Beginning Therapy with a Child: Essential Guide
Occupational therapy (OT) is a valuable resource for children with various developmental, motor, or sensory impairments, neurological conditions, or those requiring support in daily life activities. In Germany, it is recommended that these children undergo an assessment or evaluation through occupational therapy (Okklupationstherapie).
The main purpose of occupational therapy is to help kids become more independent and successful in their daily lives, building the skills they need for school, home, play, and relationships. It's a special time where someone helps children practice things that are hard, making their muscles stronger, thinking faster, and their feelings easier to handle.
OT is designed to support the whole child, emotionally, socially, and physically. It can help children feel more comfortable by using positive, simple explanations, practicing visits, role-playing sessions, involving siblings or peers, and allowing comfort items during sessions.
Occupational therapy can work with children in early intervention from birth through 3 years of age on the development of skills. It helps children build a foundation that supports success across daily activities, school tasks, and social participation.
Collaboration between families, OTs, teachers, and school teams is key for a child's success in occupational therapy. Parents play a huge role in the success of occupational therapy for children, and can expect collaboration, check-ins, and ideas to carry over into home routines.
OT addresses everything from fine motor skills to emotional regulation, attention, and independence. Occupational therapists work on various things with children, such as handwriting, sensory needs, cognitive processing, attention, visual processing, executive functioning, motor abilities, self-regulation, participation in the classroom, play, self-care skills, leisure activities, sleep, toileting, safety in the community, feeding and oral motor skills, sensory processing, emotional-regulation, social participation, and executive functioning skills.
Teletherapy is a form of occupational therapy that is provided remotely through digital, virtual means. This option can be particularly useful during times when in-person sessions are not possible.
It's important to note that occupational therapy can also address food texture issues or picky eating in children. This is done by helping children develop a more positive relationship with food and exploring various textures and flavours in a safe and supportive environment.
In essence, occupational therapy for children is all about helping them do the things they need and want to do in daily life. Whether it's brushing teeth, holding a pencil, joining recess games with peers, or managing big emotions, OT is there to support and guide them every step of the way. It's a team effort that aims to empower children to lead fulfilling, independent lives.
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