A Chef and A Mom
Aug 9, 2017 · 4 min read

Does your child need Occupational Therapy?

Does your child have difficulties with day-to-day activities at home, school, or in the community? Do they experience challenges that do not affect most typically developing children?

If so an occupational therapist may be able to help your child.Occupational therapy, known as OT, is designed to help children and adults acquire (or regain) the skills needed to perform the activities—or “occupations”—of daily life.

Occupational Therapy treatment is designed to support a child and their family when they experience difficulties in the following areas:

Developmental Delay:

• Not reaching developmental milestones of sitting, crawling, and walking

• Not learning at an age appropriate level

• Not developing age appropriate play and social skills

Fine Motor Skills:

• Difficulty with manipulating toys and puzzles

• Difficulties with pencil grasp

• Difficulties using feeding utensils at an age appropriate time

• Poor handwriting, letter/number formation.

• Etc.

Movement, Strength, and Balance Development (Gross Motor Skills):

• Appears clumsy or uncoordinated

• Difficulty going up and down stairs at an age appropriate time

• Difficulty with the concept of right and left

• Etc.

Visual Processing:

• Difficulty with the spacing and sizes of letters

• Difficulty with recognizing letters

• Difficulty with copying shapes or letters

• Has poor eye contact

• Etc

Oral Motor/Oral Sensory:

• Drools excessively

• Chews food in the front of the mouth, rather than on the molars

• Difficulty using a cup at an age-appropriate time

• Difficulty with drinking from a straw at an age-appropriate time

• Etc.

Sensory Processing:

• Overly sensitive or heightened reactivity to sound, touch, or movement

• Under-responsive to certain sensations (e.g., high pain tolerance, doesn't notice cuts/bruises)

• Constantly moving, jumping, crashing, bumping

• Etc

Social Interaction Skills:

• Difficulty interacting socially and engaging with family and peers

• Diifficulty adapting to new environments

• Delayed language skills

• Etc

Learning Challenges:

• Unable to concentrate and focus at school

• Difficulty following instructions and completing work

• Tires easily with school work

• Hyperactivity or low energy

• Etc

How does the therapy work?

• Occupational therapists help kids who have trouble with physical coordination, organization and planning skills.

• These therapists can help children with certain learning and attention issues do tasks (like writing or working buttons) in a more efficient and less tiring way.

• Kids may work with an occupational therapist or an occupational therapy assistant.

How can kids with learning and attention issues benefit from occupational therapy? The connection may not seem obvious. But problems with coordination, strength, control and daily self-care skills can lead to academic difficulties.

For example, a child who has trouble gripping a pencil may struggle to complete class assignments on time. Some kids have trouble with organization. They may struggle to load a backpack with materials they need at school. Occupational therapy could be helpful in these situations.

What's the role of a therapist?

An occupational therapist (mostly with a master's degree in the field), is a trained specialist who helps people learn to carry out everyday activities. Occupational therapists work with people of all ages and with various challenges. When they work with children who have learning and attention issues, they help with a variety of issues.

The goal of occupational therapy is to help children become more independent in everyday tasks. The OT might also evaluate a child’s need for special equipment or assistive technology. These can range from a simple pencil grip to voice-activated note-taking software.

An OT and teacher might work together to help a student attain the goals. OT can also help parents and teachers understand what a child is currently capable of and what goals they may want to set.

The benefits of occupational therapy for kids include:

• Increased independence and self-confidence

• Better understanding between parents and teachers of what a child should be able to accomplish

• Improved ability to concentrate and complete schoolwork

Occupational therapy can help a number of issues, including:

• Dyslexia

Dysgraphia

Dyspraxia

• Sensory processing issues

Visual processing issues

Results You Can Expect From Occupational Therapy :

If your child is working with an OT, he’ll probably learn to adapt to his difficulties over time. This will make day-to-day living easier.

Depending on the severity of your child’s symptoms, he may need to work with an OT for many months. So it’s important to find an OT you and your child are comfortable with.

Keep in mind that occupational therapy can’t “cure” your child. For example, if your child has dysgraphia, an OT can help him improve his handwriting. The OT can show him how to use note-taking software. But your child may never become a fast writer.

The sooner your child starts with occupational therapy, the more effective it tends to be. Occupational therapists can help younger kids improve social and academic skills, making their lives easier as teenagers. However, OTs can also be helpful for older kids.

Occupational therapy is just one option for addressing your child’s learning and attention issues. Being open to all possible treatments can help you find the right one for your child.

Thank you for reading and hope the above information has been of use to you. Please share it incase you think there are parents who might benefit from this.

A Chef and A Mom

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passionate about topics relating to kids,family and ofcourse easy cooking!