OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY

Occupational therapy assists children and their families in building on skills that enable them to participate in meaningful and developmentally appropriate activities with success. We use child-led, family-centered practices to ensure that your child develops intrinsic motivation and the confidence needed to engage in meaningful, age appropriate ‘occupations’ throughout their day. These ‘occupations’ are better known as regular daily activities such as play, dressing, socializing, school activities, and so much more! Your child must fulfill these tasks in an age-appropriate manner in order to properly mature, develop, and gain the confidence and independence they need for quality of life.

Your OT will analyze tasks which your child may be struggling with in order to determine the underlying difficulties that may be causing the challenges. For example, if your child has trouble with handwriting legibly, he/she/they may have challenges in fine motor skills, visual perceptual motor skills, motor planning, core strength and stability, and/or sensory processing. You may find that these challenges go beyond handwriting and are interfering with other areas of your child’s life as well.

Fine Motor Skills— the small muscle movements in our hands and wrists required to carry out daily activities functionally. Red Flags:

  1. difficulty contracting toys, such as lego or pegs

  2. difficulty coloring within a provided boundary

  3. signs of or complaints of fatigue when coloring/writing/drawing, cutting

  4. struggling with cutting, fasteners (zipping, buttons), coloring/writing/drawing

  5. alternating hand use while completing age appropriate fine motor tasks

  6. struggling with activities of daily living (ADL) and self care, such as dressing, feeding and using utensils

  7. taking extra time, avoiding and/or becoming frustrated when attempting fine motor tasks

Visual Perceptual Motor Skills— the coordination of visual information that is organized and perceived while being processed with motor skills.

  1. difficulty assembling puzzles or copying block forms

  2. difficulty catching or hitting a ball

  3. letter reversals and poor letter formation

  4. poor line awareness in handwriting and coloring

  5. difficulty copying written work as well as pictures/shapes

  6. difficulty keeping place when reading, writing, and completing a busy worksheet

  7. confusing similar shapes, letters, and numbers

  8. difficulty recognizing partially hidden objects

  9. trouble spacing appropriately between letters and words

​Motor Planning and Praxis— motor planning requires a child to conceive or imagine a task, plan the steps required to complete a task, execute or carry the task out, and then rely on self-feedback for fluid and automatic movements. Motor planning relies on a child having an organized sensory system, as well as adequate body awareness. Therefore, if a child has difficulty with one or more of the senses this can lead to poor body awareness and motor planning difficulties. Red Flags:

  1. Poor body scheme and body awareness

  2. difficulties coordinating both hands together (ie. cutting, fasteners, tying shoes)

  3. taking a long time to learn new tasks

  4. difficulty following multi-step instructions

  5. clumsiness (eg. constantly bumping into things or falling over)

  6. difficulty starting tasks

  7. difficulty completing tasks efficiently or in a timely fashion

  8. preference for familiar play routines or repetition of tasks instead of developing new ideas

  9. frustration or avoidance of new tasks and fear of failure

  10. difficulty riding a bike or scooter

  11. withdrawn on playground or during PE

Core Strength and Stability— the development of the torso muscles that stabilize, align, and move the trunk of the body. Poor core strength can cause poor posture which can also affect gross motor and fine motor skills as well as attention. Redflags:

  1. signs of fatigue: slouching, resting head on desk or hand, frequent changing of position, laying down or leaning on items while seated on floor,

  2. ‘W’ sitting

  3. poor balance

  4. avoid gross motor games and activities

  5. fighting or trouble paying attention

  6. difficulty with fine motor control

  7. history of delayed gross milestone development (rolling, crawling, walking)

  8. difficulty with stabilizing the body to complete self-care tasks (putting on shoes/socks)

Sensory Processing and Self-Regulation— the interpretation of information sent to our brains via our senses and movement. Children rely on processing sensory input adequately in order to maintain focus and regulation as well as to engage in their everyday environments. Red Flags:

  1. lack of awareness of where their body is in space and may appear clumsy

  2. tantrums in busy, loud, or unfamiliar environments and from sensory overload

  3. tantrums or avoidance or bathing, oral hygiene, hair brushing, and other self-care tasks

  4. standing too close or speaking too loudly to others

  5. bumping into things easily

  6. seeking out extra sensory input and appear to have excess energy (ie. spinning or swinging, difficulty sitting still, touching people/things, and chewing on clothing)

  7. dislike of new clothing, tags on clothing

  8. aversion to noise and/or light