Pediatric Occupational Therapy
At Kidsplay we provide each child with an individualized occupational therapy plan of care, which may address fine motor skills, sensory integration disorders, and self-care skills. Here are a few more of the many areas that we can help address your child’s occupational therapy needs:
- Delayed Fine Motor Skills
- Handwriting Deficits
- Decreased Postural Stability
- Inadequate Sensory Processing Skills
- Decreased Visual Perceptual Skills
- Decreased Attention
- Decreased Feeding Skills
- Neurological Deficits
- Decreased Self-Care Skills
Did you know?
- Having a consistent daily schedule can help improve participation in daily activities.
- Limiting screen time or using screen time for other activities can help improve attention.
- Sour flavors help children maintain a calm; yet alert state.
- Writing on a vertical surface with a cut crayon or item such as a cotton ball; can significantly improve a tripod grasp; which is necessary for writing skills.
A story about Susie
Susie is trying to take notes in class, but instead she is listening to the noises in the room. Everyone who moves seems to distract her. Even when the classroom is quiet, Susie has difficulty looking up and down up and down from the board to her paper while trying to take notes. Her desk is disorganized and she has trouble following directions. Her teacher wonders why she is constantly wiggling, and why she shuts down sometimes when she has work to do in class. Her handwriting is below grade level and basic shapes are difficult for her to draw. Susie has so much potential. She needs an expert who can help her improve her performance of daily activities. An Occupational Therapist can address daily activities like school performance, play, social participation, sleep, leisure, and other activities she does during the day. An Occupational Therapist excels at breaking these daily activities down into steps and skills then works on changing either the person’s skill set, the environment, or the activity to help Susie maximize her potential. Skills that go into daily activities can include areas such as fine motor, visual skills, sensory processing, motor planning, executive functions, and more.
COVID Safety Procedure
Arrival
We will meet the families in the waiting room or right outside our doors.
Precautions
We bring the child back for a temperature check and hand washing.
Session
We will provide therapy in a safe, caring and encouraging environment.
Departure
After therapy, we will meet the parent on the porch and discuss what happened during the session.
Occupational Therapy FAQs
Occupational therapy is a health profession in which the therapists are trained to improve a person’s occupational performance.
A pediatric occupational therapist work with the child and family to improve a child’s play, education, or self-care skills such as feeding and dressing. An occupational therapist evaluates the child’s fine motor, sensory integration, visual perceptual and self-care care skills as well as range of motion, muscle tone, motor planning, functional communication and social adaptation. If the child and family would benefit from occupational therapy, the occupational therapist will recommend treatment and will utilize his or her knowledge in sensory integration, anatomy, neurology, kinesiology, child development, medical diagnosis and current research to improve the child’s occupational performance. The therapy sessions are generally fun for the child and a variety of activities may be adapted to address your child’s needs.
Sensory activities are designed to challenge your child’s ability to respond appropriately to sensory input. This is done by providing challenging and exciting activities in which your child can succeed and maintain organization. Some sensory activities may include climbing up a ladder, playing in beans, jumping into a ball pit, sliding down a scooter board, swinging on a trapeze, or walking barefoot in the mud. The activities will be designed to provide the child with proprioceptive and vestibular input to help with organization and body awareness. The challenge level of the activity will increase over time. Therapy should be an activity the child looks forward to; however, this may take some time to get to for the child who is very hesitant of new environments. The trained therapists at Kidsplay will work with your child to provide individualized activities that will provide just the right sensory input as your child’s sensory system is maturing. The sensory gym at Kidsplay has suspended equipment, a ball pit, bolsters, a balance beam, tunnels, a trampoline, scooter boards, and much more. After receiving sensory integration treatment, therapists observe and parents often report improved attention, improved compliance with dressing and eating, improved tolerance to new places, a more organized child, improved motor skills, less tantrums, improved self esteem, improved academic skills, improved hand-eye coordination and an overall improved sense of self.
You can try to find out what the child will be doing (structure, games, etc) then practice with him/her before going to the social event. You could also make a social story about the upcoming social event to help prepare the child.
Social story can help prepare your child for something new or help them better understand more abstract concepts.
Yes, our therapist are trained in several different methods including SOS. This approach is fun for your child and enables your child to be successful as they learn to gradually enjoy a variety of foods. To learn more about SOS feeding therapy, click here: https://sosapproachtofeeding.com/
Schedule a visit
Kidsplay would love to talk to hear from you. We have an excellent staff ready to meet the needs of you and your child. Please contact us to learn more and to schedule a visit!
Hear from our families
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General FAQs
Would my child benefit from services at Kidsplay? What is the process by which my child will receive services? Can you help my child talk? Find out the answer to these questions and more!
