giraffeTherapy Services

The Team

Laughing Giraffe Therapy (aka The Giraffe) was started by Occupational Therapist Aaron DeNardo in October of 2015. We offer individual and group occupational therapy services for children and families with a wide range of diagnoses including, but not limited to, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Sensory Processing Disorder, ADD/ADHD and Learning Differences.

The Giraffe is centrally located in San Jose, CA near O’Connor Hospital, Valley Fair Mall and Santana Row and is easily accessible from Highways 280 and 880. We have plenty of off-street parking.

Description of Services

Direct Treatment Session – The therapist works/plays directly with your child to implement the treatment plan. Direct sessions are most commonly delivered weekly and have a duration of 1 hour, 50 minutes of which is used for direct treatment and 10 minutes of which is used for documentation. The frequency and duration can be modified for your child if needed.

Consultation Session – The therapist works with any member of your child's treatment team (parents, caregivers, teachers, physicians, therapists, ABA providers, etc.) to educate or coordinate any aspect of your child's plan of care. Consultation sessions can occur in person or via email/phone. The amount of time to complete this varies depending on the nature and focus of the consultation.

Written Projects – The therapist completes any written task related to your child's plan of care. This can include reports, plans of care, goal/progress updates, and other miscellaneous letters/documents. The amount of time to complete this varies depending on the nature of the project.

Clinical Observation/Assessment Session – The therapist works with you and your child to observe and/or complete standardized assessment(s) that will support you in better understanding your child's current level of functioning as well as need for services. For observations/assessments including a report, additional time will be required for scoring the assessments and completing the report.

The next section details the available options for this service.

Levels of Clinical Observation and Assessment

The length of time required to complete any given clinical observation or assessment depends on the comprehensiveness of the testing and the pace at which your child is able to participate. We are happy to guide you through the options and help you determine what is appropriate for your child.

Clinical Observation Without Report – The therapist will meet and observe/play with your child and discuss any concerns that you have. The therapist will discuss all clinical observations and recommendations with you at the end of the session. The therapist will not provide a written report. Estimated time range: 2+ hours.

Clinical Observation With Report – Same as above. In addition, the therapist will provide a written report of their clinical observations and recommendations. Estimated time range: 3-5 hours.

Standardized Assessment – In addition to completing clinical observations, the therapist will select (with your input) from a battery of standardized assessments, in order to more deeply explore your child's strengths and areas of concern. This may include assessments covering a wide range of sensory and motor domains. The assessment(s) will be scored and interpreted, and the results will be included in a written report. Duration may vary greatly based on the number of and complexity of the areas being assessed. Estimated time range: 4-10 hours.

Fee Schedule

Charges for all occupational therapy services at Laughing Giraffe Therapy are determined by using the base rate of $170 per hour (billed in 15 minute increments). This rate applies to direct and consultation/assessment services as well as all associated written projects, including reports, plans of care, and goal updates. Please ask any clarifying questions and coordinate directly with your therapist to determine which of these services are appropriate for your child throughout the progression of his/her therapy.

We are not in-network with any insurance companies. Many of our families are able to receive out-of-network reimbursement. We do not have a billing department. We provide a superbill (paid invoice) each month; however, it is each family’s responsibility to submit this to their insurance provider for reimbursement.

giraffeCommunity Services

In addition to providing therapeutic services to our kids and families, Laughing Giraffe Therapy offers various, on-going community-building activities. The drum circle is our only current offering. Please return to this page for more events and opportunities to come!

Community Drum Circle

Drum Circle

Laughing Giraffe Therapy hosts a community drum circle once a month. We aim to have it on the first Saturday of each month but this sometimes fluctuates. The circle is always 3 hours long, however beginning and ending times fluctuate as well. Information, updates and announcements about the circle can be found on Meetup at Laughing Giraffe Nonviolent Communication/Drum Circle Group.

Drummers are welcome to stay as long or short as they want. The circle is open to all levels and no previous drumming experience is necessary to participate. If you have a drum and/or a chair please bring them but there are always extra drums and chairs to use. Please bring water as well. Drumming is known to have many beneficial effects. It is organizing, connecting, grounding, healing and fun.

There is no charge for this group.