Occupational therapy helps children succeed at their everyday “occupations”: playing, learning, self-care and getting along with others. Our OTs find what is getting in the way, then build skills such as fine motor control, emotional regulation, sensory processing and strength.
Our Occupational Therapists are trained to identify barriers that restrict a child’s success or independence in completing everyday “occupations”
What is a child’s occupation?
Play independently
Be successful in school
Easily adapt to change and problem solve
Complete self-care tasks
Effectively communicate to maintain great relationships with family and friends
Learn beneficial behavioral skills, such as accountability, empathy, concentration, and self-esteem
Occupational Therapy can help your child improve:
Fine motor skills Precise hand movements
Holding pencil/crayon
Manipulating toys/small objects
Clothing fasteners
Emotional Regulation The ability to control one’s own emotional state. This is the ability that allows one to self-calm during emotional and stressful situations. In children, emotional regulation issues are often seen as ‘behavior problems’
Range of Motion The amount of movement a joint or body part has
Limited movement in hands/arms, head, legs, or other body parts
Difficulty straightening limbs
Strength
Core Strength
Sitting still or sitting without support
Climbing/running/jumping
Balance
Frequent falls
Arm/Hand Strength
Turning doorknobs
Opening containers
Holding a pencil
Carrying multiple objects
Maintaining hold on objects
Self Care Activities of daily living
Dressing
Eating
Bathroom hygiene
Chores
Planning
Decision making
Sensory Processing Ability to receive and respond to aspects of our environment
Sensitivities to:
Sights
Sounds
Movement
Taste
Touch
Smell
Visual Perceptual Skills The ability of the brain to understand what the eye is seeing
Reading
Puzzles
Reversing letters/numbers
Visual scanning (example instead that doesn’t use the medical term)
Bilateral Coordination using both hands or arms together to complete tasks
Jumping jacks
Throwing/catching a ball
Pull/push toys
Crafting (cutting, glueing, etc…)
Visual-Motor Skills Hand eye coordination
Handwriting (letters/numbers)
Drawing/coloring
Cutting
Ball skills
Visual Perceptual Skills The ability of the brain to understand what the eye is seeing
Reading
Puzzles
Reversing letters/numbers
Visual scanning (example instead that doesn’t use the medical term)
Sorting
Self Care Activities of daily living
Dressing
Eating
Bathroom hygiene
Chores
Planning
Decision making
Sensory Processing Ability to receive and respond to aspects of our environment
Sensitivities to:
Sights
Sounds
Movement
Taste
Touch
Smell
Strength
Core Strength
Sitting still or sitting without support
Climbing/running/jumping
Balance
Frequent falls
Arm/Hand Strength
Turning doorknobs
Opening containers
Holding a pencil
Carrying multiple objects
Maintaining hold on objects
Range of Motion The amount of movement a joint or body part has
Limited movement in hands/arms, head, legs, or other body parts
Difficulty straightening limbs
Emotional Regulation The ability to control one’s own emotional state
A-Z of our OT Services
A
Autism
Attention
ADLs (activities of daily living)
B
Body Awareness
Bilateral Coordination
C
Core Strength
D
Dyspraxia
Dysgraphia
Dressing skills
E
Eye Hand Coordination
Executive Functioning Skills
Emotional Regulation
F
Feeding
Fine Motor Skills
Fine Motor Coordination
G
Gravitational Insecurity
Grip Strength
H
Handwriting
I
IADLs (Instrumental Activities of Daily Living)
M
Motor Planning
P
Postural Control
Play
R
Reflex Integration
ROM (Range of Motion)
Routine Management
S
Self Care
Sensory Processing
Safety Awareness
T
Toileting
V
Visual Motor Skills
Visual Perceptual Skills
Great Feedback from Great Families
BDI Playhouse has exceptional therapists… my son was evaluated at BDI and received Occupational Therapy – and loved his therapist at BDI! I cannot say enough about the entire staff. Qualified, caring, exceptional people.”
Reading help from our Orton-Gillingham trained speech-language pathologist for children who struggle to read and spell fluently. Learn the early signs of reading difficulty and how the Orton-Gillingham approach helps.
Babies are born with automatic reflexes that should fade as they grow. When a reflex lingers, it can affect motor skills, attention, feeding, speech and more. Learn the red flags and how physical or occupational therapy can help.
Therapeutic Listening is a sound-based program that uses modified music to change how the body takes in and responds to sensory information. Paired with occupational therapy, it can support listening, attention, motor planning and communication.
