Occupational therapy is the work with individuals, groups and communities to achieve optimal health and wellbeing through participation in one’s daily occupations, meaningful everyday things that we do in our lives. An occupational therapist is concerned with developing and maintaining a child’s ability to carry out everyday activities to the best of their ability.
The aim of a paediatric occupational therapist is to enable your child to effectively participate in desired daily life occupations within family, school and community environments. An occupational therapist could help by addressing areas such as child’s play and leisure activities (for example playing on the equipment at the park), work and productivity (for example educational activities such as writing) and self-care (for example dressing and showering).
Paediatric occupational therapy intervention is based upon an understanding of normal development and the mastery of developmental milestones. Not only are the child‘s abilities considered by the therapist (gross motor skills, fine motor skills, sensory processing etc.), but also how the child relates to their environment. In order to gain this crucial information a therapist will usually conduct discussions with the family. The therapist may also ask to chat with the school, day care or relevant others. These discussions provide the therapist with a meaningful picture of the child and how they function in the world.
Once the therapist has gathered the information and has set goals in conjunction with the family and relevant others, the therapist will then identify problem areas that might need remediation or adaptation through an intervention program to best help the child.
