Occupational Therapy

Occupations are ‘things we do’ that often include fine motor skills, such as getting dressed, making friends and school skills. Occupational therapy uses meaningful occupations to connect and help children with developmental delays acquire the skills they need to be successful. It’s designed to allow them to reach their cognitive, physical, sensory and motor skills through play and structured activities.  

Areas of Occupation: 

• Activities of Daily Living (ADL) 

• Education 

• Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) 

• Play/Leisure 

• Sleep 

• Social Participation 

Occupational Therapy Services 

Activities of Living/Self-Care Skills 

Activities of daily living include independence in self-care tasks, such as dressing, toileting, bathing and grooming. This could include operating button/fasteners, zippers and tying shoelaces. 

Sensory Integration 

Sensory processing refers to the ability to register, distinguish between, modulate, interpret and respond to internal and external sensory inputs such as sounds, smells, sights, touch and movement. Difficulties with sensory processing may present as intense sensitivity or avoidance to textiles or food, poor coordination and balance, intense tantrums/ outbursts and difficulties calming down. 

Fine Motor Skills Challenges 

Fine motor skills refer to difficulties with dexterity, precision, grasping and releasing patterns, which could affect school skills such as scissor skills, writing, utensils, etc. 

Motor Coordination/Apraxia 

Apraxia is difficulties completing motor sequences or getting the body to “do” an action. Apraxia may present as awkward or uncoordinated movements, clumsiness or accident- prone. Children may have difficulties with jumping jacks, throwing/catching, swaying or walking in a zig-zag line. They also may be hesitant or nervous to try new tasks or activities. 

Visual Perceptual/Visual Motor Skills 

Visual motor refers to the ability to coordinate your hands and eyes together, while visual spatial skills refers to the cognitive ability to perceive spatial concepts, such as depth perception. Examples of these challenges could be difficulties with puzzles, shape sorter, using tools such as tweezers, utensils and writing tools.