Pediatric Occupational Therapy Services
What is Pediatric Occupational Therapy?
Occupational Therapists who specialize in pediatrics are trained to create opportunities for children to master developmental tasks and achieve independence in their home, school, and community. Occupational therapists use a variety of intensive treatment interventions tailored to meet each individual child’s development needs.
Your child’s pediatrician and/or teacher may recommend your child for pediatric occupational therapy if your child’s difficulties directly interfere with education, self-care, the ability to play, and disruption in their interactions within the home and/or community.
Who we work with
Our occupational therapist (OT) works with children to develop enhanced motor planning, sensory processing, organizational, visual motor, and adaptive play skills. We work with children who have a variety of challenges including: Developmental Delay, Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD), Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Self-Calming challenges, Vestibular Processing Difficulties, Visual Motor Deficits, Gross or Fine motor delays, and Developmental Coordination Disorder.
Goals of Occupational Therapy
The goal of pediatric occupational therapy is to bridge the gap between your child and his or her environment. At Color Along we are focused on helping your children thrive, not just survive. We do this by supporting their gross and fine motor skills, play skills, self-care, sensory processing, self-regulation, social skills, attention and behavior.
Our interventions are designed to tap into your children’s strengths and engage their bodies and minds to develop the skills they need to become more independent. We partner with you to develop strategies to help you navigate the most difficult times of the day at home and recommend school accommodations to enable your child to succeed in school.
General Indicators that your child may benefit from OT services
General indicators that your child can benefit from pediatric occupational therapy:
- Weak, stiff, or uncoordinated movements
- Clumsy or excessively bumping into furniture and/or walls when walking.
- Weak or awkward grasp of pencils, crayons, scissors, or other tools and utensils.
- Poor Handwriting
- Poor Cutting
- Excessive seeking or major avoidance of movement or touch.
- Difficulty with age-appropriate self-help skills such as dressing.
- Poor attention with school tasks or unable to focus to complete a task from start to finish.
- Food aversions or poor tolerance to certain food textures.
- Unable to tolerate brushing hair, brushing teeth, or getting a haircut.
- Difficulty regulating activity levels dependent on task and setting.
- Poor balance affecting child’s daily activities.
Overview of Services
Services begin with a 60 minute initial evaluation to get to know both you and your child and what difficulties you may be concerned about. The occupational therapist will then essentially “play” with your child while having him or her do certain tasks to observe them in action. Standardized testing will be completed as well as a questionnaire by the parent to determine long- and short-term goals for your child.
A doctor’s prescription will be required to schedule an initial evaluation.
If your child is deemed a candidate for services, Color Along Pediatric Therapy provides occupational therapy services and support to begin implementing interventions to meet goals set for your child.