What the heck is OT?
Your pediatrician has referred you to get Occupational Therapy (OT) for your child. But what even is OT? My child doesn’t have a job yet, why would they need an Occupational Therapist?
OT actually has nothing to do with work. Everyone engages in everyday occupations such as: brushing your teeth, getting dressed, driving a car, painting, making dinner, etc. Children also engage in occupations, these just may look a little different: playing, attending to story time, getting dressed with help from mom or dad, eating meals. Sometimes, children need some assistance in engaging in these occupations; this is where OT comes into play.
Occupational Therapists have a wide range of skills that can help children engage in these everyday skills. OTs are highly skilled in analyzing activity. This gives the OT the ability to break down activities into their smaller components and pinpoint just where a child might be struggling. For example, a child may be having difficulty learning to stack blocks during playtime. The OT is able to look at stacking blocks and break it down into the steps that child takes to get the blocks from the floor and form them into a tower. The OT is then able to determine which step in the process the child is having difficulty with. The child may not have the strength to pick up the blocks and stack them on top of each other. Or, he may have difficulty understanding that you can take one block and stack it on top of another. Maybe he or she doesn’t like the way the blocks feel in her hands. Or maybe the blocks are too big for little hands. Your OT is able to look at all of those possibilities, determine what is the cause for the difficulty and create a plan of how to work with the child and family to progress the child towards stacking blocks. This is one simple task, and as you can see, there are many places things could go astray.
Many OTs are trained in sensory processing as well. They are able to observe the child and determine which sensory systems may be effected and how that is impacting their ability to participate in their everyday occupations. For example, a child may be having difficulty listening to their parent read an entire short story because they aren’t able to sit for 3 minutes. Or maybe a child cries and screams anytime they have to get a haircut. An OT will be able to determine if a sensory system is not regulated, and therefore, impeding the child from sitting down to listen to the story. An OT can then create a sensory plan for the child and family to engage in so that the child is able to stay regulated more often throughout the day leading to more enjoyable days and better connection between parent and child as well.
OTs may also be a huge help when it comes to feeding issues. OTs work in conjunction with other professionals to address feeding from many different angles. Sometimes, feeding is difficult because the child is not able to tolerate eating different textures of food (ex. slimy, mushy, cold). Maybe the child is not able to get the food to their mouth because they are not able to use a spoon or fork yet. An OT is able to meet the child where they are and create a scaffold to improve skills until mealtime is enjoyable for all!
There are many areas that an Occupational Therapist can help when your child is having difficulties in their daily routines. We hope this sheds some light on a few areas occupational therapy may be able to assist with! If you are in Florida and need assistance with any of these skills, you can now book with our occupational therapy team in person or virtual. Book Here!
In addition, in honor of National Occupational Therapy Month, Kaitlin has been working hard to create a program to help families struggling with picky eating. Built online with a community, you will have access to her expertise, a personalized plan, weekly training, and tools to help you make mealtime enjoyable again. But don’t wait, this program starts May 2nd and will fill up quickly! Read more about it here!
Kaitlin Dudziec, OT resides in Jacksonville, FL with her husband and 2 children. She joined the All Together team to carry forward her passion of helping families struggling with daily activities in a meaningful place that should be stress-free for all—at home! Kaitlin brings years of experience working with children with exceptional needs, first in a school environment and then early intervention. She carries her own personal experience helping her own children achieve success and independence too.
