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Occupational Therapy
What is OT?
Pediatric Occupational Therapy helps children gain
independence by improving their ability to complete everyday
activities at home, school, and during play. Our Occupational
Therapy team provides compassionate, individualized care for each
child. Occupational Therapists look closely at each child's behavior and activity to determine if motor, cognitive, sensory processing, social-emotional, or other areas are contributing to functional difficulty.
To find out if Occupational Therapy is right for your child, contact your child's Primary Care Physician or Pediatrician.
Signs a child may benefit from OT
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Avoids tasks like coloring, cutting, writing
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Extremely selective on foods he or she will eat
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Delayed potty training
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Plays too rough, unintentionally
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Often experiences meltdowns and/or tantrums
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Stays away from playground equipment or swings
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Seeks out intense movement opportunities (crashing, being upside down)
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Has difficulty sitting still for activities and learning
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Is unable to hold a toy in both hands by 10 months
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Is not using a spoon by age 2
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Is not using a fork by age 3
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Is unable to stack 3 blocks by age 3
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Has difficulty holding a crayon or scribbling by 30 months
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Is unable to throw a ball by 30 months
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Is unable to dress self (including zippers, buttons, and fasteners) by age 6
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Has not established hand preference by age 6
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Is unable to tie shoes by age 7
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Has poor handwriting
Fine Motor Skills
Focusing on smaller muscles allows your child to control detailed movements. These movements require the use of smaller muscles of the body such as the eyes, face, tongue, hands, and fingers. Important fine motor skills include smiling, following moving objects with their eyes, and picking up small items such as food. These are all necessary skills for early exploration, body awareness, and play. Later, these skills will lead to everyday skills such as handwriting, stacking blocks, playing ball, staying safe on playground equipment.
Feeding Therapy
Feeding therapy assists in helping children develop normal, effective feeding patterns and behaviors. It is more than simply "teaching a child to eat." We help individuals conquer their feeding issues, including being a "picky eater," oral defensiveness, flavor or texture aversions, and lack of focus. Our therapists work closely with each child and their families to determine the source of the child's difficulties and develop a plan of care specific to that child's needs.
Sensory-Based Therapy
This is an approach to helping children who have difficulty navigating their environments due to overstimulation or under stimulation of the sensory system. Sensory based therapy utilizes the bodies 5 senses: vision, hearing, taste, touch, and smell; along with 2 additional "internal" senses of proprioception (body awareness) and vestibular (movement) to create optimal level of arousal and regulation to allow the child to successfully engage with their environment.
Self-Care Activities
Focus on teaching the individual the skills necessary for bathing, dressing, or self feeding.
