Occupational Therapy

Occupational Therapy

Occupational therapy (OT) helps people who struggle with everyday tasks. It’s a treatment to improve motor skills, balance, and coordination. OT can help kids get better at doing basic tasks, which can improve their self-esteem. OT is a treatment that works to improve fine and gross motor skills and motor planning. It can also help kids who struggle with self-regulation and sensory processing.

The therapy is tailored to a child’s specific needs. Before it begins, an occupational therapist (an OT) looks at a child’s strengths and challenges, and the tasks that child has trouble with. The OT will then create a program of activities for the child to work on.

• Here are the tasks and skills occupational therapy might focus on:
• Self-care routines like getting dressed (fine motor skills and motor planning).
• Writing and copying notes (fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination).
• Holding and controlling a pencil, using scissors (fine motor skills, motor planning).
• Throwing and catching (gross motor skills like balance and coordination).
• Organizing a backpack (motor planning, organization skills).
• Reacting to sensory input (self-regulation skills).

Kids with certain challenges often need OT. One condition that impacts motor skills is developmental coordination disorder (sometimes called dyspraxia.) There are a number of activities therapists might use to help improve skills.