Good Neighbor Podcast: Orange County

Inside Butterfly Therapies Family-Centered Occupational Therapy Care

• Rachel Fyffe & Karyn Buky

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Need a fresh look at occupational therapy that actually translates to home, school, and play? We sit down with Karyn Buky, founder of Butterfly Therapies Inc., to explore a family-centered OT model where parents are in the room, learning alongside their child. Karyn’s journey started at thirteen when she coached a Special Olympics gymnastics team by herself—a formative experience that shaped her belief in capability, compassion, and meaningful activity. Three decades later, she leads a boutique practice serving children ages two to twenty with therapists trained at the master’s and doctoral levels and advanced expertise in sensory integration.

We unpack what “occupation” really means for kids: dressing without a battle, sitting through dinner without a meltdown, following a routine, and managing school demands. Karyn explains how private treatment rooms, monkey bars, swings, and rock walls become tools for building regulation, attention, and motor planning without overwhelming sensitive nervous systems. Instead of a noisy open gym, Butterfly offers one-on-one sessions that let therapists calibrate sensory input and coach parents moment by moment, so strategies stick outside the clinic.

Karyn also shares how the practice grew through grassroots trust—PTA talks, teacher trainings, and parents helping parents. You’ll hear practical examples of calming activities, handwriting grips, and behavior supports that families can apply the same day. If you’re seeking occupational therapy that honors your child’s strengths and gives you clear tools to use at home, this conversation lays out what to look for and why a small, specialized clinic can make a big difference. Subscribe for more local stories, share this with a caregiver who needs it, and leave a review to help neighbors find resources that work.

SPEAKER_00:

This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Rachel Fife.

SPEAKER_02:

Well, welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast. Now, if you're in need of occupational therapy services with a family focus-centered and holistic approach, well, this resource is really closer than you think. Today I have the pleasure of introducing your good neighbor, Karen Bookie, with Butterfly Therapies. Karen, how is it going?

SPEAKER_01:

It's going well, Rachel. Thank you. It's going fantastic.

SPEAKER_02:

Wonderful. Well, we are really excited to learn more about butterfly therapy. So tell us about the business.

SPEAKER_01:

So we um have been in business for 19 years. That's something to note, as a small private practice providing occupational therapy for children ages 2 to 20. And we have, you know, collectively, there's four of us. I've got three full-time OTs, all have masters or doctorates, all have advanced specialized training in sensory integration. We really pride ourselves on parent training. We have our parents present, which is different than most clinics. We want them learning from us. We want them knowing how to help their child, whether it's with a calming activity, or maybe it's how to hold a crayon, or maybe it's to control behavior. We want them in the room, listening, learning, practicing so that when they go home, it generalizes.

SPEAKER_02:

Awesome. Well, how did you get involved in this kind of business?

SPEAKER_01:

When I was younger, I was 13 years old. I took a team, I was a gymnast and I volunteered, not knowing I'd be the only coach to take a Special Olympics team to the Special Olympics. So I trained them the whole season. I thought I'd have help. It was just me, a group of eight developmentally delayed adults, and I loved it. I just loved helping people that had challenges. Um, and also just loved the strengths they have as well, their loving attitude and just good nature. So after that, I just knew I wanted to go into healthcare in some form and really researched um all the allied professionals and came up with uh occupational therapy as it's I've done it for 30 years, so I I definitely got it right. I still love my job every day.

SPEAKER_02:

I love that. Well, what do you think are maybe some myths or misconceptions in your industry?

SPEAKER_01:

I think occupational therapy has a lot of misconceptions. Uh number one is people think occupation meaning job. And occupational therapy was actually developed at the turn of the century during World War I to help rehabilitate the veterans coming back. And so it was through meaningful activity and understanding of the anatomy and physiology and psychology of a human being along with that meaningful activity that we use to help rehabilitate. So it is not occupation as work, it's occupation in how you occupy your time. So move fast forward now. I'm in working with children, how do they occupy their time? It might be self-care, maybe they're struggling with fasteners or struggling getting themselves ready with a schedule or sleep or toileting. Uh, it might be school. That's a huge occupancy of time. Uh it could be their play and developmental skills, it could be peer interactions, it could be dinner at the table, maybe they're struggling sitting still. Uh, so it's really looking at how you occupy your time, but also everything that goes into that. So the neurology, the physiology, the psychology. Um, there's a lot underneath, a lot of science. It's actually a science degree, uh, but it's it's called the art and science of OT.

SPEAKER_02:

Wow, that's interesting. So now we know marketing is really the heart of every business. So, how how are people finding you or how are you finding, you know, patients and clients?

SPEAKER_01:

I I've been lucky enough to really have more of a grassroots um foundation to marketing. Um, I I have given a lot of my time uh to the community in volunteering roles. Uh, you know, I was on the Pretend City uh committee, luncheon committee for fundraising. I was on um Spirit League on their committee. I I've given a lot, I've done a lot of parent trainings for um maybe it's the PTA or uh school trainings for the whole school, all the teachers, so that they can, you know, hitting a bigger, broader community. And in that, I people just come to me organically. My my biggest um referral source is probably parents talking to other parents. So mops groups, uh you name it.

SPEAKER_02:

Wonderful. Now, have you ever thought about doing your own podcast?

SPEAKER_01:

Yes, I have. My husband keeps prompting me. So well, good, good.

SPEAKER_02:

Well, now outside of work, what do you like to do for fun, Karen?

SPEAKER_01:

Uh I love to garden. I started a vegetable garden, um, taking me back to my childhood. I grew up on a farm. And so, you know, growing tomatoes and and shard and carrots and lemons and you know, just anything I could figure out how to grow. It's we're starting kind of anew. And so that's been a big um piece of of my occupation, how I occupy my time in my spare time. I love the beach, I love walking, hiking, um, with my dogs and my family. And I love to cook. And I'm also married to a chef. So we that's something we do that's really fun together.

SPEAKER_02:

I love that. Well, Karen, please tell our listeners one thing they should remember about butterfly therapies.

SPEAKER_01:

I think is that we we are not your mainstream occupational therapy company. We are very intimate in that we are one-on-one. We're small on purpose so that families can really come in and get personalized attention. It's uh each therapist has their own treatment room, which is by treatment. We have monkey bars, rock walls, slides, swings, you name it. But it's very intimate setting. So it's not a big open gym. A lot of kids we work with are very overstimulated. Uh, we're able to give them that one-on-one individualized care with the parent present that really makes for a more relaxed environment.

SPEAKER_02:

Wonderful. Well, how can our listeners learn more about butterfly therapies?

SPEAKER_01:

They can go online, www.butterfly therapies plural, inc, in c um.com, or they could feel free to I'm, you know, and on Google, look me up, give me a call. Um, the other unique thing, going back a little bit, is you know, we're not a huge organization on purpose. I've always taken pride in the level of quality that we provide in our the very specialized advanced practice that we provide. And in that, I'm the one that's picking up the phone. I'm the one that's you know calling people back. So I think that personalized attention goes a long way in helping our families. So they can also pick up the phone and call 949-709-0777.

SPEAKER_02:

Wonderful. Well, Karen, I really appreciate you being on the show. And I wish you and Butterfly Therapies all the best moving forward and in the new year.

SPEAKER_01:

Thank you for this opportunity, Rachel. It's exciting. Thank you.

SPEAKER_00:

Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnpoangecounty.com. That's gnpoorangecounty.com or call 714 941.