Occupational Therapy

What is Occupational Therapy?

Pediatric occupational therapy helps children gain independence while also strengthening the development of fine motor skills, sensory motor skills, and visual motor skills that children need to function and socialize.  A child’s role in life is to play and interact with other children. Our pediatric occupational therapists evaluate a child’s current skills related to play, school performance, and daily activities and compare them with what is developmentally appropriate for that age group.  OTs help children perform daily activities they may find challenging by addressing sensory, social, behavioral, motor, and environmental issues.

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Who may benefit from Occupational Therapy?

Children may require occupational therapy with or without the presence of a medical condition. Kids with the following medical conditions are considered to be ‘at risk’ for delays in skills impacting participation in home and school environments.

• birth injuries, birth defects, premature births
• sensory processing disorders
• traumatic injuries (brain or spinal cord)
• learning problems
• autism/pervasive developmental disorders
• behavioral problems
• developmental delays
• cerebral palsy and other chronic illnesses

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What can be accomplished through Occupational Therapy?

Occupational therapists work with children in the following areas:

• improving fine motor skills so they can grasp and release toys and develop good handwriting skills
• addressing hand-eye coordination to improve kids’ play and school skills (hitting a target, batting a ball, copying from a blackboard, etc.)
• learning basic tasks of daily living (such as bathing, getting dressed, brushing their teeth, and feeding themselves)
• maintaining positive behaviors in all environments and self regulation strategies (e.g., instead of hitting others or acting out, using positive ways to deal with anger, such as writing about feelings or participating in a physical activity.
• evaluating the need for specialized equipment, such as wheelchairs, splints, bathing equipment, dressing devices, or communication aids
• improving attention and social skills to allow development of interpersonal relationships.

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