Occupational Therapy

 

        Most of the time we spend with your child is during 1: 1 treatment sessions, where we focus on set goals, as well as any concerns that arise each week.

Each OT session is 45-50 minutes of 1: 1 therapy, 5-10 minutes of parent education and 5 minutes to document the session. Sessions are reserved for 1 hour.

 

        Occupational therapists (OT) work with infants, children and youth, with different diagnoses, to improve their physical, cognitive, emotional, sensory and motor skills. OTs use various functional activities to promote a child's growth in order to meet developmental milestones, succeed in a school environment, improve social and play skills, and daily activities.

 

OT's focus on promotion;

Self-care skills (i.e. feeding, dressing, going to the bathroom, bathing)

School environment (i.e. classroom needs, fine motor skills, visual motor coordination, visual perception skills, printing skills, pencil grip, cutting skills, sensory processing skills, organizational skills, executive functioning skills).

Game / leisure activities (i.e. gross motor skills, game skills, socialization)

 

How do I know if my child needs occupational therapy services?

          If you have concerns with your child's progression through developmental milestones, it is best to initially discuss your concerns with your GP or pediatrician. You can also contact an occupational therapist to discuss your concerns.

 

           Occupational therapists use various techniques based on neurological, sensory and / or behavioral developmental approaches to assess a child's strengths and areas of concern. Occupational therapists work with the child's family to identify specific areas of intervention and develop a treatment plan.

 

Your child may show one or more of the following:

My son seems weak or lazy.

It seems that my child has weak hands and / or tires easily when completing fine motor tasks.

My son has a hard time handling smaller objects.

My child has difficulties with printing tasks (i.e. letter formation, size and spacing).

My son uses a poor pencil grip

My son shows poor motor visual coordination skills

My son shows poor visual perception skills.

My son shows bad organizational skills.

My child has difficulties with personal care tasks (i.e. problems using eating utensils, difficulty handling buttons and zippers for dressing, going to the bathroom, bathing).

My son seems to have difficulties with sensory processing skills.

My son seems clumsy, bumps into walls or furniture

My child has difficulties with eating and textures (that is, he is picky / picky)

My son refuses to walk barefoot on the grass or does not like to play in the sand

My son seems too active and has a hard time calming down

My son overreacts to touch, smell, movement, sound, smell, light.

My son seems to be the quiet one who easily forgets, less receptive