Occupational Therapists are trained in completing activity analysis, which means breaking a task down step by step and identifying all needed components to complete. From there, an OT is able to determine a child’s strengths and challenges and begin to develop a plan on what skills need to be addressed in order to complete desired activities with more independence and success.
Occupational therapists are able to provide a skilled lens on progressing a child’s abilities and structure activities to be the “just right challenge” while maximizing independence. The goal is to have the child completing as much as one can on their own and scaffolding support needed to achieve the desired outcome.
OT can help your child gain independence in daily routines, including but not limited to developing the following:
- Fine motor skills (handwriting, managing utensils, clothing fasteners, grasp and release for functional play)
- Body awareness and coordination
- Motor planning (core strength, postural control and stability
- Primitive reflex integration
- Sensory regulation and modulating input from the environment
- Visual motor skills (ball skills, hand-eye coordination, visual perception
- Self-help/independence in daily self-care routines
- Executive functioning skills
- Emotional regulation/behavioral management
