Occupational Therapy

The term “occupation” often brings to mind jobs that adults perform, however, there is a broader view of the term “occupation” that includes any activity that occupies or should occupy our time! For children, these activities include playing with friends, enjoying school or work, completing daily routines such as eating, dressing, sleeping, and enjoying a typical family life.

The goal of occupational therapy is to help children develop these necessary skills so they are able to perform everyday activities in a functional manner and their transition into adulthood becomes a path to an independent life. The focus is on parent-identified priorities for changes in daily functioning at home, at school, and/or in the community.

Occupational Therapy services support and promote the achievement of independence with:

  • Activities of daily living
  • The integration of sensory systems
  • Self-regulation skills
  • Upper body strength and function
  • Feeding skills
  • Handwriting skills
  • Motor planning and praxis
  • Body awareness and environment safety
  • Bilateral coordination skills and balance
  • Visual motor and visual perceptual skills
  • Facilitation of developmental milestones and age-appropriate fine motor skills

Occupational therapists provide one-on-one sessions, which are play based in nature. The treatment rooms and innovative equipment is designed to mirror playful activities to the child, yet the therapist are actually drawing upon extensive training to provide challenging therapeutic activities aimed at developing greater capabilities and skill levels. Your occupational therapist serves as coach, educator, and role model while you actively participate and learn strategies for home, school, and the community during your child’s OT sessions. Therapy sessions are fun, and are subtly structured so that your child is challenged but always successful in completing each activity. Your child will love developing their skills in these fun, supportive, and enriching environments.

A variety of treatment techniques specifically tailored to your child will be utilized in order to address the areas identified on the initial evaluation and the goals by the parent and therapist, as well as overall functional performance.

The Pediatric Occupational Therapist is trained to provide skilled intervention to infants, toddlers, children, and adolescents with disorders that effect development of motor and behavioral skills.

Fine and Gross Motor Skills Development:

  • Upper body and fine motor strengthening (pencil grasp, scissor use and more)
  • Neurodevelopmental Facilitation Techniques
  • Bilateral coordination skills & balance
  • Activities of daily living training to include: dressing, feeding, grooming, (fastener manipulation, utensil use, etc).
  • Visual Motor Integration/Visual Perceptual Skills
  • Handwriting training (utilizing the Handwriting Without Tears Program)

Sensory Integration Techniques:

  • Attention & Organizational Skills
  • Motor Planning & Praxis
  • Body Perception/Awareness in Space
  • Frustration Tolerance/Coping Strategies
  • Sensory Defensiveness-auditory/tactile sensitivities
  • Self-esteem, social skills, peer interactions, challenging behaviors
  • Feeding Aversion and oral defensiveness

Oral Motor/Oral Sensory Development:

  • Feeding skills
  • Oral Aversion / Hypersensitivities
  • Hypotonia/Hypertonia

Common Diagnos+c Categories Include:

  • Developmental Delay
  • Sensory Integration Dysfunction / Sensory Processing Disorder
  • Feeding Aversion/Oral Motor Difficulties
  • Autism Spectrum Disorders
  • Cerebral Palsy and Neuromuscular Disorders
  • Down Syndrome
  • Learning Disabilities/Dysgraphia

Specific Modalities used in therapy:

  • Integrated listening systems (iLs)
  • Interactive metronome (IM)
  • SOS approach to Feeding
  • Cranial Sacral Techniques
  • Talk Tools