 6 week jumping program!

02/02/2025

It has been raining here and this guy needed to get out. I thought we would go jump in puddles but he wanted to scooter and go to the park.

I had it thought about it before but the park in the rain was great for him. As you can see on the slide video he went faster than normal and hit the ground with a thud. Same with the fire pole. Well this proprioceptive I put was just what he needed along with the high speed and spinning because he did it over and over again.

Hopefully this shows you that outside time even in the rain can be helpful!

And if you don’t want to get wet, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered too! Comment HEAVY and I’ll send you our list of heavy work activities!

Prone Press UpThis is so important for little ones. It helps them to open their hands and develop strength for future fi...
12/23/2024

Prone Press Up

This is so important for little ones. It helps them to open their hands and develop strength for future fine motor skills. It also builds their back and shoulder strength. Thus guys did not like to keep his hands under his shoulders and in the haze of motherhood I wasn’t paying attention. He was extending his arms and lifting his chest so what was the problem? Well he never pushed up with his hands under him. Notice his belly to back rolling, he might as well have said ‘who needs arms’. I guarantee this impacted his posture as he had grown because he didn’t start with the foundation that he needed.

What are your thoughts on this or what questions do you have?

12/07/2024

Wondering how torticollis shows up as they get older? Here it is in an almost 8 month old. As I’ve mentioned the tilt is the hardest to get rid of because of the weight shift and tendency to pull into the tilt side.

This is why it is recommended your child with torticollis is followed until they are 1 or walking independently. Followed doesn’t mean weekly, it means check ins to make sure the asymmetries that show up with growth spurts and skill demand changes resolve again. It’s to give you ideas to facilitate lengthening the tilt side and strengthening the long side.

As we’ve mentioned Torticollis does not resolve on its own!

What questions do you have?

Torticollis PSA - They don’t just grow out of it!I also know the rotation gets focused on heavily because of plagiocepha...
11/20/2024

Torticollis PSA - They don’t just grow out of it!

I also know the rotation gets focused on heavily because of plagiocephaly (flat spots) but please don’t forget the sidebend/tilt.

The tilt impacts where they find their sense of midline and can cause uneven weight shift. This can perpetuate the sidebend because they are always overusing the shortened side.

As they grow and their skill demands change you will see their preferences re-emerge (ideally only for short periods) as they overuse the shortened areas to find stability or to adjust to newly lengthened muscles.

In bigger kids I look for anything that appears asymmetrical such as always leading with one foot for climbing or getting into standing, sitting in side sit just to one side or just with one leg up (as pictured), any movement that is always done one way and then difficulty doing it to the other side.

What questions do you have about Torticollis?

Address

Burlingame, CA

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 6:30pm
Tuesday 8am - 6:30pm
Wednesday 8am - 6:30pm
Thursday 8am - 6:30pm
Friday 8am - 6:30pm
Saturday 8am - 4pm

Telephone

+16506389142

Website

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