Occupational Therapy? What’s That?
Introduction
There are many therapies available to children to help them progress in their development. I know we’re often talking about speech therapy, but let’s talk about occupational therapy (OT).
What is OT?
So what exactly is occupational therapy? OT focuses on an individual's ability to participate in everyday life activities. This includes all of the things that they want and need to do every day, such as taking care of oneself (e.g., eating, dressing, bathing), working, participating in a classroom at school, and more. Occupational therapists enable people of all ages to live life to its fullest. Read more about occupational therapy on the American Occupational Therapy Association website.
What Skills Can OT Services Address with Children?
Generally speaking, OT services support a child’s needs in these areas: fine motor skills, gross motor skills, and motor planning, as well as improving coordination, balance, self-regulation skills, and sensory needs so the child can better participate in everyday life activities. These skills include participating in school, social situations, and other daily life activities.
Fine and Gross Motor Skills
Occupational therapy also addresses motor skills and planning. Gross motor skill involves the movement of larger muscles such as legs and arms whereas fine muscle skills involve the use of small muscles in the forearm and fingers.
Fine motor skills involve using smaller muscle groups, such as those in the hands and fingers, to perform small movements. Fine motor skills require more coordination and precision than gross motor skills. Examples of fine motor skills include buttoning and unbuttoning clothes, zipping a zipper, tying shoelaces, using utensils to eat, using tools, manipulating puzzle pieces, cutting with scissors, coloring,writing, and opening or closing containers.
Gross motor skills involve using larger muscle groups, such as those in the arms and legs, to perform larger, more general movements. These skills require the coordination of multiple body parts and are essential for activities requiring balance, endurance, and strength. Examples of gross motor skills include crawling, walking, running, jumping, throwing, and climbing. Kids having trouble with these skills may experience difficulty in crawling, walking, running, jumping, skipping, using stairs, and bicycling. Occupational therapy exercises and activities can be used to help teach and improve these motor skills.
Motor Planning
Motor Planning is the act of problem solving and moving the body to navigate and carry out an action. Motor planning skills are necessary to complete everyday tasks. There are so many activities that you complete every day and each of these actions requires a movement, or a series of movements to complete. Motor planning includes gross motor movements and fine motor movements working together in a coordinated manner. Examples of daily activities that involve motor planning include walking up and down steps, maneuvering around something that may be blocking a path, tooth brushing, hair brushing, and performing actions necessary for playing sports such as kicking a ball or swinging a bat. Motor planning difficulties are evident when the steps to complete actions are significantly labored, if the task is completed poorly or not at all, or if a child has difficulty participating in movement based activity. Motor planning difficulties can lead to decreased social opportunities, anxious behavior, and trouble with social skills.
Activities of daily living
General activities of daily life can be addressed throughout occupational therapy. OT can address development of any self-help skills that may come easily to others. These activities can include but are not limited to brushing hair, brushing teeth, toileting, getting dressed, using fasteners like buttons and zippers, and holding crayons/pencils. Your occupational therapist will identify your child’s specific needs and how it’s impacting their ability to participate in these everyday activities. Then, they’ll work with the parent to create an individualized treatment plan to support your child.
Self-regulation and Sensory Needs
Occupational therapy is also helpful to children with sensory needs. Sensory processing disorder is characterized by difficulty processing information from the basic five senses (sight, smell, touch, hear, and taste). Children with sensory needs may experience both over-sensitivity and/or under-sensitivity, and it can differ by environment. This may lead children to have difficulty in paying attention and they may get distracted and upset by loud sounds, such as car horns or fire alarms. They may also try to avoid loud activities, such as recess, due to overstimulation. Occupational therapy can help children with sensory needs develop and improve the skills needed to be successful in various situations and environments.
There are so many benefits to OT services. If your child is having difficulty with any activities of daily living, fine or gross motor skills, coordination, balance, and more, we have experienced professionals who will evaluate and implement an individualized treatment plan to support your child’s specific needs. We are happy to help you! Contact us for more information and to schedule an evaluation.