Our 321go Kids Team

Patrick Robbins

Occupational Therapist

As an OT, it is my highest calling to empower children and their families to live life to their fullest potential.

When did you first know you wanted to pursue a career in therapy? In my college years, I worked at a summer camp for children with special needs running a shooting range teaching children of all ages and abilities to shoot bows and arrows, rifles, blowguns, slingshots. It was the best job I had ever had, and I loved every minute of it. After working in several other industries for years after college, I was introduced by a friend to Occupational Therapy as I was considering another career change. As I was shadowing her at her therapy clinic, my mind went right back to the love I experienced at camp so many years before. It was the career I never knew that I always wanted.

Who inspires you in your profession? My primary inspiration always originates with my clients. As an OT, it is my highest calling to empower children and their families to live life to their fullest potential. With each person I meet, they inspire my creativity to uncover their hidden potential, discover new skills, and recover hope for successfully overcoming the challenges of daily life.

What is your favorite way to engage with kids? I love to provide children with the opportunity to be the masters of their own story, as much as possible. This often looks like allowing the children to take a lead in initiating play in the therapeutic setting, while coaching their play into a therapeutic experience that builds a skill, helps them face a challenge, or empowers them to make a choice they need to make regularly. As they become more accustomed to having a lead role in their story, the more confident they become in their own skills and abilities, and the more likely they are to use those skills and abilities in their normal everyday living environments.

Tell us about a challenge that you watched a child overcome. Early in my OT career, I worked with a child that loved playing with his siblings, but he was unable to play with them as much as he wanted, because he had difficulty learning to walk. His primary difficulty was using his legs individually instead of simultaneously. Collaborating with the physical therapy team, we were able to teach him to use his legs individually on a scooter board, and progress him to using them individually for walking. It makes me extremely proud to have been a part of his process when his parents send me videos of him chasing his siblings around, playing happily./span>

What do you enjoy doing outside of work? I have three children of my own. We love to explore, kayak, hike and spend quality time together in whatever ways we can. We recently spent a year traveling around the country visiting new places and seeing family, and we loved every minute of it.