What is “occupational therapy” exactly?
Occupational Therapy for children is FUN!
If your child is not appropriately walking, playing, learning, eating, sleeping, etcetera for their age, you should see an occupational therapist. Our treatment is often the MOST successful for children with:
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Autism, ADD/ADHD
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Developmental Delays
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Cerebral Palsy
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Learning Challenges
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Behavior Challenges
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Brain Injury
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Emotional/ Social Disorders
We serve children of all ages in the home, community and clinic settings.
When treatment sessions are structured well, your child learns new skills while it appears they are simply having fun.
During sensory-based Occupational Therapy (OT) sessions, the therapist and your child interact in a sensory-rich environment with lots of swinging, spinning, tactile, visual, auditory, and taste opportunities that seem to a child more like a giant playground than a therapy center. Sessions are structured so your child is challenged but always successful in completing each activity. This is important to enhance their psychology as well.
A healthy child should be able to do the following things:
- moving
- playing
- learning
- eating
- sleeping
An Occupational Therapist’s training is extensive, and entails:
- child development
- motor learning
- anatomy,physiology
- kinesiology
- behavior
- cognition
- sensory systems
- and the use of specialized equipment
OT’s are experts at creating the “just right” challenge so the child is able to feel successful while progressing to new skill levels.
With effective occupational therapy, children improve their ability to accurately detect, regulate, interpret, and execute appropriate motor and behavioral responses to sensations so they are able to perform everyday “occupations” in a functional manner. These occupations include playing with friends, enjoying school or work, completing daily routines such as eating, dressing, sleeping, and enjoying a typical family life.
