Pediatric Occupational Therapy
Pediatric Occupational Therapy is treatment to help children attain their full potential in many facets of life. Occupational Therapy helps patients build the "skills for the job of living." Children need to have sensory processing and motor skills for their age appropriate occupations of self-help, play, academics, and handwriting skills. They need to achieve self-confidence and social-emotional well-being.
Treatment is provided to children who have difficulty reaching developmental milestones due to medical conditions that interfere with their physical development, muscle coordination, sensory awareness, and communication or learning abilities. Services include individual evaluation and treatment.
Conditions treated include:
- Autism
- Balance/Coordination problems
- Brain injury
- Cerebral palsy
- Spina bifida
- Chromosomal abnormalities
- Developmental disabilities
- Muscle tone imbalance
- Sensory processing disorders (over-or under-sensitive to movement, sounds, touch, taste, and sight)
- Difficulties with focus/attention
- Behavior problems (oppositional meltdowns, difficulties with transitioning from setting to setting, or task to task)
- Handwriting problems
Services include an individualized treatment plan to improve a child's ability to carry out activities of daily living such as dressing, bathing, eating, schoolwork, handwriting, staying on task with daily routines and social play skills.
Family participation is highly encouraged at every step of the evaluation and treatment process. Families are directly involved in setting goals, working with the child in therapy sessions and continuing therapy at home.
Activities focus on:
- Upper body strength and stability
- Eye hand coordination
- Visual motor integration
- Trunk stability
- Midline control
- Self-regulation
- Play skills