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What is Occupational Therapy?

Occupational Therapy (OT) helps people from all ages and walks of life with what they want to do, need to do, or have to do. Occupational therapists look at the set of skills that an individual has, what their environment is like, and the activities that they do to best help that person participate in those activities. Just a few of the places an OT can be found are at a hospital, helping a stroke survivor learn how to be independent at home, at an elementary school helping a student with writing or self regulation skills, or at an office, adjusting a worker’s environment to decrease stress and injury. 

 

Here at Touched by an Angel, our OTs can help children participate in their meaningful activities. 

Some of these activities include:

 

PLAY 

Playing is how babies, toddlers, and children learn to socialize, engage in their environment, and build strength and endurance. Our therapists put play at the forefront of therapy. By highlighting play during therapy sessions, children can feel confident in participating in tasks that may be challenging. 

 

ADAPTIVE BEHAVIOR

Adaptive behavior are the skills a child has to participate in everyday activities. These include skills such as grooming, dressing, and feeding (to be discussed in the next section). OTs break down individual components of these activities to address these skills, so that children can gain the skills necessary to participate in these activities. 

 

FEEDING

Although feeding is one of the first things we learn how to do, it is also one of the most complex and challenging activities that we participate in. OTs can help address challenges with feeding in children, whether it’s because of sensory aversion to textures, challenges with feeding routines, or oral-motor needs. 

 

FINE MOTOR

Fine motor skills are our ability to use our hands to meaningfully manipulate objects in our environment. For kids, this may mean picking up cheerios one-by-one to eat, or opening and closing containers. OTs find fun activities to engage children in building fine motor skills to best meet the fine motor demands of their environment. 

 

GROSS MOTOR

Gross motor skills involve the use of large muscle groups to participate in activities. Children use their gross motor skills to do things like throwing balls, carrying a lunch tray, or crawling through a tunnel. Gross motor skills are foundational to fine motor skills, as it is through the use of our larger muscles that we are able to stabilize our bodies to perform precise tasks. OTs work on building gross motor skills to lay the grounds to participate in more complex, everyday activities.

 

SENSORY

Our sensations tell us what is happening inside and outside our bodies. Sometimes, individuals experience sensations that make being regulated more challenging. For children, this can mean becoming easily upset when touching something sticky, or feeling overwhelmed when there are too many lights or sounds. OTs can help children become more regulated by building awareness or tolerance to challenges with sensation. 

 

SOCIAL EMOTIONAL

Beginning in infancy, individuals build the foundations for regulating their emotions and learning how to interact with others. OTs work to improve regulation and socialization through a variety of techniques. This can include the use of sensory strategies, therapeutic use of self, and play. 

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