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Growing Through Play: Kidology’s Journey and New Sensory Gym

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A place for kids to play, grow, and meet milestones has popped up in Northeast Philly.


Recognizing that your child needs some extra support can be the start of a difficult and confusing process—navigating insurance companies, state agencies, specialists, and uncertainty. It is a journey that requires patience and tenacity.

Those two qualities have likewise propelled Luba Patlakh Kaplun through her decade-long career of working with children, becoming a child development specialist, and finally opening Kidology Inc.

Beginning as a provider for a different agency, and through Pennsylvania’s Early Intervention program, Luba eventually became a certified Special Instructor (SI) and licensed Speech Language-Pathologist, learning about the complexities on the coordinating side of that world along the way. She knew she could do even more running her own agency. “I love building rapport,” she tells us. “The amount of success the kids I was working with were having was incredible.”

That dream slowly became a reality. After hosting interviews in a local café—not even having an office yet—Kidology had just five workers in its first year. The team grew to 20 people, and today has 50 providers, and office staff, and two locations. Kidology also boasts a multilingual staff, which has allowed them to help even more families in Philadelphia.

Kidology’s first location in Huntingdon Valley housed both administrative offices and space for intake interviews and therapies. As Kidology grew, more space was inevitable, and despite the pandemic, Luba moved forward to make it happen. In February 2021, the sensory gym debuted in Northeast Philadelphia. Features like harnesses, gripped staircases, a zip line, and even rock climbing provide so many opportunities for kids in physical therapy to overcome challenges and learn. Kids can also come for open play every other weekend.

Since opening that second location on Bustleton Avenue, Kidology has been able to reach so many more people. “I’m so happy to be able to give that to a community because it is so needed,” Luba tells us. Kidology’s extensive support services—including physical, occupational, behavioral, and speech therapies—can be provided in their new sensory gym, or at patients’ homes, schools, or other locations in the community. In addition to the educational and therapeutic services Kidology provides, they also have the expertise to guide families through the often complex process of qualifying for therapy and navigating the system. They will even submit your referral to Early Intervention directly and help parents understand any financial and insurance issues that may arise.

Though, while Luba has seen so many children grow, meet milestones, and overcome delays; even she did not fully realize the extent of her success in the community until a recent encounter. She describes bringing her own child to the pediatrician for a routine visit—while sporting the Kidology logo. Recognizing the name, the doctor revealed to her, “You have changed the lives of so many of our patients.” The journey has been one of persistence and faith, but the impact has been profound.

Learn more about Kidology’s services and locations at kidologyinc.com. To schedule an appointment, you can contact them via phone (215-330-4116) or email (carecoordinator@kidologyinc.com), or submit your information via their contact form.