An occupational therapist assesses the underlying skills that are required to complete a task & provides a therapeutic intervention which address the child's needs.
What is occupational therapy?
Occupational Therapy helps clients achieve independence & quality of life through engagement in occupations which are meaningful and necessary activities of their everyday life. For children, those occupations include play, school/learning, self-care tasks, socializing, and any other routine activities a child may participate in throughout the day.
Who benefits from occupational therapy?
The goal of the Occupational Therapy team at Rochester Center for Children is to maximize each individual's quality of life and potential for independence in their routine daily activities. Autism (ASD), ADHD/ADD, Developmental Delay, Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD), and Hypotonia are a few of the diagnoses we commonly encounter in the children we see. Some indications that your child may benefit from occupational therapy include:
- Developmental delays as an infant, toddler, or preschooler
- Poor balance and coordination
- Decreased strength & endurance with gross or fine motor activities
- Struggling with fine motor tasks such as using two hands together, operating buttons & zippers, and opening containers
- Difficulty in self-care tasks like dressing, feeding themselves, tying shoes, hygiene routines, cooking, etc
- Avoids playing with others or has difficulty socializing with peers
- Struggles with writing
- Has trouble paying attention and following directions
Common treatment approaches
Depending on the challenges identified during the evaluation process, there are a variety of treatment approaches that can be utilized in reaching your individual goals. These include:
- Fine & gross motor coordination
- Visual motor skills
- Activities of daily living functional training
- Sensory based treatment
- Handwriting without tears
- Zones of regulation
- Biomechanical strategies
- Neurodevelopment strategies
- Adaptive equipment training
- Cognitive-behavioral strategies