Occupational Therapy

 Occupational therapy (OT) uses the word “occupation” to describe all things we do during the day to occupy our time. For children and adolescents, this includes play, social skills, school, work, behavior, and self-care skills. OT helps children to develop the fundamental skills needed for learning and performing these daily tasks.

Pediatric occupational therapy helps children gain independence with life skills such as socialization, self-care skills, healthy behavior, sensory motor skills, fine motor skills, and visual motor skills. These skills are needed for children to participate fully and successfully in school and social situations. 

Areas addressed by OT include, but are not limited to:

Self-Care Skills 

·       dressing, eating, using the bathroom, hygiene, and moving around safely

Life Skills

·       chores, money skills, cooking, job skills

Fine Motor Skills 

·       develop/strengthen the proper grasping of objects with hands/fingers 

Visual Perception 

·        develop/strengthen writing, reading, and play skills

Sensory Processing 

·       developing/strengthening the ability to tolerate information from our senses  

Self-Regulation 

·       develop strategies for healthy behavior 

Social Skills

·       play skills, interaction with peers, teachers, family

Gross Motor Skills and Coordination 

·       posture, strength needed to carry out daily tasks 

Motor Planning

·        brain and body connection 

Executive Functioning Skills

·       organization skills, planning, memory, impulse control, emotional control

Assistive Technology and Adaptive Equipment 

 

Here at Children’s Therapy Solutions, our occupational therapists work with the child and the caregivers. They work to educate and reinforce skills and behaviors to increase carryover outside of the clinic for improved performance and functioning in their daily lives. 

 

The following conditions/diagnoses we treat in OT include, but are not limited to:

· Sensory Processing Disorders

· Autism Spectrum Disorders

· Down Syndrome

· Cerebral Palsy

· ADHD/ADD

· Neurological Impairments

· Chromosomal Abnormalities

· Fine Motor Delays

· Hypotonia (low muscle tone)

· Developmental Delays

· Torticollis

· Feeding Difficulties

· Erb’s Palsy

· Medically Fragile 

· Injury, accident rehabilitation

* Please use this list as a guide only; it is not all-inclusive.