About Us
About Can Do Kids, Inc.
Can Do Kids, Inc. is a private, pediatric multi-disciplinary outpatient clinic located in Culver City, California. Can Do Kids has been providing individual services to children since 1981. We offer coordination of care for Physical , Occupational and Speech Therapy for children birth to 21 years of age. Our 6,000 square foot clinic includes several sensori-motor gyms with wall-to-wall custom matted flooring. The two largest areas offer a wide variety of gross motor opportunities including the highest quality suspension equipment used in the treatment of Sensory Processing Dysfunction. The two largest gym areas offer a customized observation deck with one way mirrors. In addition, we have many smaller gym areas that offer a variety of sensorimotor experiences. We have two individual speech and language treatment rooms that offer individual observation decks allowing parents/caregivers the ability to observe treatment.
Our fine motor rooms offer children the opportunity to work on fine motor and art activities. We also have a kitchen for working on feeding issues in a naturalistic setting. In addition, we have a unique area that offers a highly intricate design of lycra hammocks installation to work on motor planning that no child can resist!
Professional Staff
Dr. Lori Annes, PhD., PT
Clinic Director
loriannes@cdkmail.com
Lori Annes, Ph.D., PT attended Northwestern University Medical School Program in Physical Therapy and has been practicing Pediatric Physical Therapy since 1978. During her very first year after graduation she attended the Neurodevelopmental Treatment Approach (two months) and set the foundation for decades of clinical involvement with children with Cerebral Palsy and other neuromuscular disorders. Lori became quite intrigued with oral motor feeding challenges for the child with motor based difficulties. She worked closely with Dr. Suzanne Evans Morris who was the first speech language pathologist to identify the milestones of early motor development. Lori worked with Suzanne’s collaborative approval to build a similar understanding of milestones for the child with breastfeeding as their primary source of nutrition. She became a certified Lactation Consultant the very first time the course was offered at UCLA and then became a faculty member of this training program in LA and throughout the country for many years. Lori has worked extensively with children with sensory based feeding challenges and she completed certification in the SOS Approach to Feeding at both the basic and advanced level of training with Kay Toomey. She completed the Advanced NDT training program for babies in 1983 with Lois Bly. During the first decade of her career she was also privileged to train with Dr. Jean Ayres who had developed the theory and treatment for Sensory Integration. Lori was one of a small group of physical therapists who Dr. Ayres allowed to attend this four month training which had been designed exclusively for occupational therapists.
Lori then took a few years off from her clinical practice to attend Northwestern University and achieve her doctoral degree in Communication Disorders with a specialization in Learning Disabilities. Dr. Annes’ dream was to own a multi-disciplinary clinic offering collaborative care with Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapy. She has been the owner of Can Do Kids for over twenty seven years. She worked for over 20 years with Don Buethorn, CPO of Cascade DAFO in the development of pediatric orthotics for children with low muscle tone when the prior emphasis had always been orthotics for children with increased tone and or spasticity and limb deformities. In 2012 she spent 8 months to earn her credential as a certified Yoga therapist and incorporates yoga into her pediatric physical therapy program including working with children with scoliosis. Over the past two years, Dr. Annes has attended the USC Chan Sensory Integration Certification program as well as attending the intensive Star Institute for Sensory Processing Disorder Level One mentorship program designed by Dr. Lucy Jane Miller. Integral to her clinical passions for the past 41 years, she has collaborated extensively with a wide range of physicians across many medical specialties to enable her and her staff to work with primary care physicians to seek in depth assessments for children whose original presenting challenges are often associated with other medical diagnoses. In addition, due to Dr. Annes’ commitment to the early identification of children with learning challenges, she has trained her staff and guided patients to undertake an assessment of potential or existing learning difficulties with neuropsychologists. In addition, Dr. Annes works arduously as an insurance advocate and educational advocate for all of the families at Can Do Kids. She has been married for 33 years and enjoys spending time with her husband and adult children including skiing, cycling and yoga.