Home/Occupational Therapy
If your child has Autism, ADD/ADHD, SPD, Down syndrome, there’s a possibility that he/she might have difficulty processing and regulating different types of internal and external stimuli. Most times they require accommodations that will help them adapt to do things on their own. Occupational Therapist will help the family to create a routine that will make it easier for your child to learn different activities and tasks. Children learn new skills through age-appropriate play and games. Upon completing an assessment, OT will plan a 1:1 treatment for your hypo/hyper-responsive child using appropriate media (aqua-sensory, sound, Kinesthetic, etc.) and incorporating strategies and techniques that enables your child to function independently.
Visual Motor integration difficulty is among the reasons young people struggle with handwriting eligibility in school. Visual motor coordination allows us to move our hands and eyes in a coordinated manner. If your child is struggling and tilting his/her neck/head when looking at an object, his/her handwriting will suffer. Occupational therapist is trained to clinically observe your child to determine if there is an underlying issue impacting your child’s ability to form letters. Occupational Therapist will develop strategies which would include anxiety management, hand strengthening, grip, body posture, positioning, etc. to meet your child’s handwriting needs.
Occupational Therapist will provide free screening to determine if a standardized assessment is necessary. If your child shows developmental delays in either of these areas such as, Gross, and Fine motor coordination, Self-care/ADLs, Cognitive and Adaptive skills, Play and Social skills, Sensory attending and regulatory skills, Communication and auditory perceptual skills, Self-Feeding, and Visual perceptual skills, etc. when compared with children same age, Occupational therapist will complete a comprehensive assessment to provide individualized treatment.
Play skill is very vital for children because they learn through play. Should your child play alone? Is your child able to take turns during small group? Kids enjoy role play and sometimes show desire for social attention. When children are directed to their preferred play activity, shown how to play cooperatively starting 1:1 and gradually introduces more friends, they tend to improve from playing alone to sharing and playing with a small group. Occupational Therapist will facilitate activities and games that will enable your child to interact with peers and eventually develop communication skills.
Your child may seem hyperactive, withdrawn, and or even present with silly behaviors that might get him/her in trouble every so often in school if not checked. Your child’s ability to understand and manage his/her emotions and things happening around him/her can be challenging for some kids. Your child’s need may require creating a designated/safe heaven or a physical activity that would encourage calming and relaxing. Occupational Therapist will determine individualized strategies to help your child attain their desired goals.
Is your child easily soothed by a familiar voice or respond to different tone of voice? Does he/she follow simple verbal command? Respond to “who or what question after reading a familiar book? If you answered “No” to these questions, call us for an evaluation to determine if your child qualifies to see the Occupational Therapist or be referred to a Speech Therapist.
If your child is having difficulty drinking from a cup, taking strained food from a spoon, and /or difficulty holding arms/legs out during dressing, teeth-brushing, toileting, and hygiene, contact Occupational Therapist who will use everyday tasks and age-appropriate toys to assist your child learn these skills.
Early oral motor intervention has shown to improve food tolerance in young children born with neuromotor challenges. Children with developmental delays often have feeding issues due to oral motor problems. If you child often coughs and/or chokes while eating, let your pediatrician know. Occupational therapist will help the caregiver with strategies that will improve your child’s food tolerance if he/she is still bottle feeding past 14 months; not advancing in food with different texture, food refusal and selectivity, and will help to increase your child’s food choices. OTs are equipped with the knowledge to coach new parents with posture, oral desensitization and stimulation, and food prep inclusion.
Motor Coordination is a person’s ability to use his/her body parts for different movement purposes. A child’s ability to climb in/out of a couch requires motor planning and execution. If your child has difficulty maintaining upright posture when seated, unable to rollover, breaks fall by extending arms and elbows when tilted, attempt to grasp, and bang objects on surfaces, turns and dump items in a container, then you need to contact the Occupational therapist who will complete a comprehensive assessment to provide individualized treatment.
Contact your occupational therapist if your child is unable to visually attend to a light source, seems unaware of a presented object or attend to age-appropriate games. If your child is unable to ask for a desired item with words or gestures, OT will use familiar toys/games to engage his/her interest while helping to improve problem solving and attending skills.