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. Instagram: starfishtherapies

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.

04/16/2026

Balance is a blast! 🚀

We’re upping the ante on single-leg stance today. Stepping on a stomp rocket is a favorite for most kids, but adding the flat side of a BOSU ball turns a simple “stomp” into a high-level stability challenge.

By introducing a dynamic surface, we’re leveling up:
• Dynamic Stability: Forcing those tiny ankle muscles and the core to make constant micro-adjustments.
• Motor Planning: Coordinating a powerful weight shift while maintaining a steady midline.
• Functional Confidence: Building the skills needed for navigating uneven playgrounds and active play.

Small changes to the surface = big wins for functional movement!

03/28/2026

🧩 Decoding the “Go-Go-Go” Mover 🧩

Ever wonder why some kiddos seem to move with a “stiff” or “springy” energy, but struggle with slow, controlled transitions?

When we see a child who bunny hops, W-sits, or overuses their calves and hamstrings (concentric activity), they aren’t just being “active”—they are often seeking a specific kind of stability because they haven’t yet mastered the art of “letting go” into gravity.

🔍 What we’re seeing:
• The “Brakes” are Off: By over-engaging the back of the legs (calves/hamstrings), the body stays in a constant state of “ready to jump.” This makes it hard to shift weight forward over the feet.
• The Squat Shortcut: To avoid dorsiflexion (that deep ankle bend), the brain often chooses pronation (collapsing the arches). It’s a clever way to get low without actually lengthening those tight calf muscles!
• Wide Base over True Balance: W-sitting and bunny hopping provide a wide, locked-in base. It feels safe, but it bypasses the core and pelvic stability needed for complex movement.

💡 The Goal: Finding the “Middle Ground”
We want to move from “locking” to “loading.”

Instead of just using muscles to pull and push, we want to help the child:
1. Accept weight forward through the heels and mid-foot.
2. Lengthen the posterior chain (eccentric control) to allow for a smooth, deep squat.
3. Find the midline to move away from W-sitting and toward more dynamic transitions.

✨ Join the Circle!

Understanding these nuances is exactly what we do at Starfish Circles. We look past the “what” to find the “how,” helping your child build a foundation of movement that is fluid, balanced, and confident.

Ready to dive deeper into the movement journey of kids?

Comment MEMBER for more info!

Celebrating World CP Day with WAWOS! 💚Today we’re wearing our green with pride for World CP Day! We are so excited to hi...
03/25/2026

Celebrating World CP Day with WAWOS! 💚
Today we’re wearing our green with pride for World CP Day! We are so excited to highlight our collaboration with , an incredible organization dedicated to supporting inclusion for children with Cerebral Palsy and their families.

Whether it’s through walker capes or community support, seeing the impact of this work firsthand is what keeps us moving. Join us in spreading awareness, celebrating inclusion, and supporting the “warriors” among us!

Check them out to see how you can get involved with WAWOS and help make a difference.

PediatricPT

When your student is a college softball player and your son is on spring break and wants to play with the kids and your ...
03/25/2026

When your student is a college softball player and your son is on spring break and wants to play with the kids and your kiddo wants to play baseball!

The moments that you can make therapy fun and functional are all worth it!

We also did some adults vs kids soccer today to work on foot control with a child who has hemiplegia (I was too just playing to get any photos but it was fun!)

Some days the fun flows easily and today was one of them!

02/25/2026

Postural Asymmetries: Stability is the Secret Sauce to Activation

We often think “harder is better,” but in neuro-rehab, the “strong” side is a micromanager—it wants to do everyone’s job!

To get the impacted side to work:

1. Challenge the strong side: (Using the soccer ball here to create instability).

2. Support the weak side: We moved from the balance disc to the floor once fatigue set in to prevent the “strong” side from taking over.

Positioning is a conversation, not a command. Watch, adjust, and meet the muscle where it’s at!

Let’s stop forcing symmetry and invite activation!

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02/20/2026

Dynamic Core Stability

Having a stable core during function is so critical. But what does this mean?

It means that your muscles can work together to create a stable base for function to happen. This doesn’t mean that your core is rigid or doesn’t move, it means that the movement is controlled and graded to allow for coordinated function.

I have so many kids that their core just moves at will with their arms and their legs. This is inefficient and makes it hard to coordinate.

So how do we work on this? Sometimes simple is better. Put something on their back and let them crawl to the destination. Make it fun based on your child’s interests.

It can be as simple as building a cup tower or as complex as they are a train transporting the treasure to a secret location to hide it from everyone. And the best part is my set up doesn’t have to be any different, I can do both scenarios with the set up in this video!

What are your favorite core stability exercises?

Don’t forget to follow us for more education and ideas!

02/03/2026

Core Stability

This is so important for all aspects of life. I wanted to highlight how small changes can impact the stability.

We generally play catch with a small ball on an unstable surface and do pretty well. Today I decided to use a large ball. This changed the force needed to throw the ball as well as the predictive response to catching. On the BOSU it was really hard to find any kind of core stability. Instead there was lots of movement in an attempt to catch and stay on the BOSU.

So I moved it to the balance board which only had movement in one plane. This was still hard but there was a little more stability happening.

So what do I do with this information? I find ways to create a just right challenge where he can work on core stability in a dynamic way. And from there I can grade up and down depending on the response. Based on this I would consider going to flat stable ground and throwing and catching the large ball or trying a slightly smaller ball on the balance board.

The important thing is that I am observing and adapting based on what I see so that it is just right for the kid I am working with.

To problem solve challenges like this and continue learning check out our Membership group.

Comment Membership to get more information and join our beta group!

Distance Doesn’t Diminish Decency 🕊️As a parent and a pediatric therapist here in California, I’ve been struggling to fi...
01/27/2026

Distance Doesn’t Diminish Decency 🕊️

As a parent and a pediatric therapist here in California, I’ve been struggling to find the words for what is unfolding in Minnesota. Even from a distance, the weight of it is felt in our hearts and in the conversations we have at home.

The “hard words” became unavoidable when my 6-year-old asked me why everyone was talking about Minnesota. I realized that if I’m going to raise a kind, empathetic human, I had to find the words for him.

Through the Eyes of a Child

At his school, my son is surrounded by friends, families, and staff from every background and ethnicity imaginable. To him, they aren’t “different.” He doesn’t understand why anyone would be treated as “less than,” because they aren’t.

The kids and families I work with every day at Starfish Therapies are humans first. Regardless of where they live or where they come from, they need exactly what my son and I need:
* Love and support
* Comfort and decency
* Safety and community

Our Responsibility to Protect

In my profession, I’ve dedicated my life to supporting families and protecting those who can’t protect themselves. Right now, families in Minnesota—and across our country—are being targeted. Their sense of safety has been uprooted.

I am teaching my son that it’s not enough to simply “not be the problem.” We have to ask ourselves: If we saw something wrong happening, did we try to stop it? Did we speak up?

I cannot expect that of my 6-year-old if I’m not willing to do it myself, even when the words are hard to find.

Why We Speak Up

At Starfish Therapies, our mission of healing doesn’t stop at the clinic doors. We stand for the human rights of all families, whether they are in our local CA neighborhood or halfway across the country.
We see you, we value you, and we believe that every child deserves a world built on decency and safety. 💙

Stop stretching those calves! If you’ve been working on knee hyperextension and seeing zero progress, it’s time to look ...
01/23/2026

Stop stretching those calves!

If you’ve been working on knee hyperextension and seeing zero progress, it’s time to look at the Strategy rather than just the Structure.

Many of our little ones lock their knees because they are terrified of the ‘forward fall.’ When the shins tilt forward into dorsiflexion, it requires a high level of eccentric control. If the ‘brakes’ aren’t working, the brain chooses the safest option: snap the knees back, stack the bones, and lock into relative plantarflexion.

In today’s deep dive, we’re breaking down why this happens and what to look for before you assign exercises.

At Starfish Circles, we move beyond the basic milestones to look at the ‘why’ behind the movement. 🌟

Comment MEMBERSHIP to get a chance to join our beta group and help drive the content and structure of the group!

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01/21/2026

Who else is working on TA (transverse abdominis) activation with their kids?

I have been adding it in with this simple exercise.

Have the kids lie on their back and elevate their feet onto a chair or bench. Ask them to blow a bubble with a long slow breath.

It has been really cool to watch the kids do it. Often they are not able to get the bubble to form and so the lift their head to turn on all of their abdominal muscles.

This kiddo was one of the ones who couldn’t get the bubble to form without pulling his whole core in and now he is beginning to get that long slow breath.

Why am I doing this? Well I have so many kids with decreased core stability and activation. Yes we work on sit ups and dynamic sitting but if they aren’t turning on this important stabilizer which is an endurance muscle core control can continue to be a challenge.

What are your favorite TA exercises for little ones? I definitely want to expand my repertoire and continue to learn and grow!

Follow along and I’ll continue to share more!

01/12/2026

🌟 The Power of Watching & Learning
When learning new motor skills, sometimes the best teacher is right in front of us—literally!

In this video, watch how visual cues and peer modeling work together to help this young learner master the floor-to-stand transition through half kneeling.

What’s happening here: ✨ She watches a peer demonstrate the movement pattern ✨ Therapist provides clear, step-by-step verbal cues ✨ She processes both visual and auditory information ✨ She successfully completes the task independently!

Why this works: Mirror neurons in our brains activate when we watch others perform actions, helping us understand and replicate movements. When we combine observational learning with simple verbal guidance, we create multiple pathways for skill acquisition.

Peer modeling is especially powerful because:
* It’s relatable and age-appropriate
* It reduces performance anxiety
* It builds confidence through “if they can do it, I can too”
* It creates natural motivation and engagement

This approach isn’t just for therapy—it’s how humans naturally learn! From babies watching siblings walk to athletes studying game footage, we’re wired to learn through observation.
What skills have YOU learned by watching others? Share below! 👇

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01/06/2026

This video shows a few of the things I love about coming up with treatment ideas!

This little one has had a growth spurt and has some hypermobility so she was having a hard time with stability after break. She was compensating in various ways to try to find that stability.

So, she wanted to play with this toy. It was now my job to figure out how we could use it. I picked one of our more stable balance boards and I gave it extra support too. (We actually started with squats on it to push the lever down but then she asked to use her foot).

I’m always up for increasing the challenge but still making it doable. You can see in the video how she is working to find a way to stabilize her body before lifting her foot. This is letting her problem solve and gives her a focus point for why she is lifting her foot.

The instability of the balance board makes it so she can’t easily just hang on ligaments. She needs to engage her muscles. And engage she did allowing her to avoid collapsing into valgus at her knees or locking out in hyper extension.

Using instability to work on stability is one of my favorite tricks. And figuring out how to work in a toy the child wants to use to accomplish what I want to work on makes a nice challenge for me!

What are some of your favorite things about coming up with treatment ideas?

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Address

1541 Old Bayshore Highway
Burlingame, CA
94010

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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