Kate Hayes ’26: Boston Ability Center

I’ve always loved working with kids and being active, and completing an internship at the Boston Ability Center (BAC) provided me with the opportunity to combine these interests and utilize them in a professional setting. The Boston Ability Center provides feeding, speech, occupational, and physical therapy services for children with neurological, orthopedic, and developmental diagnoses. Therapy sessions are designed around each individual child to promote engagement and fun while still prioritizing therapeutic development. 

Boston Ability Center has facilities in Natick and Wellesley, both of which I worked in. Each facility has a gym, which includes swings, ziplines, climbing areas, ball pits, and more. This space is used for children to be active and move around freely. Both facilities also have small rooms that are used to help a child focus on activities that are less physical.

The Boston Ability Center Facilities

During my three-week internship, I was assigned to work with one young patient who came for occupational therapy (with a focus on feeding therapy) and speech therapy.  During their intensive, which is traditional therapy provided with higher frequency, they did 45 minutes feeding therapy and 45 minutes of speech therapy every day, and I worked as a clinician’s assistant during those sessions. My main responsibilities were to be an extra set of hands to set up and clean up, and to assist in activities ranging from playing in the gym to building a Mr. Potato Head. I arrived 15 minutes early and stayed 15 minutes late each day to help set up and clean up the activities and the spaces we used. The young child was full of energy and constantly running around, so when their AAC device was left in another room or a clinician had forgotten that they needed something, I would often be sent to retrieve it.

Kate cleaning up after an OT session

A typical day of feeding therapy started in the gym so the child could warm up their body and feel comfortable with the clinician and with me. This child’s favorite activities in the gym included bouncing in the hammock, using the swing, and throwing balls into the ball pit. During these few minutes, I would follow them around the gym and play with them. Next, we transitioned into sensory exploration activities such as playing with sand bins, rice, and shaving cream, which were fun ways to help the child feel more comfortable touching different textures. Since this child did not like having substances on their hands, one of my main roles while playing with shaving cream was to help the child wipe it off their hands and legs when necessary. Then, we moved into a small room, where the child ate their preferred foods and gained exposure to and comfort with their non-preferred foods. Sometimes, I would even bite into one of the non-preferred foods to demonstrate safety with the food. The clinician and I highlighted the noises different foods made when biting into them and worked on using utensils properly. The session ended with fun in the gym to reward the child for their hard work and focus.

Sample feeding therapy session plan

During their speech therapy sessions, the patient completed sorting games and activities where they could work on combining adjectives and nouns to form short phrases after playing in the gym. During these sessions, I completed and demonstrated activities and prompted the child to communicate with their AAC device. At the end of these sessions, the clinicians gave progress updates to guardians and sometimes sent the child home with activities to practice.

OT color sorting activity and feeding therapy setup

While the clinicians changed most days, I was the only person to work consistently with this particular child every day, which allowed me to share patterns in their behavior and activities that they engaged well with that I had observed. Having the privilege to work with the same child over the course of three weeks, I observed their progress as the staff worked with them to overcome the challenges and frustrations of therapy sessions. The patient slowly became more open to trying new foods, more comfortable with sensory activities, and more open to using their communication device for longer phrases.

Not only did I learn about pediatric therapies from the staff at the Boston Ability Center, but I also broadened my perspective working with the young patient every day, as  I had never before spent significant amounts of time with someone using a communication device. This internship showed me how therapeutic services are targeted to individuals, and I truly admire the thoughtfulness and care that the entire BAC staff brings to their patients every single day. I am deeply grateful for this experience and to those who made it possible, including Mr. Schlenker and all of the BAC staff who welcomed me with open arms! I want to give a special thank you to Mackenzie Rickert for her support and for organizing my internship!

Kate in the Natick location