BEMIDJI — Occupational therapy is a helping profession and few people know that better than Kayla Borszich.
The clinical director of Bemidji’s Borszich has worked with children since the Bemidji location opened earlier this year. However, the organization’s mission extends beyond the First City on the Mississippi as Little Miracles originated in Grand Forks, N.D., in 2006.
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Owner and CEO Tammy Sayler opened Little Miracles’ pediatric therapy and child care center in order to comprehensively serve children and their families in the Greater Grand Forks area. Borszich would later get involved after graduating from the University of North Dakota with her master's in occupational therapy.
She and her husband, Cory — a UND graduate himself — moved to Bemidji, where they resided from 2012 to 2014. The pair moved back to Grand Forks at the end of 2014 as Borszich started her 10-year stint at the original Little Miracles location.
A conversation between her and Cory would plant the seed for Little Miracles’ Bemidji location.
“We just wanted more space and to be close to family,” Borszich said. “I told Tammy and she said, ‘Let’s just open in Bemidji. I know there will be kids that you can help there.’”
As a one-woman show operating the therapy clinic at 1710 Paul Bunyan Drive NW, Bay 111 in the Willow Creek Center, Borszich currently works with under 10 children, though her caseload has been steadily increasing.
"We've been intentionally growing my caseload as I balance treatment with my responsibilities as clinical director and mentorship support for our Grand Forks office," Borszich said, "but I'm anxious to be able to help even more kids here in Bemidji."
Day-to-day operations differ drastically and each child receives specialized attention based on their needs. Borszich usually serves children twice a week, though the time commitment can vary based on the child’s needs and parents’ schedules.
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“What we’re trying to do is help people return to things that are meaningful,” she said. “Most of the time, it’s play for kids. For some kids, they may have a hard time with dressing or they may be really picky eaters or having feeding challenges. A lot of kids have sensory processing difficulties; we help with all of that.”
Occupational therapy aims to help children develop the skills they need to participate in daily activities, such as those Borszich described.
Signs that a child may benefit from occupational therapy include avoidance of tasks and games that require fine motor skills; difficulty copying shapes and letters; overly sensitive or heightened reactivity to sound, touch or movement; constantly moving, jumping or crashing; difficulty with peer play or social interactions; emotionally reactive or difficulty with eating a variety of foods.
Such work often takes place alongside other types of therapy, including physical and speech therapy, which Borszich hopes to offer from Bemidji in the future, given Grand Forks' offering of all three.
"There's so much overlap in what each area does," Borszich said. "A lot of times, kids may need a combination or will benefit from a combination of two or all three."
Necessary supports
Addressing developmental challenges is one way that Borszich hopes to add value to the Bemidji area.
“I want to help kids and families that are struggling because if I can make life just a little bit easier for them, I feel so much better,” she added.
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Borszich recalled one such story where a family of a child she served reached out to update Borszich on his progress. The 6-year-old attended private school and had to follow a specific dress code.
“The only thing he could tolerate was one pair of boots. That’s all he could have,” Borszich said. “His pants had to be super tight. The family was thinking about moving if the dress code at that school was too strict. They said ‘We might not be able to go to the school we really want because he can’t handle it from a sensory standpoint.’”
After some therapy, one of the parents approached Borszich to tell her that the child had tried on three different pairs of boots during back-to-school shopping. Years later, the mother emailed Borszich, informing her of continued progress.
“She writes, ‘Kayla, he still talks about occupational therapy and how beneficial that was,’” she mentioned. “‘Now, he’ll give me hugs and he never used to be able to tolerate hugs. He’s also wrestling and doing so great in school.’ I just want to be able to help people like that.”
On top of providing necessary support, Borszich hopes to inform the broader community about the work of occupational therapy and provide clarity about the profession, given its seemingly increasing presence in schools and growing popularity throughout the years.
Borszich grew up in Littlefork and was first exposed to the field of occupational therapy in high school.
“It just kind of fell in my lap in high school. We had a business professional-like class and we got to job-shadow different people. I had never heard of it before, but I think it’s more common now,” Borszich said. “I feel like there are more OTs in schools now. I don’t ever remember having an OT in our school helping.”
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Borszich’s 14-year career in occupational therapy underscores her desire to provide a service that hasn’t necessarily been offered to others in prior years.
“We’re a helping profession. We want to help people and I find meaning in that, regardless of who it is, but the little kids have my heart even more,” Borszich left off. “It’s literally the best job ever.”
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