The role of the Occupational therapist is to help children attain or salvage the skills they need to perform their activities of daily living or occupations. For example, when a child shows delays in achieving certain milestones such as eating, walking, crawling, writing, tying shoes or on the other hand displays unusual or disruptive behavior, the OT can help remediate the issues or provide guidance and give recommendations to teachers, parents and caregivers. OTs use a holistic and global approach to treating physical and mental disabilities, by considering psychological, social and environmental factors that may be hindering functioning.
When assessed by an occupational therapist, he or she will use task analysis (clinical observations) as well as standardized testing, questionnaires and interviews to figure out where the problem lies. For example, if a child has a hard time writing, the OT will look into many possible causes or reasons why the child is having difficulty. They will assess to see if the problem is due to motor impairment, visual perception difficulties,(sensory dysfunction), or if the problem is behavioral related or if it could be the child’s working environment that is contributing to the problem. The field of occupational therapy is almost limitless. They can help with the development or remediation of many other daily activities such potty training, feeding, sleeping, crawling, walking, playing and socializing as well has many others.
OTS CAN HELP DEVELOP FINE AND GROSS MOTOR SKILLS
Fine motor skills are the ability to coordinate the movement or the fingers and hands to manipulate small objects. Inadequacy in fine motor skills might be du to lack of strength, coordination or dexterity, which could result in children having difficulty drawing, using scissors and writing. Difficulties with these skills could make school tasks much more frustrating and even bring about behavioral issues in the classroom. The child may also exhibit difficulty with self-care abilities such as buttoning, tying shoes or using utensils.
When gross motor skills are inadequate or delayed, the child usually has poor balance, coordination, strength and/or endurance, which can directly impact the child’s ability to crawl, walk, run, climb stairs, skip, jump as well as catch and throw a ball. When gross motor skills are underdeveloped it may discourage kids from participating in recess play, which in turn can impede the child’s capability and willingness to socialize and can result in poor self-esteem. Furthermore, low muscle tone and poor core stability can hinder the child’s ability to sit still and alert, which is essential for classroom participation. The ability to sit erect is a crucial component in the development or writing and reading skills as well as important in the development of visual skills.
TIPS AND TRICK OTS MIGHT USE TO DEVELOP FINE AND GROSS MOTOR SKILLS:
TO DEVELOP FINE MOTOR SKILLS
- OTs will model and practice self–care activities like dressing and undressing (buttoning, zipping, tying shoes), grooming (brushing hair and teeth, using the toilet) and eating (holding and using utensils) by using various tools, techniques and modalities such as adapted aids.
- OTs will practice cutting, writing and drawing skills using various materials, techniques and approaches.
- They may also implement an exercise routine to develop strength and coordination of the fingers and hands.
TO DEVELOP GROSS MOTOR SKILLS
OTs may implement an exercise routine to develop strength, coordination and balance using various modalities such as rubber bands, balance boards, balls, roller boards….- They may use various approaches to develop skills such as the CO-OP approach, or a sensory integration approach as well as many others.
OTS CAN ALSO HELP WITH SENSORY INTEGRATION ISSUES
Some children, especially those with autism, have difficulty modulating their sensory input, meaning they may experience the stimuli in their environment much differently than you or I. They may be may be over-sensitive (hypersensitive), which means they may hear sounds much louder, a light touch may feel wounding and changes in luminosity may feel blinding. Hypersensitive children may appear anxious, withdrawn or easily distractible. They often try to avoid the overwhelming stimuli in their surroundings. On the contrary, under-sensitive (hyposensitive) children may have trouble understanding their environment because they cannot pick up the stimuli around them. They have difficulty feeling light touch, hearing and deciphering sounds as well as interpreting visual images. These children may appear unruly or awkward and clumsy. In order to distinguish and discover their environment, these children may want move or spin continuously, constantly touch or manipulate objects and even trip or crash into things. Often these types of behaviors are associated with or mistaken for ADHD, which the child may or may not have. Under-sensitive, over-sensitive children as well as the combination of the two can be very impairing and affect the child’s ability to function optimally in his or her daily activities from self-care to school.
IPS AND TRICKS OTS MIGHT USE TO ADDRESS SENSORY ISSUES
- OTs may use progressive desensitization techniques and routines.
- They can suggest ways to modify the child’s environment to allow the child to execute certain activities of daily living (ex. Changing tooth brush or tooth paste, changing the type of clothes the child wears, give recommendations on food choices, adapting the working environment to be more colorful and stimulating or the opposite reducing all the stimuli in the room…)
- They may also teach the child and the caregivers self-soothing techniques and relaxation techniques.
- They may suggest classroom modifications and suggests various tools, fidgets and seating options to best accommodate the child needs to learn.
References :
1. www.thinkdobusiness.com
2. www.palossports.com
3. www.shopboink.com
4. www.gettingsorted.com
5. www.empind.com.au
6. www.childmind.org