Attention span and arousal level
Attention span; Sensory processing skills; Fine motor and gross motor skills; Activities of daily living; Visual-perceptual skills; Handwriting; Assistive technology.
If a child isn't interested, fidgets constantly, or simply doesn't look at what she is doing, she can't learn effectively. An OT will help you discover what motivates your child, makes his body ready to learn (that is, what helps him keep still, calm, and alert), and to pay attention and stay focused.
Sensory processing skills
A child needs to effectively use information derived from all the senses that pick up input from the environment (vision, hearing, touch, smell, and taste) as well as from inside the body (movement and internal body awareness). All this input must be registered by sensory receptors, processed in the brain, and acted upon in an adaptive way for a child to function at her best.
Fine motor and gross motor skills
Many children have difficulty with fine motor skills such as drawing, using scissors, buttoning, and stringing beads. Their small hand muscles are still maturing, and they may not have developed the strength, coordination, and dexterity they need. OTs also work on gross motor skills that use "larger" muscles, such as throwing and catching a ball, climbing stairs and playground equipment, jumping and hopping, and so on.
Activities of daily living
Children have lots of ADL tasks to master, and most children love becoming independent with these tasks. OTs help children learn to eat with utensils, drink from a cup, get dressed and undressed, take a shower or bath, use the toilet, and handle grooming and hygiene tasks age-appropriately.
Visual-perceptual Motor skills
From stacking blocks to doing puzzles to understanding geometry, a child must be able to perceive differences and relationships between objects in the environment. An OT can help a child to form a mental map of how the world works and where he fits in it, all of which are essential to feeling physically and emotionally secure.
Assistive technology
Low-tech devices (like pencil grips and slantboards) and high-tech equipment (like adapted computers) are increasingly used in schools. If your child needs them, he has a legal right to use them. An OT can help you to find the right AT for your child, teach him how to use it, and help integrate it into the classroom. Many OTs work with kids with mild to profound physical disabilities, helping them function at their best using wheelchairs and other ambulatory devices as well as helping non-verbal children access communication devices that help them communicate with the world.
As pediatric occupational and physical therapists, we pride ourselves on offering early intervention for children in the natural environment, including approaches such as neurodevelopmental treatment and sensory integration as well as many state of the art treatment approaches. Check out each section of our site. Our resource section is always being expanded and updated as we discover more information we would like to share with you. The families that we meet and become involved with seem to be our most valuable source of information. We'd love to meet you, so please drop us an e-mail or give us a call anytime.
Contact information:
o Huck Ho, MA, OTR/L: Huckho@eicb.org
NDT Pediatric Trained Therapist
Program Director
o Markus Jarrow, OTR/L: Mjarrow@eicb.org
NDT Pediatric Trained Therapist
Occupational Therapist
