Pediatric Occupational Therapist help infants and children reach their maximum potential to live life to the fullest! A child’s occupation consitist of a variety of everyday activities. These activities include playing, learning, getting dressed, self care and interacting with others. Occupational therapy helps children to be independent and successful in everyday activities. Listed below are some of the areas that an occupational therapist can help children.

• Cognition relates to how the brain thinks, processes and learns. Some specific areas of cognition include attention, sequencing activities, time management, memory, problem solving, following directions, and decision making.
• Social Skills are important for children to learn in order to relate and communicate with their peers, teachers, siblings and parents.
• Self-Care is the ability to take care of one’s self. For example, dressing one’s self, bathing, teeth brushing, feeding themself and being able to button or zip a jacket.
• Sensory Processing involves how a person perceives information from their senses, such as sight, taste, touch, and sound. A great example of this is when a child dislikes wearing certain clothes because of the way the clothing feels.
• Coordination for a child is important for all areas of life. There are different types of coordination, including fine motor, gross motor and motor planning.
• Visual Motor Integration involves the coordination of the child’s body movements and visual skills. For example, using scissors, catching a ball or tying their shoes.
• Strength is an important component for children in order to successfully accomplish everyday activities. Some children become fatigued quickly when performing simple task like handwriting.

If you think your child may need help with any of these areas, occupational therapy can be very helpful for your child’s development.