Pediatric Occupational Therapy
What is pediatric occupational therapy?
Occupational therapy is a specialized treatment that helps children master the skills they need to handle daily tasks like playing with others, getting dressed, going to school, and following routines. Through personalized treatment based on your child’s specific needs, our caring occupational therapists can help your child build the skills they need for increased independence and confidence.
What Does Pediatric Occupational Therapy Address?
Pediatric occupational therapy addresses many areas of your child’s development, such as:
- Fine motor skills (small, precise muscle movements)
- Hand-eye coordination
- Following routines or schedules
- Social skills
- Visual perception
- Fine motor skills (small, precise muscle movements)
- Hand-eye coordination
- Following routines or schedules
- Social skills
- Visual perception
- Sensory processing skills
- Behavior challenges
- Problem solving
- Critical thinking
- Organizational skills
- Sensory processing skills
- Behavior challenges
- Problem solving
- Critical thinking
- Organizational skills
Who Can Benefit from Pediatric Occupational Therapy?
Any child who struggles with the developmental skills mentioned above can benefit from pediatric occupational therapy. Our expert therapists have worked with children who have a variety of conditions, including:
- Autism spectrum disorder
- Sensory processing disorder
- Developmental delays or disabilities
- Spina bifida
- Cerebral palsy
- Cerebral palsy
- Down syndrome
How Pediatric Occupational Therapy Works
Our friendly occupational therapists will work with your child at every therapy appointment to improve their motor, cognitive, emotional regulation, and other vital skills. We do this through evidence-based, proven treatment techniques designed to empower your child to handle daily tasks with ease.
These techniques may be activities, exercises, or games that address the specific skills your child needs to build. Our occupational therapists may look like they are only playing with your child during their session, but this is intentional. By creating a fun environment and treating therapy like a game, we keep children motivated to work on their occupational skills and help them reach their developmental goals.
Can Occupational Therapy Improve Feeding Skills?
Many children who have difficulty with occupational skills such as fine motor control or sensory processing also struggle with feeding. This is because conditions such as sensory processing disorder or picky eating are addressed by occupational therapists, who can help children develop the emotional regulation skills they need to eat a variety of nutritious foods. While not every child who needs occupational therapy has trouble with feeding, it is common.
If your child is receiving occupational therapy, the exercises and activities they work on with their occupational therapist can improve their feeding skills. However, it is important that you mention any feeding difficulties your child is having to the therapist at their evaluation so that we can ensure their treatment plan covers all of their needs.
Benefits of Pediatric Occupational Therapy
With routine occupational therapy sessions, your child can master the skills they need to handle daily tasks and experience:
- Better academic performance
- Improved social skills like taking turns
- Stronger problem solving and critical thinking skills
- Increased independence
- Better hand-eye coordination
- Improved emotional regulation
- Stronger organizational skills like following routines
- Increased self-confidence
Schedule a a Pediatric Occupational Therapy Evaluation
If your child has trouble handling daily tasks, our expert occupational therapists can help them build the skills they need for confidence and success in school, relationships, and life. To schedule your child’s pediatric occupational therapy evaluation, call The SpOT Clinic in Owens Cross Roads, Madison, or Gulf Shores, AL today and we will be happy to help you get started.
CONTACT US FOR MORE INFORMATION
Do you have questions or would you like to set up an appointment? Reach out to us using the contact form below and one of our staff will be happy to help!