About Pediatric Occupational Therapy
What is Pediatric Occupational Therapy?
Therapy that promotes a child’s independence within their daily function helping them overcome challenges in order to reach their optimal function and success at home, school and within their community.
When to Seek Services
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Delayed developmental milestones
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Difficulty in school - attention, following directions, handwriting
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Behavioral difficulties- struggles to identify and/or regulate emotions
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Limited peer interaction or social skills- communication, eye contact
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Difficulties regarding feeding, eating, or intaking variety of foods
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Discomfort or avoidance with specific clothing, fabrics, or materials
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Trouble interacting with people or environments - Social Skills
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Under or Over Responsive - Noise, Lights, Movement
What Does OT Help With?
Fine Motor Skills
Buttoning, Zipping, Grasp, Handwriting
Sensory Processing
Social Emotional Skills
Emotional Regulation, Playing with Peers
Gross Motor Skills
Rolling, Crawling, Reaching, Walking
Feeding
Oral Motor Development, Sensory Difficulties, Mealtime Behaviors
Executive Function
Problem Solving, Attention, Pre-planning, Organization
Balance & Coordination
Cognitive Development
Sleep
In-Home Therapy
vs. Outpatient
According to AJOT, “Intervention frequently involves practical and relevant treatment, using activities and objects from the child’s world. Thus, functional goals may be more realistically achieved in the child’s living environment. Involvement with family members also offers opportunities to develop collaborative relationships with parents and, therefore, to integrate the intervention program into the child’s home life.”
About
Building Blocks
When starting OT school in 2018, I had a dream of owning my own pediatric practice one day but man was that a daunting, seemingly unrealistic, thought for me! A couple days before the program started, I met Tyler (now husband) who told me on our first date, " We're going to make that happen one day, so you can help others." We're so excited to bring our dreams and skills together to form Building Blocks with the same ultimate goal - to truly care for families and become their teammates for their child's ultimate success in all areas.
Hannah-Leigh Block, OTD, OTR/L
Owner of Building Blocks Therapy Group