Could my child benefit from Occupational Therapy?

Occupational Therapists support children experiencing challenges that interfere with their ability to safely and successfully partake in daily activities at home, school, or in the community.

These activities may include:

-Adaptive skills such as dressing, bathing, eating or feeding themselves

-Getting to sleep or sleeping through the night

-Playing with toys or completing puzzles

-Completing arts and crafts or other school-based activities

-Playing at the playground

-Attending a birthday party or family outing

-Any activity that is meaningful to your child and family!

 

OTs can help address difficulties including:

-Fine motor skills

  • -Gross motor skills
  • -Visual processing
  • -Sensory processing
  • -Social-Emotional skills
  • -Attentional skills
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Your child may benefit from OT if he or she….

Motor

  • -Is not achieving developmental milestones (i.e. rolling, sitting up, crawling, walking, feeding self)
  • -Has difficulty holding a crayon or marker, cutting with scissors, drawing or writing name
  • -Has trouble keeping up with peers on the playground (i.e., climbing, skipping, running, jumping)
  • -Seems clumsy, uncoordinated (e.g., bumping into walls and objects, laying body on others)
  • -Has difficulty picking up or manipulating small items, zipping a jacket, tying shoes
  • -Does not show hand dominance and/or has difficulty understanding left and right
  • -Has trouble throwing, aiming, and catching a ball
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Attention

  • -Has challenges following a routine or learning an activity with multiple steps
  • -Requires a lot of support to start, stop, and/or switch activities or environments
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Social-Emotional

  • -Has difficulty taking turns, sharing, playing with other children; may not pick up on social cues
  • -Experiences frequent, prolonged, or intense tantrums; seems to go from 0-100 and may take a long time to calm down again
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Sensory Processing

  • -Demonstrates difficulty sitting for periods of time or is constantly on the move
  • -Needs to touch everything around them
  • -Seems overly sensitive to certain sensory experiences (e.g. noises, clothing textures, bright lights)
  • -Appears excessively cautious or fearful of movement (swinging, jumping, climbing)
  • -Avoids getting messy or dirty; avoids eating or touching certain textures
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Call NTC at 202-470-4185 or speak with an OT about your concerns today!