What is occupational therapy and what do they do with my kid?
Most people do not have a true understanding what occupational therapists due simply because the range and scope of things they can work on are almost endless. Essentially, occupational therapists help you perform and complete any occupations you do. Occupations are defined as any activity you do, from eating to showering, dressing, driving, working, playing, or studying; no matter the task, an occupational therapist can probably assist you. They are trained in activity analysis, meaning they know how to break down an activity into parts and determine what skills you need in order to complete each part. The skills could be cognitive, muscular, range of motion, strength, or vision.
In the case of children, their jobs are to learn and grow. This takes place through play and more structured activities like school. We develop gross motor prior to fine motor and it takes a while to fine tune our skills. Hence why a teenager is much more coordinated than a five year old. Your therapist may start off focusing on the core strength, balance and arm movements before moving onto holding and manipulating items depending on where your child’s skill level is.
In school, therapists often work on teaching skills needed for tasks like writing, drawing, cutting, opening containers, and typing which are involved in their daily life while at school. They also may work on executive functioning skills that help students stay organized and self-regulate throughout the day. They typically utilize activities that either build up your skills or work on the same skill you are perfecting. For example, to fasten buttons you need coordinated movements of both sides of the body, pincer or three jaw chuck grasp and in hand manipulation skills such as shifting or translation so they may start with placing items into slots, manipulating a deck of cards or symmetrical and asymmetrical movements on either side of the body before introducing the actual task of buttoning.
Another great example is prior to addressing scissor skills, a therapist might work on the motor patterns the hand needs to open and close the scissors; so they might use something like a spray bottle, puppet, or stress ball that require the same movement patterns that cutting does.
The awesome thing about occupational therapy is that kids get to participate in different activities that may involve games, crafts or fun activities without realizing they are learning and growing.