Moving Mountains Therapy Center

Moving Mountains Therapy Center Speech Therapist

🌄 Barney's Individual Journey Fact🐾 Barney Says: "Every trail up the mountain looks a little different—and that's exactl...
07/24/2026

🌄 Barney's Individual Journey Fact
🐾 Barney Says: "Every trail up the mountain looks a little different—and that's exactly how it should be!" 🐶🏔️
Every child develops in their own unique way. They have different strengths, challenges, interests, and learning styles. Research shows that early intervention is most effective when therapy is personalized to meet each child's individual needs—not when every child is expected to learn the same way.
At Moving Mountains Therapy Center, we create individualized, evidence-based goals and adjust activities to provide the just-right challenge so every child can experience success while continuing to grow. Support looks different for every child, and that's okay. We celebrate progress—not perfection—because every milestone is another step toward reaching their full potential.
💚 Every child deserves their own path, their own goals, and a team that believes in them.

Every Small Step Builds Bigger Skills 🏔️Children don't suddenly learn to read, write, regulate emotions, or become indep...
07/22/2026

Every Small Step Builds Bigger Skills 🏔️
Children don't suddenly learn to read, write, regulate emotions, or become independent.
Development happens in small building blocks.
Each milestone supports the next:
🧠 Core strength supports posture.
🖐 Shoulder stability supports hand control.
👀 Visual tracking supports reading.
🤲 Bilateral coordination supports dressing.
❤️ Emotional regulation supports learning.
💬 Communication supports friendships.
At Moving Mountains Therapy Center, we believe every developmental milestone matters because every small step creates the foundation for lifelong success.

07/20/2026

Join us on Tuesday, July 28th at Ogren Park for a special Community Tuesday benefiting the Moving Mountains Foundation.

When you purchase a ticket, you're helping support programs that create opportunities, resources, and connections for individuals and families throughout our community. Your support helps fund:

✅ Community Inclusion Programs & Events
✅ Education for Childcare Providers
✅ Developmental Milestone Screenings
✅ Grants for Needed Equipment

Enjoy a great night of baseball while making a meaningful impact in the lives of others.

🎟️ Get your tickets today:
https://tickets.paddleheadspost.com/c/h6x8n9lw

Thank you for helping us keep Moving Mountains! 💚⚾

🛝 Social Play Develops in StagesChildren don't automatically know how to play with others. Social play is a developmenta...
07/20/2026

🛝 Social Play Develops in Stages

Children don't automatically know how to play with others. Social play is a developmental skill that grows over time and is built upon many foundational abilities that develop long before children are successfully playing with peers.

Typical play develops through stages:

👶 Solitary Play – Playing independently and exploring toys and the environment.

👀 Onlooker Play – Watching other children play and learning social expectations.

🎲 Parallel Play – Playing alongside peers with similar materials but limited interaction.

🤝 Associative Play – Beginning to interact, share materials, and communicate with others during play.

🏰 Cooperative Play – Working together toward a shared goal, creating games, negotiating roles, and solving problems as a group.

What many people don't realize is that successful social play depends on a strong foundation of underlying skills, including:

✨ Emotional regulation
✨ Sensory processing and body awareness
✨ Attention and engagement
✨ Communication and language skills
✨ Turn-taking and sharing
✨ Flexible thinking
✨ Impulse control
✨ Motor planning and coordination
✨ Understanding social cues and perspectives
✨ Problem-solving and executive functioning

When a child struggles to join peers, share toys, take turns, tolerate losing, follow group rules, or engage in imaginative play, it is often because one or more of these foundational skills still need support.

At Moving Mountains Therapy Center, we look beyond the behavior and ask "What skill is making this difficult?" By strengthening the underlying building blocks through play-based therapy, we help children gain the confidence and skills needed to successfully engage with others.

🌱 Social play isn't just play—it's where children learn friendship, communication, self-regulation, teamwork, problem-solving, and resilience.

💚 Every stage of play matters, and every stage helps build the foundation for lifelong learning, relationships, and success.

📚✨ Early Literacy Starts Long Before Reading! ✨📚Did you know that early literacy skills begin developing from birth? Bef...
07/17/2026

📚✨ Early Literacy Starts Long Before Reading! ✨📚
Did you know that early literacy skills begin developing from birth? Before a child ever reads a book independently, they are building the foundational skills needed for future success through play, communication, movement, and everyday interactions.
At Moving Mountains Therapy Center, our Occupational Therapists (OTs) and Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) work together to support these important early literacy skills.
🗣️ Speech Therapy Supports:
• Understanding and using language
• Vocabulary development
• Listening and comprehension skills
• Storytelling and narrative skills
• Sound awareness (rhyming, beginning sounds, syllables)
• Communication and social interaction
✏️ Occupational Therapy Supports:
• Fine motor skills for writing and drawing
• Visual perception and visual-motor integration
• Attention and executive functioning
• Hand strength and endurance
• Postural control for seated learning
• Letter formation and pre-writing skills
Together, OT and SLP help children develop the building blocks for reading, writing, learning, and classroom success.
Some of the best ways families can support early literacy at home include:
📖 Reading together daily
🎵 Singing songs and nursery rhymes
🧩 Playing games that involve following directions
✂️ Creating opportunities for coloring, drawing, and crafts
💬 Encouraging conversation and storytelling throughout the day
Every story read, song sung, and conversation shared helps build a strong foundation for lifelong learning.

🎉🐶 It's Barney's Birthday! Barney Turns 13 Today! 🐶🎉Today we're celebrating 13 years of tail wags, smiles, encouragement...
07/16/2026

🎉🐶 It's Barney's Birthday! Barney Turns 13 Today! 🐶🎉

Today we're celebrating 13 years of tail wags, smiles, encouragement, and helping children build confidence one step at a time!

Stop by Moving Mountains Therapy Center today to:
🎂 Give Barney a birthday treat
🎨 Complete a Barney-themed activity
📸 Say hello and celebrate with our favorite therapy dog
📚 Learn more about how therapy can support your child's development

One of the many areas Barney helps children work on is executive functioning—the brain skills that help us plan, organize, remember, pay attention, manage emotions, solve problems, and complete tasks.

Many children who struggle with higher-level skills such as following routines, staying organized, completing schoolwork, transitioning between activities, or regulating emotions may actually be missing some of the foundational building blocks needed for success.

At Moving Mountains Therapy Center, we don't just focus on the challenge we see. We look deeper to identify the underlying skills that need support, then use play, meaningful activities, and individualized intervention to strengthen those foundations.

🌱 Early support can help prevent small challenges from becoming bigger obstacles later.

Every game played, obstacle course completed, schedule followed, and problem solved helps children develop the executive functioning skills needed for success at home, at school, and in the community.

💚 Come celebrate Barney today and learn how Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy, and Mental Health services can help children build the skills they need to thrive!

🐾🎂💚

🌟 Join Us at Great Beginnings, Great Families 2026! 🌟Moving Mountains Therapy Center is excited to be part of Great Begi...
07/13/2026

🌟 Join Us at Great Beginnings, Great Families 2026! 🌟

Moving Mountains Therapy Center is excited to be part of Great Beginnings, Great Families on August 11–13, 2026.

This incredible event brings together families, caregivers, educators, and professionals to learn, connect, and celebrate the important role we all play in helping children thrive.

🎤 Keynote Presentation
Supporting the Whole Child: Sensory Processing and Other Essential Developmental Milestones
Presented by Laura Olsonoski, OTD, OTR/L, ATP
Owner & Clinical Director, Moving Mountains Therapy Center

In this keynote, we'll explore how sensory processing, motor skills, social-emotional development, executive functioning, and other foundational developmental milestones work together to support a child's success at home, school, and in the community. Participants will leave with practical strategies to support children in meaningful, strengths-based ways.

💙 At Moving Mountains Therapy Center, we believe that when families are supported, children flourish. We are honored to be part of this event and look forward to connecting with families and professionals from across Montana and beyond.

✨ Where support connects, families thrive.

We hope to see you there!

Address

3031 S. Russell Street
Missoula, MT
59801

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 7pm
Tuesday 8am - 5pm
Wednesday 8am - 5pm
Thursday 8am - 5pm
Friday 8am - 5pm

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Moving Mountains Therapy Center posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Practice

Send a message to Moving Mountains Therapy Center:

Shortcuts

Share

Category