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Pediatric Occupational Therapy

Pediatric occupational therapists work with children and their families to identify and support a child’s individual differences through a playful learning environment. Occupational therapists can help children achieve their maximum level of independence in life skills which may include daily living skills, school, and play.

jessicats Signs your child may benefit from occupational therapy:

  • Difficulty with dressing, grooming, and/or hygiene
  • Avoids certain textures
  • Strong reactions to noise, touch, and/or visual inputs
  • Clumsy / poor coordination
  • Craves movement / always fidgeting
  • Impulsive, lacks safety awareness, and/or poor awareness of surroundings
  • Avoids eye contact with others and/or is challenged within social settings
  • Difficulty paying attention
  • Difficulty with transitions, very rigid
  • Difficulty with motor planning, takes longer than other children his / her age to learn a new skill
  • Delays in motor milestones like sitting unsupported, crawling, walking
  • Picky eater
  • Difficulty with handwriting
  • Difficulty tracking moving objects
  • Trouble following verbal directions
  • Lack of response/awareness to surroundings
  • Poor strength and endurance for typical childhood tasks
A child’s occupation is to be a child. As they are continually striving for independence and mastery of new skills, an occupational therapist can intervene to support a child who is finding challenges in the following areas:

  • Daily living skills which include dressing, grooming, and feeding
  • Play skills- not only individual play but also play with their peers
  • Fine motor, visual motor and gross motor skills which are needed for successful completion of daily living tasks including play
  • Sensory processing skills- as individual differences in sensory processing are identified and addressed improvements may be observed in regulation, engagement, transitions, and attention
  • Vision/visual motor/visual perceptual skills which can impact writing, coloring, reading, etc.
  • Range of motion, strength, and normalizing muscle tone through the use of therapeutic activities, NDT, MFR, splinting and taping
  • Oral motor skills and facilitating decreased oral aversion/problematic feeding
 Occupational therapists at Coordinated Movements routinely attend continuing education classes which focus specifically on pediatrics. By attending child specific continuing education, therapists stay up to date on treatment techniques to help children reach their maximum level of independence. We are happy to have therapists who have taken courses and have specialty certifications.

Current certifications and training held by occupational therapists at Coordinated Movements include:

  • Interactive Metronome Training
  • Therapeutic Listening
  • Integrated Listening System
  • Intermediate DIR/Floortime Therapists
  • SIPT Certified Therapist
  • Beckman Oral Motor Protocol Trained
  • Rhythmic Movement Trained Therapists
  • Handwriting Without Tears Trained
  • Keyboarding Without Tears Trained
  • Visual screening
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 Conditions which may impact development and lead to an infant/child being referred to occupational therapy include but are not limited to:

  • ADD/ADHD
  • Auditory Processing Disorders
  • Autism Spectrum Disorders
  • Burns
  • Cancer
  • Cerebral Palsy
  • Congenital Heart Disease
  • Developmental Delay
  • Failure to Thrive
  • Feeding Difficulty/Problematic Feeder
  • Genetic Disorders/Birth Defects
  • Neurological Disorders
  • Orthopedic Injuries
  • Selective Mutism
  • Sensory Processing Dysfunction
  • Stroke
  • Traumatic Brain Injury