Occupational therapy is a client-centered health profession concerned with promoting health and well being through occupation. The primary goal of occupational therapy is to enable people to participate in the activities of everyday life. Occupational therapists achieve this outcome by working with people and communities to enhance their ability to engage in the occupations they want to, need to, or are expected to do, or by modifying the occupation or the environment to better support their occupational engagement.(http://www.wfot.org/information.asp)
Occupational Therapy is skilled treatment aimed at maximizing the abilities of infants and children to achieve self-help, play and learning skills appropriate for their age. Using purposeful activities, including the tasks of daily life, intervention promotes in children the greatest possible degree of functional independence.
Occupational therapy for children is concerned about how they function in every day life skills. Is the child happy and playful? Do they enjoy playing with others or sports and games? Can they dress themselves? Is eating and feeding enjoyable? Do they sleep well? Can they listen and pay attention? Can they constructively communicate their feelings? What about the other “jobs” of children, such as school work? Is the child able to initiate and complete such skills independently? If you feel your child is struggling in any of these areas then they may require occupational therapy.
An occupational therapist can help a child, their care givers/parents and other people in the child’s life to:
- Gain a better understanding of the child’s illness, disability or difficulties
- Learn ways to maximize the child’s performance in everyday living
- Promote and nurture the child’s strengths and self-esteem
- Occupational therapy services are provided in a variety of settings depending on the needs of the child and family