What is Paediatric Occupational Therapy?
Paediatric occupational therapy (OT) is a specialised branch of occupational therapy that focuses on addressing the developmental needs of children. Paediatric OTs work with children to enhance their skills and abilities in various areas of daily life, promoting independence and participation in activities that are important for their well-being.
The primary goal of paediatric OT is to support children in developing the necessary skills to participate in activities such as play, self-care, school tasks, and social interactions. OTs assess a child's physical, cognitive, sensory, and emotional development to identify any challenges or delays.
Areas of Development
Common areas addressed in paediatric occupational therapy include:
Fine Motor
Helping children develop coordination and control of their small muscles, which is crucial for tasks like writing, using utensils, and buttoning clothes.
Social Skills
Helping children develop the necessary social skills for interacting with peers, family members, and other individuals in different social settings.
Visual Perception
Developing skills needed for the brain to understand what it is seeing. This is needed for task, such as reading, writing, letter formation and attention.
Emotional Regulation
Assisting children in recognizing and managing their emotions, as well as coping with stress and challenges.
Sensory Integration
Addressing preferences and challenges related to sensory processing, which involves how a child interprets and responds to sensory information from the environment (touch, taste, smell, and sound).
Self-Care Skills
Assisting with activities of daily living, such as dressing, tioleting, and feeding.
Executive Functioning
Developing higher order thinking skills, such as memory, planning, problem solving, flexible thinking, impulse control, attention and concentration.
Postural Control
Developing key skills needed for everyday activities, such as core strength, crossing the midline, balance, coordination, muscular strength and endurance.
Play Skills
Encouraging age-appropriate play activities that contribute to a child's social, cognitive, and emotional development.
Occupational therapists use various therapeutic techniques, exercises, and activities tailored to the individual needs of each child. They may also collaborate with parents, teachers, and other professionals to create a holistic and coordinated approach to support the child's development. Overall, pediatric occupational therapy aims to enable children to participate fully in the activities of daily life and to promote their overall well-being.
Occupational Therapy work together with families and their children with a wide range of diagnoses and difficulties, including: Cerebral Palsy, Down Syndrome, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Global Developmental Delay, ADHD, genetic and metabolic syndromes, Rett Syndrome, Hypermobility Syndrome, Hydrocephalus, other syndromes, Developmental Coordination Disorder.
Protea Occupational Therapy can help your child to participate and achieve independence in their everyday occupations, such as self-care, drawing/handwriting, social skills and emotional regulation. We are passionate and dedicated to make intervention fun and engaging for your child to achieve their goals.
How Does it Work?
1. Assessment
The occupational therapist will provide a comprehensive and in depth assessments to identify your child's strengths and challenges.
3. Intervention
Using the child's interests and a play-based approach, individualised activities and strategies are used to achieve goals.
2. Goal Setting
Individualised short and long term goals will be created in collobration with the child and family with the aim to increase engagement, participation and independence in everyday occupations.
4. Evaluation
Ongoing review and assessment of the child's progress and goals. Open communication with all significant others.
