A Pediatric Occupational Therapist will evaluate and treat the some of the following:
COGNITIVE AND PERCEPTUAL THERAPY
- Visual discrimination - finding the similarities & differences
- Visual spatial relationships - being able to identify reversals of objects & symbols
- Visual sequential memory - to recall a shape from 4 choices after 4-5 seconds
- Visual memory - identifying a shape that has been memorized from the previous page
- Visual form constancy - finding the same shape when it is resized or rotated
- Visual figure ground - finding an object within a busy background
What to look out for in your child
- Inattention and distractibility to written and or reading tasks
- Difficulty in letter recognition and letter reproduction
- Reversal of letters such as b for d or p for q
- Difficulty copying from a blackboard or a whiteboard
- Poor orientation of puzzle pieces - "gives up"
- Poor at following instructions Cognitive and Perceptual
SELF CARE
- Orientate clothing, shoes & socks
- Right & left discrimination while dressing
- Back & front discrimination while dressing
- Strategies, techniques & ideas for cues when dressing (visual, physical or verbal)
- Feeding: grasp, bilateral co-ordination (knife & fork), strength, control
- Bathing: includes back care techniques for parents. Sequencing body parts to wash (rhyme)
- Hygiene: toileting, grooming (hair & teeth brushing), nail care
What to look out for in your child
- Dressing: clothes or shoes on backwards
- Dressing: shoes on wrong feet
- Food is pushed off plate
- Messy eaters
SOCIAL SKILLS
- Co-operative play / sharing skills
- Develop self concept / self esteem
- Attention
- Listening skills
- Following directions
What to look out for in your child
- Withdrawal from social situations
- Lack of group interaction (avoidance)
- Lack of confidence in oneself
- Poor eye contact
- Poor body language
FINE MOTOR
- Finger, hand strength, position & stability
- Pencil grip & control
- Wrist &/or forearm control
- Copying shapes
- Fluency / finger movements
- Spatial organization (space & letter formation)
- Quality of work
- Visual perception skills
- Speed & dexterity
- Tweezers, scissors, finger isolated movements
What to look out for in your child
- No interest in fine motor skills
- Gross pencil grasp
- Poor scissor skills
- Clumsy grasp & release skills
- Difficulty holding small objects, manipulating tools, pencils or scissors
- Unable to complete mazes, dot-to-dots, etc
- Difficulty copying text from whiteboard or blackboard
GROSS MOTOR
- Ball skills - throwing & catching, hitting ball
- Balance: Hopping, balancing on one leg, walking on a balance beam, walking heel-toe
- Clumsiness
- Awkward running or jumping
- Co-ordination of body sides: difficulty skipping, doing star jumps
- Difficulty with dancing, Simon Says
What to look out for in your child
- Flinching or other responses when catching a ball
- Fear response to gross motor activities
- Level of avoidance or motivation to gross motor activities
- Unable to hop, skip, jump, run, etc
- Difficulty coordinating body sides
