Meet the MOCO Team
MOCO Movement Center is a pediatric physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech-language therapy practice in Kensington, Maryland. Our therapists are licensed clinicians. They are also the people who will be on the floor with your child, in the gym, at the climbing wall, on the agility course.
What holds the team together is Applied Functional Therapy (AFT), the model our founder developed. It means we build therapy goals into activities a child already wants to do, so the skills show up where they matter: at home, at school, on the playground, with friends.
Here is who you will meet.
Andrea Santman, PT, DPT
Founder and CEO | Pediatric Physical Therapist
Andrea started MOCO Movement Center because she wanted to build the practice she had been picturing for most of her career: one where therapy happens inside real movement, real play, and real connection, and not inside the walls of a traditional clinic room. The belief underneath it is simple. Every child deserves the chance to participate fully in the things that bring them joy.
She developed Applied Functional Therapy (AFT), MOCO's clinical model. Instead of isolated exercises, AFT embeds therapeutic goals inside the activities a child already loves, so the movement, regulation, and problem-solving carry over into everyday life. Andrea works with children with neurological, developmental, and complex medical conditions, and she plans alongside families and interdisciplinary teams rather than around them.
A lot of her attention goes to what happens between sessions. Progress is made in the other 167 hours of the week, which is why coaching families is not an add-on at MOCO. It is the work. Andrea also mentors MOCO's therapists, builds new programs, and keeps reading the research so families get care that holds up.
Outside of work, she hikes, goes to live theater, and spends time with her family. Those are the same things she wants for the children she treats: to be out in the world, doing what they love.
Role: Founder and CEO, Pediatric Physical Therapist
Credentials: PT, DPT. Licensed Physical Therapist.
Education: Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT)
Experience: Practicing for 30+ years
Specialties: Neurological rehabilitation. Developmental delay. Cerebral palsy. Genetic and neuromuscular conditions. Infant motor development. Adaptive equipment and mobility. Therapeutic bike riding. Balance, coordination, and postural control. Family-centered care.
Areas of interest: Applied Functional Therapy. Motor learning and neuroplasticity. Postural alignment and breathing as the foundation for movement. Building confidence and independence through play. Coaching families so progress continues between sessions. Creating therapy environments that motivate children to move and explore.
Occupational Therapy
Our occupational therapists work on the everyday stuff: getting dressed, handling a busy classroom, managing a body that feels too fast or too slow, eating a meal without a fight.
Speech-Language Therapy
Our speech-language pathologists work on communication in every form it takes: words, devices, gestures, fluency, and the regulation that has to be there before any of it is possible.
