How to know if your child needs OT &
helpful tips to support your child’s needs

Every parent wants the best for their
child. They want to see their child develop
normally. They want to see their child hold
his/her head up for the first time. They want
to see their child sit up, crawl, or roll a ball.
Unfortunately, these developmental skills
may not be inherent in every child. Some
children
may have
developm
ental
and/or
intellectu
al delays
that a
parent
should
detect as
soon as possible.
There are some cases where a child
experiences an injury or trauma that may
completely change his/her life. The child
may no longer be able to function normally
and may have even developmentally
regressed. Early detection of any delay or
regression
of
developme
ntal
milestones
is the best
way to
correct
Girl with cerebral palsy who requires
the
frequent OT sessions.
problem,
and it is
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the parent’s responsibility to closely observe
and seek help if necessary.
Treatment
“PT, OT, and ST
options depend on
may be
the delay, illness, or
integrated to
trauma of your
increase the
child. A child may
chances of
need occupational
success and
therapy, physical
improvement.”
therapy, speech
therapy, or maybe
even a combination
of all three. PT, OT, and ST may be
integrated to increase the chances of success
and improvement. Most people are familiar
with physical therapy, but may be less
informed about what occupational therapy
has to offer for their child. Physical therapy
mainly deals with gross motor movements
of the lower extremity. For example, if a
child can’t
walk, then the
physical
therapist
would work
on exercises
that would
enable the
child to have
the skills to
be able to
walk with or without assistance.
An occupational therapist would
deal with fine and gross motor skills of
mainly the upper extremity. For example, if
a child is unable to use his/her right hand,
then the OT would focus on exercises to
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enhance right hand function. An OT’s main
job is to enable people to execute their
occupation and other daily activities. A
child’s
occupation is to
play and/or go
to school.
Occupational
therapists work
with children to
improve their
skills,
Boy playing with pegboard to
work on fine motor skills
coordination,
and posture so
that the child
will be able to play and act independently.
The first thing a parent should do is
to closely observe the child in the child’s
natural state. The parent should allow the
child to move independently with very little
interference. The parent can refer to
developmental milestones
her hand; nevertheless, it is important to talk
to the child’s primary doctor right away to
get a professional opinion and to get a
referral to a qualified occupational therapist.
Throughout your child’s therapy sessions, it
is important to be
familiar and updated
on the child’s
condition, exercises,
and progress. It is
also important for the
parent to reinforce
therapy practices at
home. This creates a
greater chance of progress for your child.
Parents need to be involved and consistent
with the activities performed in therapy.
Reinforcement of learning behaviors is
important so that the reinforced behavior
will become a natural behavior for the child.
Parents can get activities directly from their
therapist, or they can even find some great
activities online if the parent knows what
specific skills their child is working on.
Pinterest is a
wonderful app
that has
numerous
therapy activity
ideas for kids.
Enhancing your
child’s
(which can be found in the links in the table
developmental skills means constant
below) to compare your child’s progress.
practice, use, and reinforcement. For more
There are several questions that parents
information on occupational therapy,
should consider: “Is your child able to
integrated practices, developmental
perform the skills that are
milestones, and OT activities to do
typical for his/her age?”,
at home, click the links that are
“What stage of
“Enhancing your
provided in the table below.
child’s
development is your child
developmental skills
currently?”, “What
means constant
actions are difficult for
practice, use, and
your child to perform?”.
reinforcement.”
There are many
reasons why children
require the help of an
occupational therapist. Some
children may not be able to lift
his/ her head up independently. Some
children may not be able to crawl, sit
independently, or grasp objects with his or
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Name
How Your New
Born Grows: Infant
Development
Developmental
Milestones
Children’s
Hospitals and
Clinics of
Minnesota
Voorhees Pediatric
Facility
URL
http://www.webmd.com/parenting/
baby/infant-development-9/stagesof-development
http://www.babycenter.com/milest
one-charts-birth-to-age-3
http://www.childrensmn.org/service
s/other-programs-andservices/other-programs-andservices-q-z/rehabilitationservices/occupationaltherapy?gclid=CJ3Z1qhsLwCFQjxOgodNEEA6w
http://www.forkidcare.com/resident
ial/residential.aspx?cat=RehabServic
es
http://www.ot-mom-learningactivities.com/
http://www.pinterest.com/jkhattori/
occupational-therapy-ideas/
OT Learning
Activities for kids
Occupational
Therapy Ideas on
Pinterest
With 4 being the best
∞Froza Mercado
Content
Baby’s First Year
of Development
Audience
Parents
Ratings
Milestones from
birth to age 3
Developmental
Milestones, OT
Evaluation, OT
Services
Parents

Parents

Integrated
Practices, Therapy
Programs
OT activities at
home
Reinforce therapy
at home
Parents

Parents

Parents


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