In a pediatric setting, Occupational Therapists treat children with
a variety of diagnoses and address a variety of skill areas by working
with families, as well as during therapy sessions. Some of these include:
Fine motor skills - using the hands,
eyes, lips and tongue
Gross motor skills – movement using
the large muscles, (i.e., running, jumping, etc.)
Visual motor skills – using the
hands and eyes together to accomplish a task
Visual Perceptual skills- understanding
depth perception, the visual qualities of objects such as size, shape
and color, seeing objects in a complex background such as finding a
small item in a drawer full of things, following lines on a page
Self-help skills – the ability
to feed, dress, and groom oneself, etc.
Sensory Skills – Using all of the
senses to learn. Regulating the senses to sleep well, concentrate on
a task, eat a wide variety of foods, tolerate noisy, active environments,
and much more.
These are some of the skills you may observe your child doing:
0-3 months
-
Follows a moving object with eyes while
in supported sitting
-
Clasps hands
-
Keeps hands open most of the time
-
Reaches and grasps object
-
Drops object
-
Rolls from her back to her side
-
Bears almost all weight on legs
-
Holds head erect when leaning forward
-
Sits momentarily leaning on hands
-
Uses her tongue to move food in her mouth
-
Recognizes bottle visually, pats bottle
-
Sleeps at night, for 10-12 hours with
night awakening
-
Places both hands on bottle
-
Mouths and munches solid foods
-
Child scribbles spontaneously
-
Turns small container upside down to
obtain tiny object
-
Puts many objects into container without
removing any
-
Uses both hands at midline – one
holds, other manipulates
-
Builds tower using three cubes
-
Throws ball forward
-
Pulls toy behind while walking
-
Stands on one foot with help
-
Walks upstairs with one hand held
-
Carries large toy while walking
-
Indicates discomfort over soiled pants;
by verbal/gesture
-
Sleeps nights ten-twelve hours
-
Naps one in afternoon one-three hours
-
Removes socks
-
Places hat on head