Occupational Therapists are University educated, licensed and registered professionals who assess and treat individuals across the lifespan who are experiencing difficulties participating in their activities of daily living (i.e. ‘occupations’). This may be due to physical disability, developmental problems/delays, cognitive changes/delays, mental illness, social and/or emotional difficulties, or the aging process.
Pediatric Occupational Therapists work with children (ages birth-18years) to improve their participation in childhood ‘occupations’ such as self-help skills, productivity (school) and leisure (playing with peer/social participation). Areas typically assessed are as follows:
• self-help (feeding, dressing, toileting, sleeping);
• self-regulation (attention, arousal/energy level of the child);
• fine motor skills (printing, cutting, table-top activities; classroom performance);
• fine motor group programming
• sensory integration/processing skills (i.e. playing with peers; effective and age-appropriate participation in daily routines and activities at home, school, and community settings).
What Next?
If you suspect your child may have some difficulties in any of the areas mentioned above, an Assessment is the first step, and will typically include standardized assessments as well as clinical observations of your child. In some cases the child’s skills may be age appropriate and in this case no further treatment will be necessary. If delays are identified a treatment plan will be developed collaboratively with the parents and/or caregivers appropriate to the child’s occupational therapy profile and areas of need.
Sensory processing is a less well-known area of development. It refers to how effectively a child’s sensory systems (touch, spatial /body awareness, sensitivity to noise/sounds, light, and movement) work together.
For further information on “Sensory Processing Disorder” click here
Below is a quick checklist of some of the more common Occupational Therapy problems which are often observed in a child with sensory processing difficulties, which can impact self-help skills, self-regulation, fine motor development, academic performance, and social participation skills.
Some common sensory processing concerns:
__poor attention, focus, or concentration
__extremely sensitive to loud noises
__grinding of teeth frequently during day or night
__picky eating; gags with certain textures
__poor motor coordination
__fatigues extremely easily
__bumps into people/ furniture frequently
__gets dizzy very easily/ or doesn’t get dizzy at all after excess spinning
__delays in mastering toilet training
__dislikes the feel of clothing
__does not like to be touched
__tends to be inappropriately close to people (personal space); tends to be ‘touchy’ too much
__has frequent ‘meltdowns’
__extremely ‘emotionally sensitive’; demonstrates significant separation anxiety
__“behaviour” problems such as being extremely ‘rigid’ in their behaviours; ‘perfectionists’; ‘controlling/bossy’
Click Here for further information on Tactile, Vestibular and Proprioceptive Dysfunction
To book an Occupational Therapy Assessment or Consultation please call Sonya Sawers at (403) 686 3391 or email her at - sonya@cherringtonsawers.com
Pediatric Occupational Therapists work with children (ages birth-18years) to improve their participation in childhood ‘occupations’ such as self-help skills, productivity (school) and leisure (playing with peer/social participation). Areas typically assessed are as follows:
• self-help (feeding, dressing, toileting, sleeping);
• self-regulation (attention, arousal/energy level of the child);
• fine motor skills (printing, cutting, table-top activities; classroom performance);
• fine motor group programming
• sensory integration/processing skills (i.e. playing with peers; effective and age-appropriate participation in daily routines and activities at home, school, and community settings).
What Next?
If you suspect your child may have some difficulties in any of the areas mentioned above, an Assessment is the first step, and will typically include standardized assessments as well as clinical observations of your child. In some cases the child’s skills may be age appropriate and in this case no further treatment will be necessary. If delays are identified a treatment plan will be developed collaboratively with the parents and/or caregivers appropriate to the child’s occupational therapy profile and areas of need.
Sensory processing is a less well-known area of development. It refers to how effectively a child’s sensory systems (touch, spatial /body awareness, sensitivity to noise/sounds, light, and movement) work together.
For further information on “Sensory Processing Disorder” click here
Below is a quick checklist of some of the more common Occupational Therapy problems which are often observed in a child with sensory processing difficulties, which can impact self-help skills, self-regulation, fine motor development, academic performance, and social participation skills.
Some common sensory processing concerns:
__poor attention, focus, or concentration
__extremely sensitive to loud noises
__grinding of teeth frequently during day or night
__picky eating; gags with certain textures
__poor motor coordination
__fatigues extremely easily
__bumps into people/ furniture frequently
__gets dizzy very easily/ or doesn’t get dizzy at all after excess spinning
__delays in mastering toilet training
__dislikes the feel of clothing
__does not like to be touched
__tends to be inappropriately close to people (personal space); tends to be ‘touchy’ too much
__has frequent ‘meltdowns’
__extremely ‘emotionally sensitive’; demonstrates significant separation anxiety
__“behaviour” problems such as being extremely ‘rigid’ in their behaviours; ‘perfectionists’; ‘controlling/bossy’
Click Here for further information on Tactile, Vestibular and Proprioceptive Dysfunction
To book an Occupational Therapy Assessment or Consultation please call Sonya Sawers at (403) 686 3391 or email her at - sonya@cherringtonsawers.com