You Might Need Occupational Therapy If…
Common Issues Addressed in OT
Do you have a hyper child, with seemingly boundless energy?
Occupational Therapy helps create custom activities (sensory diets) to challenge their sensory systems and calm their nervous system.
Too many meltdowns?
Occupational Therapy helps assess, figure out the reason why, and develop a plan to deal with the social, emotional, sensory and parental aspects of dealing with a meltdown. OT helps differentiate between a meltdown and a tantrum.
Your child can't do up buttons, laces or dress themselves?
OT helps to break down the task into smaller chunks, helps adapt and grade the task to build skill, strength and coordination, and trains the parent(s) to implement these strategies at home.
Practice isn't making printing perfect?
When repetition isn’t improving printing legibility or speed, there may be other contributing factors. Your Occupational Therapist can assess visual, motor and coordination difficulties and remediate or accomoadate these areas.
Is your child more than a picky eater?
How restrictive is your child’s diet? Is it different from other same-aged children? Is it impacting your ability to enjoy life as a family? Your OT can help tease out the contributing factors and make a plan to go forward.
Is your child sensitive to tags and fabrics?
There are many reasons why a child will react to fabrics and tags on clothing. OTs are trained in activity analysis and help you figure out the source of the difficulty and put a plan in place to help you move forward.
Need adaptations to participate in sports, dance or music?
No one should be excluded from participating in an activity that brings them joy! OTs can help adapt a sport or other activity so that your child can belong to a team just like everyone else!
Unsure if your child is developing normally?
OTs can assess your child for normative development, assess whether they need referral to alternative services, and give you the skills you need to help your child progress. OTs can give peace of mind.
Don't know what to do for/about a pupil in your classroom?
OTs are available to consult with teachers about children who need extra help accessing the curriculum. Private OTs can consult with the School Health OTs and share important information.
Is bedtime a fight at your house?
Are conventional methods not working to help your child sleep? Does your child wake up still tired after sleeping all night? Your OT can give you suggestions to ease the bedtime battles.
Does your child need self-regulation skills?
Self-regulation depends on the ability to sense ones own internal state and respond to it appropriately. OTs help you identify this state accurately and make a plan to respond to it.
Are personal care skills more challenging for your child? Do they 'freak out' when you have to brush their hair or have a bath / shower?
Performing self-care skills is a necessary part of life, but screaming while it happens is not! OTs can help you figure out how and what to adapt to help your child do these tasks that don’t involve a battle.