Therapy
Occupational Therapy
During childhood, play and self-care skills are a child’s primary activities, essentially their occupation.
Overview
ABOUT: Occupation Therapy
During childhood, play and self-care skills are a child’s primary activities, essentially their occupation. These activities encompass writing, dressing, cutting, washing hands, using utensils, manipulating toys, and coordinating movements during play, among others. Our Occupational Therapists specialize in assessing and addressing issues that may hinder a child’s daily success. We employ a holistic treatment approach, understanding the needs of both the child and the family to provide tailored support.
Fields of Specialization
- Sensory processing
- Developmental Delay & Milestone Delay
- Self-Regulation
- Visual-motor integration
- Visual perceptual and oculomotor
- Fine motor control and coordination
- Adaptive Equipment
- Gross motor control and coordination
- Feeding / Oral Motor
- Self-care
- Sustained attention
- Cognitive Skills
- Social and peer interaction
- Executive functioning
- Handwriting
FAQ's
Popular Questions
Occupational therapists are trained in the detailed mechanics of hand function and all aspects related to handwriting. Eective handwriting requires several foundational skills, including body and spatial awareness, laterality, directionality, visual perception, visual-motor integration, postural stability, in-hand manipulation, hand separation, hand strength, movement and position awareness, motor planning, ocular motor control, bilateral integration, eye-hand coordination, sensory integration, tactile discrimination, memory, attention, orientation to letters, and sequencing. Identifying
the root cause of a handwriting problem requires a thorough assessment by an
occupational therapist.
Some signs of sensory processing diculties include:
i. Being overly sensitive or underreactive to sights, sounds, movement, or touch.
ii. Seeking excessive sensory input through moving, bouncing, squeezing, or
mouthing objects.
iii. Struggling with behavioral and/or emotional regulation, becoming easily
overwhelmed, leading to overexcitement, meltdowns, or shutting down.
iv. Having poor muscle tone, tiring easily, leaning on people, or slumping in a
chair, and using inappropriate force when handling objects, coloring, writing,
or interacting with siblings or pets.
v. Being clumsy, frequently falling, bumping into furniture or people, and having
trouble judging the position of their body in relation to surrounding space.
vi. Experiencing diculty learning new motor tasks and frustration when trying to
follow instructions or sequence steps for an activity.
vii. Avoiding playground activities, physical education classes, and/or sports.
viii. Struggling to learn how to play or get along with other children.
ix. Having diculty with everyday activities like eating, sleeping, brushing teeth, or
getting dressed.
x. Facing problems learning to color, cut, draw, or write.
xi. Having diculty transitioning from one activity or place to another.
xii. Experiencing challenges in school, including attention, organization,
perception, and listening skills.
For children and youth, occupations are activities that enable them to learn and develop
life skills (school activities), be creative and enjoy themselves (play), and thrive (self-care
and caring for others). Occupational therapists often use play as a medium for treatment
because it signicantly inuences a child's development. The primary goals of
childhood are to grow, learn, and play, and it is through play that children learn to
understand the world around them. Playing is a child’s "job" or "occupation," helping
them develop physical coordination, emotional maturity, social skills for interacting
with others, and self-condence to try new experiences and explore new environments.
Recommended interventions are based on a comprehensive understanding of typical
development and the eects of disability, illness, and impairment on an individual
child's development, play, learning, and overall occupational performance
The duration of therapy or treatment sessions is tailored to individual needs, ranging
from 30 minutes to an hour. Generally, speech therapy sessions last for 30 minutes,
while occupational therapy sessions typically last for one hour.
b. The length of each session and the overall duration of treatment, spanning several
months, are determined by a child's evaluation and subsequent treatment plan. For
instance, a mild articulation disorder might necessitate two half-hour sessions weekly for
3-6 months. Conversely, a more signicant articulation disorder may require a longer
duration due to the complexity of sounds or phonological processes targeted in the
treatment plan. Children with autism spectrum disorder may typically receive sessions
lasting between half an hour to 45 minutes, contingent upon the severity of the
associated language disorder. Treatment duration could range from 6 months to several
years, depending on the number of goals to be addressed as the child progresses through
each level of objectives. Thus, recommendations are individualized based on the
evaluation.
c. The frequency and duration of therapy sessions for a child depend on their unique
needs and treatment plan. Recommended weekly sessions can vary from once to four times per week. Typically, most clients are scheduled for twice-weekly sessions.
We strive to match requested therapists with children whenever possible. However,
there may be occasions where this is not feasible due to scheduling limitations or the
specic requirements of the child. Rest assured, your child will be attended to by a
highly skilled and qualied therapist.
b. Each of our therapists is extensively qualied in their specialized eld. Moreover, many
have pursued further education and training in specic areas. When assigning a
therapist to your child, we rely on the information you provide to ensure the best match
for your child's needs. It's our policy to never assign a therapist who lacks comfort or
experience in a particular area to a child requiring treatment in that domain.
Indeed, each policy varies and is tailored with input from your employer if you're
insured through your job. Consequently, some plans oer more comprehensive
coverage for speech and occupational therapy. It's crucial to discuss important benets
with your Human Resources Department regarding your family's needs. While we are a
network provider for your insurance, we can gladly verify benets for you; however, this
doesn't guarantee coverage