Why OT for my child?
Pediatric occupational therapists assist children in reaching their fullest potential in everyday activities that are essential for their development and well-being. These activities include eating, playing, sleeping, and learning—all fundamental to a child's growth and quality of life. If your child is struggling with any of these tasks, occupational therapy may be a great fit to help them succeed!
Common Areas Addressed:
- Motor Skills: Enhancing fine and gross motor coordination, including hand-eye coordination and body movement.
- Sensory Processing: Helping individuals manage sensory sensitivities and develop appropriate responses to sensory stimuli.
- Self-care Skills: Supporting individuals in mastering daily activities such as dressing, grooming, and feeding.
- Feeding: Help improve feeding skills, which can include oral motor coordination, self-feeding independence, and addressing sensory issues related to food textures, tastes, and smells.
- Handwriting and Visual Motor Skills: Improving writing abilities and the integration of visual and motor skills.
- Executive Functioning: Developing skills related to organization, time management, and problem-solving.
- Play and Social Skills: Building appropriate play behavior, social interaction, and communication in group settings.
- Adaptation Strategies: Teaching techniques to modify activities or environments to increase independence and participation.
How Does Occupational Therapy at Growing Minds Work? Occupational therapy is provided at our clinic; we currently do not offer services at schools or in-home settings. The process involves the following steps:
- Referral: After receiving a referral from your physician or Child Developmental Services, we'll contact you to schedule an appointment. If you're seeking private-pay services, you can reach out anytime to schedule or join our waitlist.
- Assessment: A comprehensive evaluation is conducted to assess specific areas of need.
- Goal Setting: Ongoing therapy sessions will be scheduled based on your child’s needs, incorporating play-based and structured activities aimed at achieving the set goals.
- Therapeutic Activities: We will schedule on going therapy with a frequency appropriate for your child's needs and engaged in targeted play based and structured activities to meet your child's goals.
- Co-treatment: When applicable, co-treatment with speech therapy is a beneficial tool used by our therapists to help with carryover of skills and therapeutic activities across both disciplines.
- Progress Monitoring: We will regularly assess progress and provide reports to track improvement. Progress reports are shared in September, December, March, and June.
For more information or to schedule an appointment, please contact us at 207.514.8260.
