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 in their home, school, and community.

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Why choose OT?

 

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 OT?

 

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 or birth defects

• sensory processing disorders

• traumatic injuries (brain or spinal cord)

• learning problems

• autism/pervasive developmental disorders

• behavioral problems

• developmental delays

• post-surgical hand conditions

• spina bifida

• cerebral palsy and other chronic illnesses
   

What can be accomplished through OT?

 

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

• increase balanced diets and abilities to try new foods (adding new foods to a kids’ diet, etc.)

• 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 (such as bathing, getting dressed, brushing their teeth, and feeding themselves)

• maintaining positive behaviors in all environments (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.

• Get Help With Feeding Issues
   

Common red flags where Occupational Therapy could help:

 

• Difficulty transitioning from places, activities, and/or routines

• Difficulty with playing with others, playing games, or taking turns  

• Always in trouble, time outs, or labeled a “bad kid” 

• Poor handwriting 

• Dislikes coloring, cutting, puzzles or tabletop activities 

• Clumsy or trips a lot 

• Unable to scan environment for safety 

• Lack of safety awareness 

• Frequent meltdowns that last longer than normal

• Refuses or difficulty following directions

• Inflexible with changes in routines

• Poor attention and concentration

• Picky Eater – only eats certain textures (crackers, chicken nuggets, fries, etc. – no vegetables or fruits)

• Dislikes getting messy or getting things on their hands or clothes

• Aggression 

• Crashes into things

• Doesn’t like wearing certain textures Doesn’t have many friends

• Meltdowns when losing a game

• Difficulty following others’ ideas

• Can’t identify emotions in self or others

• Answering/asking questions are hard

• Avoids eye contact

• Avoids hand dryers

• Falling off chairs/running into things/people

• Troubles with putting things into shape sorter and matching

• Self-esteem, limited confidence, self-doubt  

• Has difficulty with buttons or zippers

• Doesn’t use fork or spoon efficiently

• Difficulty using scissors

• Avoids playground equipment

• Walks on Toes

• Difficulty coloring in the lines

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Call us to schedule a free screening: (701) 252-6066