Liam's Occupational Therapy Story

For Sally Hurt-Deitch, Vice President for Patient Care Services and Chief Nursing Officer for Tenet Healthcare, the bedtime rituals with her young son Liam always took them to the stars. Every night, she and Liam would imagine a space adventure from the Sun to Pluto, with Liam sharing specific details along the way. By age 4, Liam was watching the PBS series “Stephen’s Hawking’s Universe.” That was the same year he was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and a few years later with autism.

He had problems developing fine motor skills, such as writing more than three sentences at a time or unlocking his bedroom door. Now, at 9 years old, Liam receives occupational therapy at The Hospitals of Providence Outpatient Therapy West, where he’s learning to strengthen his abilities alongside more than 150 other children.

“I really like it,” said Liam. “I get to work on my overall strength in pretty fun ways.” At therapy, Liam is improving his handwriting and learning other basic skills like buttoning his clothes. Learning has always been something Liam has loved.

By the end of second grade, he had mastered the Pythagorean theorem on triangles, with an IQ on the threshold of genius. Now, with help with from The Hospitals of Providence, the skies the limit.

Want to learn more about how Providence Children’s Hospital are helping to treat conditions like ADHD and autism? Call  (833) 225-8751 to connect with one of our doctors or use the physician finder tool.