Frequently Asked Questions
Blue Bird Day provides a wide variety of therapies and services to support your child’s growth, development, and learning. Each day, Blue Birds participate in therapeutic rotations including Circle Time, DIR Floortime, Speech Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, Developmental Therapy, Behavioral Therapy, and Nutrition and Feeding Therapy. Our therapeutic preschool and kindergarten program runs from Monday to Friday, and children can enroll in half-day or full-day therapy programming.
Blue Bird Day is designed to look and feel like a school, but we’re actually an intensive therapeutic program where all the “teachers” are therapists! We support children with developmental differences including Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD), ADHD, Cerebral Palsy, Down Syndrome, Apraxia or speech disorders such as stuttering, feeding disorders and many other physical and cognitive developmental delays.
Each child is different, which is why we design a tailored treatment plan for each child. During the enrollment process, our therapists will meet with your child to better understand their strengths, struggles, and your family’s goals. Our expert therapists will design a treatment plan just for you. As your child grows their skills, we’ll update their treatment plan to continue to support their growth and development.
You do not need a formal diagnosis to enroll at Blue Bird Day, but we do need a script for services from your child’s pediatrician so we can bill insurance for our therapeutic services. While a diagnosis could never sum up your wholly unique child, it can be a useful tool to access more supports and resources. If you are interested in diagnostic testing, we have a Clinical Psychologist on staff with over 20 years of experience that can help your family to better understand your child’s strengths and struggles. You can learn more on our Diagnostic Testing and Assessment page.
Blue Bird Day has three branches in Chicago’s West Loop and Northcenter neighborhoods and Wheaton, Illinois.
We start with our families filling out the registration form, then caregivers come in for a tour at the location you want your child to attend, then caregiver and child comes in for a playdate with one of our social workers / developmental therapists (these are our teachers), and the last step is a group evaluation with your child’s team.
Blue Bird Day supports children from ages 2-7 years old. We originally started Blue Bird as a preschool readiness program for children ageing out of Early Intervention therapies on their 3rd birthdays and it has grown to be a supportive bridge to prepare children for success in school. As your child progressed through our program, their therapy team will work with you to identify next-steps to continue their growth and learning. Blue Bird graduates have gone on a variety of paths including traditional classrooms with and without IEP, in classroom therapies and supports, therapeutic day schools, and more.
We have a variety of programs to support your child at any age. Our sister company, Eyas Landing, provides therapies for children ages 0 and up at our West Loop, Chicago clinic, in-home, at-school, and virtually. Merlin Day Academy, our therapeutic day school in Avondale, Chicago, supports children ages 6-14 with special education and therapeutic supports.
Yes, Blue Bird Day has been designed from the ground up to support children’s sensory needs and to help them build their regulation skills. All our staff are trained on the Intentional Relationship Model and are passionate about supporting children with developmental differences. Each clinic is equipped with sensory supports throughout our treatment rooms including fidgets, brushes, noise cancelling headphones, children engage in sensory play throughout the day, and we have sensory retreat rooms throughout our facilities. We also incorporate a lot of physical activity throughout the day to help children burn off energy and relax their minds and bodies for learning. Physical activity has been shown to improve children’s executive functioning and movement and play are key for a child’s healthy development.
Yes, Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is available at Blue Bird Day, and our expert team of therapists will incorporate ABA into your child’s treatment plan based on their goals. There are a wide variety of companies that only offer ABA treatment and schedule children for 30-40 hours of ABA per week. We prefer to take a more holistic approach that incorporates best practices from Behavior Therapy, Speech Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, Developmental Therapy, and Nutrition and Feeding Therapy Speech Therapy to support your child as a whole.
Blue Bird Day’s intensive therapeutic program is designed to support children with developmental delays and conditions such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD), ADHD, Cerebral Palsy, Down Syndrome, Apraxia or speech disorders such as stuttering, feeding disorders and many other conditions. While our program is designed to look and feel like a preschool and kindergarten, it provides a higher level of care to help children build skills to support a transition to the least restrictive environment possible. We specialize in treating children who need help navigating their sensory world and engaging in meaningful peer and social interactions. We do so with a unique curriculum that is personalized to each child and focuses on learning skills, pre-reading, numeracy, feeding and language skills. Children will experience rotations of occupational, speech, developmental, feeding, and physical therapy throughout the day. The goal of the program is to create a foundation for future success in school and social situations.
Blue Bird Day has a variety of therapeutic supports that we tailor to meet your child’s specific needs and goals. Our programs that are designed for children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD), ADHD, Cerebral Palsy, Down Syndrome, Apraxia or speech disorders such as stuttering, feeding disorders and many other physical and cognitive developmental delays. A diagnosis is not required to enroll at Blue Bird Day, as our therapy experts can complete evaluations to determine what services would best support your child.
Blue Bird Day is proud of our highly trained, experienced and passionate staff members. Our collaborative team includes Developmental Therapists, Social Workers, Licensed Professional Counselors, Occupational Therapists, Speech-Language Pathologists, Physical Therapists, Board Certified Behavior Analysts, Registered Behavior Technicians, a Clinical Psychologist, and Paraprofessionally Licensed Therapeutic Assistants. The majority of our therapeutic assistants are on a career path pursuing higher education to become therapists in similar fields.
Blue Bird Day bills clients’ insurance for our therapeutic services. We currently accept Blue Cross Blue Shield PPO, Blue Cross Blue Shield Blue Choice PPO, Aetna PPO, and other out of network PPOs. During the enrollment process our billing team will run a comprehensive verification of benefits, so you would know all costs upfront before enrolling. Contact us at 312-243-8487 or on our contact page to further discuss these options.
We currently do not accept Medicaid plans, but we have community partners and resources that can help provide financial assistance.
We offer interest-free payment plans that spread out the burden of your insurance plan’s max out of pocket cost. Contact us to learn more about this complimentary service.
We also have community partners and resources that can help provide financial assistance and grants including the Chicago Autism Network and Autism Hero Project.
Yes, our program runs year round, with short professional development and holiday breaks throughout the year. We send a detailed calendar out to families with the exact dates so you can plan accordingly.
Yes! Blue Bird Day offers Extended Day therapeutic services where treatment plans can be augmented to fit the individual needs and schedules of families. Additionally, we partner with Eyas Landing for in-home, school, and clinic visits. Feel free to contact us to arrange the best schedule and solution for you and your child.
Lunchtime Enrichment: Lunchtime enrichment gives children the opportunity to socialize with peers, explore new foods, and improve independent feeding skills. Our staff are trained by our Feeding Therapist with the Sequential Oral Sensory (SOS) strategy to pediatric feeding that encourages participation in the entire mealtime routine. Oral motor planning and the exploration of new textures and tastes are encouraged to expanding the child’s food inventory. Our nutritious and balanced catered meals can be gluten-free, dairy-free, and soy-free.
DIR/Floortime: This approach was developed by Dr. Stanley Greenspan and is exactly what it sounds like! Children are met on their level to help foster strong relationships and interactions.
Applied Behavior Analysis: Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is focused on the behavior of the child and systematically intervening to improve social interactions and demonstrate responsibility of behaviors.
Zoophonics: This kinesthetic approach is a common core standard that is a fun and effective way for children to learn the alphabet, spelling, and reading.
TEACCH: A program that focuses on principles and strategies based on learning the characteristics of an individual with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Teachers utilize this method in order to achieve learning goals with the children.
Intentional Relationship Model: The Intentional Relationship Model (IRM) can be described as the therapeutic use of self as it pertains to Occupational Therapy. It is the science of building lasting and effective relationships with clients.
PROMPT: PROMPT is a cutting edge and multidimensional tool for speech production disorders that incorporates tactile cues, such as touching parts of the face, jaw, and lips to learn how to produce language and sounds.
Unique Learning System: Unique Learning System is a comprehensive curriculum that spans kindergarten to 12th grade. It covers math, reading, science, and social studies. It is widely used across the Chicagoland area and has received recognition with several educational performance awards. It aligns with common core standards and is data driven by continual data collection and measurement of each child.
Sensory Integration: Sensory Integration is a theory that relates to how the nervous system receives messages from the senses. The theory focuses mainly on tactile, vestibular, and proprioceptive senses, which are the senses that make it possible for our bodies to be used effectively with the environment.
Handwriting Without Tears: Handwriting Without Tears is a multisensory handwriting instruction for all learning styles. It is most commonly used for children from kindergarten to 5th grade.
Biomechanical Model: The Biomechanical Model is a combination of assessments with accompanying therapeutic interventions. It is useful in teaching children the proper ways to use their bodies.
At Birdies Swag Shop, you can purchase Blue Bird Day, Eyas Landing, and Merlin Day Academy branded gear for the whole family! Visit the shop: https://birdiesswagshop.com/
No, your child does not have to be potty trained to attend Blue Bird Day. We will include that in your child’s therapy goals and begin working on it when your child is developmentally ready!