Occupational therapy (OT) is well-known for helping people regain skills and independence after surgery or an illness.
Did you know that occupational therapy also can help children with a variety of challenges at home, school and on the playground?
Occupational therapists want parents to know that this therapy makes a big difference in a child’s life – whether it’s getting along with peers, eating a more varied diet, mastering daily life skills like getting dressed and going to bed, or staying focused during the school day.
“When we talk about OT for children, it’s helping them with everything that relates to their functioning as a child and all of the things that occupy their time being a child,” said Mikaela Brock, a pediatric occupational therapist at UCHealth SportsMed Pediatric Therapy Clinic in Steamboat Springs.
While most people associate OT with helping patients recovering from illness and accidents return to the workplace and their home, the field has long been assisting children with all the things that “occupy” their time, too.
“We’ve been helping children for many years, but there are still a lot of parents who don’t know how much OT can assist their child with difficulties they may be experiencing,” Brock said. “OT, as it relates to pediatrics, focuses on enhancing their chance to succeed at home and at school, as it helps them feel good about themselves.”
How can OT help my child?
Most children that Brock sees range in age from 6 to 15. Through sensory integration therapy, children develop coping strategies that help them process information, respond appropriately and regulate emotions.
Additionally, OT can increase overall internal organization, focus and attention; improve sensory processing; desensitize sensory difficulties; and instill confidence, trust and self-esteem.
“We individualize the techniques to each child’s needs: What are they seeking, what are they avoiding, what do we need to address,” Brock said. “Some children just need a few sessions, others need more.”
OT can help children:
- Maintain personal space with peers.
- Participate in appropriate daily tasks at school, at play and at home.
- Expand his or her diet.
- Develop appropriate responses to the emotions of others.
Children who begin OT at an earlier age likely will be able to better interact with their world and navigate through difficult situations at school and at home.
“When your sensory system is dysregulated, you are at a heightened state and you can’t properly be with friends, do your work or gain the appropriate skills and coping mechanisms that you need as you get older,” she said.
Along with skill building, occupational therapists can help a child develop gross and fine motor skills, vision skills and emotional regulation.
Is occupational therapy a good option for my child?
A parent will typically have a gut feeling that something is “not quite right” with the way their child is operating within their environment.
The first step is to confer with a pediatrician who can make an OT referral. These concerns might include a child who is:
- Not reaching developmental milestones.
- Not able to complete daily self-care living tasks such as getting out of bed, toileting, bathing, dressing, brushing teeth and going to sleep.
- Not able to successfully play and socialize with peers, perform at school or complete household chores.
Occupational therapists also can work with children diagnosed with developmental delays, autism, Down syndrome, ADD or ADHD, and other sensory processing issues.
“We help parents meet their child where they’re at,” Brock said. “We all have expectations and hopes for our child’s future, and when things happen, it helps to have an open mind to strategies to help that child succeed – even if that looks a little different than what we envisioned. As occupational therapists, we do our best to support your child in giving them what they need to get where they need to be.”