Occupational disorders
Pediatric occupational therapy helps children develop, recover, or gain independence in activities of daily living while also strengthening the development of fine motor, sensory-motor, visual motor, and functional cognitive (thinking) skills. These skills are necessary for children to perform everyday activities and socialize in their home, school, play, and community.
Our pediatric occupational program can provide significant benefits for:
A variety of tools/devices are used to assist a child complete tasks with ease and gain independence.
A disorder characterized by a persistent pattern of inattention or hyperactivity-impulsivity which makes it difficult to be organized, stay focused, follow directions, or control behavior (think before acting).
A neurological and developmental disorder that is characterized by challenges with communication and social skills. The expected outcome of treatment is to improve the child’s ability to play appropriately with toys, decrease sensory issues, improve eye-hand coordination for play and learning, and become more independent by learning self-help and self-care skills.
Movement difficulties are caused by damage to the motor control centers of the brain. Cerebral palsy may affect fine and gross motor skills, oral motor functioning, communication, cognition, vision, and sensation.
Not reaching developmental milestones by the expected age. Delay may occur in the way a child moves, communicates, thinks and learns, or behaves with others.
A genetic condition involving an extra chromosome that delays an affected child’s physical and intellectual development.
The movements made using the small muscles in the wrists, hands, and fingers. These skills are needed for everyday activities such as buttoning, tying shoelaces, playing with Legos, handwriting, cutting, among other activities.
Written language is a complex process that uses fine motor, visual-motor, and perception skills. Children with handwriting difficulties write illegible, have trouble staying within the lines on the paper, make letters too big or too small, complain of pain/tired hand, fingers, or wrist when writing, among other difficulties.
Improve strength and endurance of upper body (e.g., trunk, shoulder, and arm) and hand muscles for improved posture and fine motor skills.
Activities of daily living such as toileting, dressing, feeding, bathing, hand washing, tooth brushing, and hair brushing.
The way the brain receives, organizes, and responds to sensory input.
Inability to properly respond to and use sensory information (e.g., sensory sensitivity, sensory seeking, and low registration).
The process of receiving sensory information through our senses (e.g., vision, hearing, smell, taste, touch, vestibular, and proprioception) and producing motor movements in response to that information.
Ability to coordinate visual information with motor output to complete tasks (i.e., eye-hand coordination).
Ability to recognize, organize, recall, discriminate, and interpret the information we see.
Required for activities such as cutting with scissors, coloring, writing, buttoning, using feeding utensils, among others.
Sensory-motor processing and integration
Recommendation, training, and use of adaptive equipment
Our occupational therapists use play, therapeutic activities, and special techniques to close the gaps in development so that our children can be successful with all their occupations. They also provide recommendations for adaptive equipment and training in its use, when necessary. Treatment plans and goals are developed and implemented based on the findings of the evaluation.
We can help with physical difficulties.
Pediatric physical therapy helps children in reaching their maximum potential and become more independent by enhancing core stability, extremity function, and gross motor ability.
