What Is Occupational Therapy?
Occupational therapy (OT) treatment focuses on helping people with physical, sensory, or cognitive disabilities be as independent as possible in all areas of their lives. OT can help kids with various needs improve their cognitive, physical, sensory, and motor skills and enhance their self-esteem and sense of accomplishment.
A child's main job is playing and learning, and occupational therapists can evaluate kids' skills for playing, school performance, and daily activities and compare them with what is developmentally appropriate for that age group.
According to the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), in addition to dealing with someone's physical well-being, OT practitioners address psychological, social, and environmental factors that can affect functioning in different ways. This approach makes OT a vital part of health care for some kids.
Occupational therapists might:
help kids work on fine motor skills so they can grasp and release toys and develop good handwriting skills
address hand-eye coordination to improve kids' play and school skills (hitting a target, batting a ball, copying from a blackboard, etc.)
help kids with severe developmental delays learn basic tasks (such as bathing, getting dressed, brushing their teeth, and feeding themselves)
help kids with behavioral disorders maintain positive behaviors in all environments (e.g., instead of hitting others or acting out, we teach them to use positive ways to deal with anger, such as writing about feelings or participating in a physical activity)
teach kids with physical disabilities the coordination skills needed to feed themselves, use a computer, or increase the speed and legibility of their handwriting
evaluate a child's need for specialized equipment, such as wheelchairs, splints, bathing equipment, dressing devices, or communication aids
work with kids who have sensory and attention issues to improve focus and social skills
