"What Is Occupational Therapy and How Can It Benefit Your Child?"

I am SO excited to finally share my first blog post! What better time to start my blog and advocate for Occupational Therapy (OT) than OT month! I thought I would start by introducing OT and some of the topics I will be sharing information on in future posts. I have been an occupational therapist for almost 4 years now, and something I love about being an OT is being able to support parents and kids during every stage. Occupational therapy offers a holistic approach to child development, which means that it provides a well-rounded view of a child’s growth and overall well-being by addressing physical, emotional, social, and cognitive development. 

Occupational therapy focuses on helping people develop the skills they need for meaningful and purposeful activities. These activities (occupations) include everything from self-care and play to social emotional skills and school-related tasks. For pediatric occupational therapists, the goal is to enhance a child's ability to participate fully in their daily life and reach developmental milestones. 

It’s important to understand and support our child's developmental milestones. These milestones are key indicators of a child's growth and overall well-being. Sometimes, children may face difficulties in areas such as motor skills, sensory processing, and daily activities. This is where OT plays a crucial role in supporting children and their families. I have always had a desire to help others, and as a mom who is constantly looking for things to support my child’s development, I want to create a resource that will be a support to parents raising kids, and provide some OT knowledge on developmental milestones, red flags, and strategies to make life a little easier and less stressful.

So what are some areas that OT can help your kiddo with? Here are some key aspects of occupational therapy in the pediatric setting:

• Developmental Delays: Occupational therapists work with children who have developmental delays or disabilities that affect their motor skills, sensory processing, cognitive abilities, social interaction, or self-care skills. 

• Sensory Processing: Sensory processing refers to how the nervous system receives and processes sensory information from the environment. Some children may struggle with sensory integration, which can impact their ability to participate in daily activities. OT helps children regulate their sensory responses and adapt to sensory challenges through activities that provide appropriate sensory input.

• Self-Regulation: Self-regulation involves the ability to manage your emotions, behavior, and attention. OT helps children develop self-regulation skills, including identifying emotions, using calming techniques, developing coping strategies, and improving attention and impulse control. 

• Fine Motor Skills: Fine motor skills involve the use of small muscles in the hands and fingers and are important for tasks such as writing, cutting, manipulating toys, using utensils, buttoning clothes, tying shoelaces, etc. OT helps kids develop fine motor skills needed for everyday tasks.

• Visual Perceptual Skills: Visual perceptual skills involve interpreting and understanding visual information. OT helps children enhance skills such as visual tracking, visual memory, visual discrimination, and visual spatial awareness. These skills are important for tasks like reading, writing, puzzles, and sports.

• Handwriting: OT addresses handwriting skills by focusing on areas such as letter formation, letter sizing, spacing, line adherence, and overall legibility. OTs use different techniques and activities to strengthen hand muscles, refine fine motor control, and develop a functional pencil grip.

• Gross Motor Skills: Gross motor skills involve using the large muscles of our body and are important for activities like running, jumping, climbing, and balancing. OT helps children improve their gross motor skills, coordination, and body awareness through exercises, games, and sensorimotor play (one of my favorite activities is an obstacle course!).

• Self-Care Skills: OT helps kids develop self-care skills, also known as activities of daily living (ADLs). These skills include dressing, feeding, bathing, grooming, toileting, and sleeping. 

• Feeding and Oral Motor Skills: OT addresses feeding difficulties and oral motor skills in children. We assess and provide interventions for challenges related to oral motor coordination, sensory aversions, picky eating, and swallowing difficulties. Sensory-based approaches and desensitization techniques are often used to expand a child's food repertoire and improve feeding skills.

• Play Skills: OT works with children to develop play skills, creativity, and problem solving skills. They may use play-based interventions to foster social interaction, communication, and emotional regulation.

• Social Skills: OT supports the development of social skills in children through facilitating social interactions, teaching appropriate social behaviors, and helping children understand social cues and emotions. 

• Executive Functioning: OT helps children improve their executive functioning skills. These skills help us to plan, organize, initiate tasks, sustain attention, manage time, and regulate our behavior. 

• School-Based Services: OT in the school setting supports children's educational needs and addresses performance deficits that might hinder a child's learning, such as handwriting difficulties, attention deficits, sensory challenges, or organizational skills. 

• Assistive Technology and Adaptive Equipment: OTs may recommend and assist in the selection and use of assistive technology devices or adaptive equipment to enhance a child's participation in activities. 

• Transition Planning: OT can assist during transition planning for children as they move from one educational level to another or transition to adulthood. We collaborate with families, schools, and other professionals to support the child's successful transition, including developing job skills, independent living skills, and community integration.

If you have concerns for your child in any of these areas, talk to your doctor about occupational therapy. Follow my blog for insights into these areas!