What is Occupational Therapy?

The term “occupation” refers to those essential activities that make up our daily lives and allow us to live a meaningful life as well as survive. Examples of occupations are: self-care, work (or play), and leisure.

Occupational Therapists believe that occupations (or activities) help describe who you are and how you feel about yourself. If you are unable to do the things you need or want to do to live and enjoy your life, your general well-being may be affected.

For children, some examples of important and meaningful occupations that are essential to their roles are:

  • feeding and eating
  • dressing
  • taking a bath or taking care of personal hygiene
  • drawing, printing and handwriting
  • sitting still in the classroom and following instructions
  • doing home work
  • playing by themselves or with friends
  • holding a pencil to color, print or write
  • riding a bike

When a child is unable to perform these occupations due to any given disabilities or special developmental challenges, Occupational Therapists will assess and investigate the barriers in three domains: (1) the nature of the occupation/activity, (2) the environment or context where the occupation/activity takes place, (3) and the child’s ability level.

By identifying and addressing the barriers in these domains, a therapist will be able to best facilitate a person’s independence. For children, there is significant focus on the child’s ability, to facilitate their development in motor, sensory, perceptual, social and cognitive areas.

The areas typically addressed by an Occupational Therapist working with children are:

  • Gross Motor skills
  • Fine Motor skills
  • Visual Motor Coordination
  • Visual-Spatial Perception
  • Pre-Writing & Handwriting skills
  • Sensory Processing

Occupational Therapy services are tailored to the needs of each child and involve a variety of graded activities following a play-based treatment philosophy. Occupational Therapy treatment focuses on promoting the functional independence of the child. The treatment is multi-sensory, play-based and delivered in a fun atmosphere. Children are given graded activities to encourage their feeling of success and to enhance their self-confidence and self-esteem.

Note: Parents may be provided with optional take home exercises to enhance treatment outcome.