Nature is known to have a restorative impact on human health and well-being. Simply looking out of a window at natural elements like trees and the sky has been shown to both support healing for patients staying in hospital rooms and to support attention for people engaged in cognitive tasks. After just a minute spent outside, the human body tends to follow a typical pattern: heart rates slow, blood pressure drops, and breathing becomes more regular. These benefits, and many more, are why health professionals have long engaged in nature-based interventions with clients to support a wide variety of goals. 

Nature-based therapy includes specific interventions like therapeutic gardening and working with therapy animals. It also may more broadly refer to conducting therapy sessions outdoors. The wide variety of approaches reflects the potential for nature to support both goal attainment and overall well-being.

At DFX we work with nature across disciplines when it matches a client’s treatment plan. In a nature scavenger hunt, for example, kids can work on things like:


• Visuospatial skills, searching a wide area for a target
• Motor skills, trekking across uneven terrain and larger distances
• Regulatory capacities, as they do all of this in an environment that is more variable than an indoor space

With nature-based intervention, the natural environment has the potential to support resilience throughout this process and further enhance goal attainment.

Sharing Expertise Outside DFX 

Developmental FX is innovating in the nature-based intervention space! This past spring, Tracy Stackhouse and Hannah Burke were hosted by Blythe Ardyson of Running Cedar Therapies in North Carolina to teach the STEPPSIⓒ tool to a group of primarily nature-based practitioners. The STEPPSIⓒ is an evidence-based clinical reasoning model for planning, implementation, and monitoring treatment developed by Tracy Stackhouse and colleagues, and used widely around the world by therapists. For this group, the STEPPSIⓒ was modified to include nature-based practice. This group of learners joined together in a nature setting for three days to learn the tool, apply it to their clinical cases, and reflect together in nature! 

By helping therapists deliver high-quality nature-based interventions by integrating what is known about the benefits of nature with our clinical reasoning tools and matching intervention approaches with nature to each individual client, we are elevating practice.

Medicaid Waiver Eligibility

Recently, Health First Colorado sent letters to some families saying they need to renew their Level of Care Certification or risk losing coverage for Health First Colorado and Long-Term Services and Supports (LTSS).

This is due to a glitch in the communication systems between community centered boards and departments of Human Services that may automatically end eligibiity waivers on May 31. 

JOIN US ON WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17 AT DFX

Mental Heath Awareness Month


May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and at DFX, we know that mental wellness begins with feeling seen, understood, and valued. For our neurodivergent community, mental health isn’t just about "fixing" challenges, it’s about fostering environments where every individual can feel safe showing up exactly as they are.

This month, we celebrate the strength of self-advocacy and the power of a supportive community. We are proud to be a space where children and families are met with dignity, respect, and deep clinical care.

Help Our Team Bloom this Spring!



Use the QR code on the right or this link to leave a Google review sharing your experience at DFX, and mention your child's therapist by name.


At the end of May, we will put together bouquets for our therapists, and we'll add a flower for each review they receive.

Thank you for sharing your appreciation and helping us spread the word about how Therapy that fits® is making a difference in children's lives.

Thank you for being part of the DFX family and helping us bring Therapy that fits® to more kids!

DFX is working to create systemic change by establishing a culture of engaged belonging in which children of all abilities and backgrounds will thrive.