What is Occupational Therapy (OT)?
Occupational therapy focuses on people and their occupations. Occupations are the everyday tasks and activities that occupy our time. Everything from getting dressed, playing, learning at school, showering or bathing ourselves, socialising, hobbies, sleep etc. These are all our occupations.
Sometimes there are barriers such as illness, disease, emotional dysregulation, sensory processing difficulties, motor skill difficulties, developmental differences or disabilities that prevent us from completing our occupations independently or in the way we would like to do them. Occupational therapists support people in overcoming barriers, and empower people to live happy and meaningful lives. Occupational therapists work across many different settings and have different specialisations. An OT's lens focuses on the whole person, their occupations and their environment. Occupational therapists work with their clients to find their best person-occupation-environment fit to enable occupational performance. To do this an OT may adapt the occupation, use simple or complex equipment, make modifications to the environment and support the person to learn new skills.
Would My Child Benefit From OT?
Common difficulties Paediatric Occupational Therapy can help with include:
- Difficulties learning new skills
- Avoiding physical play and some types of movement or play equipment
- Difficulties with balance, e.g. using stairs, riding a bike
- Frequent emotional outbursts or meltdowns
- Appearing clumsy, frequently tripping over or bumping into things
- Difficulties adapting to change
- Impulsive behaviour
- Difficulties coping when things don't go to plan
- Fatigue or low endurance
- Difficulties with handwriting or reading
- Anxious about attending school
- Difficulties sitting still in the classroom or at the dinner table
- Difficulties making friends
- Difficulties with attention and focus
- Difficulties handling their emotions (regulation)
- Does not understand personal space
- Difficulty with self-care tasks such as dressing, bathing, eating
- Avoids or seeks certain textures, e.g. hair brushing or showering
- Overwhelmed by noises
- And many more
How Can OT Support My Child?
Sensory Processing
Emotional Regulation
Emotional Regulation
Sensory processing refers to the way our brain receives, organises and responds to sensory input such as sight, smell, taste, touch, and sound. Our brain also processes vestibular input (responsible for balance), input from outside our body, in relation to where our body is in space (proprioception), and information from inside our body , e.g. my bladder is full (interoception).
Emotional Regulation
Emotional Regulation
Emotional Regulation
Difficulties with sensory processing, fatigue, unexpected outcomes or changes are just some things that can make our kids cups overflow and emotions difficult to regulate. Dysregulation can also look different, for e.g. a calm presenting child can actually be overwhelmed and frozen. Sensory accommodations, education, connection, co-regulation and other strategies can support regulation.
Fine Motor Skills
Emotional Regulation
Gross Motor Skills
Motor skills requiring postural stability and the use of small muscles in the hands, wrists and fingers to perform precise motor movements. These skills are essential for many occupations such as dressing (buttons, zips, shoelaces), handwriting, eating (knife and fork), opening lunch boxes or drink bottles, self-care, play and learning tasks.
Gross Motor Skills
Emotional Regulation
Gross Motor Skills
Motor skills which require postural stability (core muscles), endurance and large muscles to move our whole body and keep us upright. These skills are essential to perform everyday occupations, such as sitting in the classroom, playing in the playground, playing sports, dressing, sitting on the toilet or at the table, running and jumping.
Executive Function
Executive Function
Executive Function
The cognitive (mental) work involved in guiding and managing our occupations, safety and daily lives.
Executive functioning is required for starting and completing tasks, decision making, behaviour, planning, prioritising, organisation, attention, impulse control, flexibility, self-regulation and problem solving.
Confidence
Executive Function
Executive Function
We support our clients in gaining a greater understanding and appreciation for their wonderful selves. We seek to empower children by promoting their independence, collaborating with them and the people who support them, building skills, discovering individualised strategies, and educating others to increase understanding and acceptance.
Self-Care
Executive Function
Play Skills
Self-care is the occupation of hygiene and grooming, such as having a bath or shower, brushing your teeth or hair and washing your hands. Completion of these tasks requires motor skills, sequencing skills and following a routine (executive functions). Sensory sensitivities (for e.g. tactile) can also impact self-care.
Play Skills
Executive Function
Play Skills
Play and playing with others is incredibly important for children. Not only do children learn about themselves and the world through play, they also learn and build skills the quickest through play. Which is why we play so much in OT!
Skills learnt through play such as sharing, turn taking, collaboration, negotiation, and problem solving are required for social skills and relationships.