Occupational Therapy

What is occupational therapy?

Occupational therapy at PediaPlex helps your child become independent when completing tasks that involve fine motor skills. Licensed occupational therapists work with children in a large therapy gym and in individual therapy rooms, assisting them with task-specific activities and skills. Families can participate, too, in order to carry over activities to the home environment.

Occupational therapy sessions focus on improving cognitive, physical, and motor skills that help children become self-sufficient and less reliant on other people for help. The sessions address social skills, such as transitioning between activities, making eye contact, and taking turns.

What do pediatric occupational therapists do?

Pediatric occupational therapists at PediaPlex work with children who have a variety of disorders that affect fine motor skills. Examples include:

• Autism spectrum disorder
• Attention-deficit disorder (ADD)
• Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
• Down syndrome
• Handwriting challenges
• Sensory integration problems
• Feeding disorders
• Visual processing disorders

These and other conditions can affect your child’s ability to effectively complete tasks like going to the bathroom, getting dressed, eating, writing, tying their shoes, and interacting appropriately with other people.

What are the benefits of occupational therapy?

Some of the many benefits for children can expect with occupational therapy at PediaPlex include:

• Better handwriting
• Sensory integration
• Improved fine motor skills
• Better motor planning
• Improvements in self-help skills
• Improved play and socialization skills
• Reduced symptoms of autism spectrum disorder
• Better visual perception
• Improved visual-motor skills

Occupational therapy sessions at PediaPlex include a variety of activities geared toward children’s individual needs and goals. 

Occupational therapists help your child break down complex tasks into smaller parts and teach them ways to focus when someone is speaking to them. Learning appropriate social behavior is part of occupational therapy sessions at PediaPlex.

Is occupational therapy right for my child?

Experts at PediaPlex assess your child’s skills using a variety of tools. Therapists engage your child in play and ask them to complete various tasks to assess strengths and challenges. 

Your child could be asked to respond verbally to questions or make shapes, letters, and sentences. Specialists personalize occupational therapy sessions to help your child thrive at school, at home, and with other people.

To learn more about exceptional, highly effective occupational therapy available at PediaPlex, call the office.