Richland occupational therapy practice may need to relocate to bigger office

Melissa Porcaro is all too aware of the irony.

Tri-City parents turn to the internet to find someone to help kids with behavior issues, academic challenges and other difficulties.

Their searches lead to her business, CAN Do Kids, a pediatric therapy clinic staffed with licensed occupational therapists who help children with life skills and physical development challenges.

The very internet that drives business to her practice is increasingly the reason some children need help.

“Our biggest thing is technology addiction,” she said.

Porcaro, a licensed therapist, opened CAN Do Kids in her Tri-City home seven years ago and later moved to leased office space at 1950 Keene Road in Richland.

Today, she employs seven and is preparing to add certified occupational therapists to keep up with the growing number of young patients.

Children are typically brought in by their parents or referred by schools or physicians who are concerned about bad behavior, aggression, anxiety or other issues that affect school performance and personal lives. Treatment is often covered by insurance.

Porcaro begins every case with a consultation with parents. She sends them home with a job: Watch your household for a few days. What are your kids doing? What are they eating?

She advises a three-week detoxification period to wean kids from screens – TV, computer, smartphones and tablets.

She encourages families to exchange screen time for outdoor time – camping, dirt biking, skiing, hiking or any other physical activity that doesn’t involve games and the internet.

“You can have a ball fishing with your kids,” she said.

By the time they return for formal evaluations, most report improved behavior.

It wasn’t always that way.

Technology addiction is a relatively new phenomenon for occupational therapists, Porcaro said.

When she began her career, most young OT patients had developmental disabilities and needed help with basic life skills.

Porcaro grew up in Houston and studied occupational therapy at Texas Women’s University after initially considering a career in the family business – criminal justice.

She opened her first pediatric OT clinic with a partner in Houston. Porcaro managed the business side of the clinic while her partner treated patients.

The partners sold the business to Texas Children’s Hospital after 12 years.

Porcaro became a full-time mother as her now ex-husband’s Bechtel career took them to posts around the country and the world. Bechtel eventually brought them to the Tri-Cities.

She returned to the workforce after finding herself a single mother to three children, now mostly-grown.

Her son is a cadet at the U.S. West Point Military Academy.

Her youngest, Nicole, works at CAN Do Kids after school and recently received an appointment to all three U.S. military academies.

She was the only student in the area to receive an appointment to all three. Her sights are set on the U.S. Naval Academy.

The “CAN” in CAN Do Kids honors her children – Clayton, Anthony and Nicole.

It began in her home so she could be there when Nicole came home from school.

The garage was a therapy clinic, the porch a waiting room and her yard a playground for her patients’ antsy siblings.

The business outgrew the garage and is about to outgrow its two-story digs in south Richland. Porcaro hopes to replicate the homey atmosphere of her home-based business by finding a centrally-located location with plenty of outdoor space for physical activities.

Weaning children from their screens and the attendant therapy to compensate for sensory issues is just part of the CAN Do Kids menu of services.

The clinic helps children with issues related to fine motor delays, sensory processing challenges, autism spectrum disorders, visual/perceptual delays, handwriting concerns, prematurity, cerebral palsy, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, known as ADHD, and speech disorders, among others.

CAN Do Kids: 509-392-3773; [email protected]; campcankids.com.