As school starts back up for your little students, it can be difficult to make the transition from summer fun to the routine of school. The after-school time period can be so challenging and the demands of homework and the fatigue from being in a classroom again can result in tantrums and big feelings.
Here are my top five tips for regulation after school.
1. Take a movement break
Oftentimes, kids are expected to sit in their classroom for longer stretches of time, and expecting them to come right home and sit to complete homework can be too much. Try incorporating a movement break either before pick up (on the playground at school before leaving if possible) or when you get home. This can help with regulation, and improve focus with homework later on.
2. Get a snack
We all have tried to power through a task when we are hungry. How do you typically feel when you’re hungry? If you’re anything like me, you probably are not your best. Our kids are the same! Making sure they have a snack and a drink before asking them to complete any tasks is a great strategy for promoting regulation.
3. Set time for homework
Setting a clear schedule and time for homework is key. None of us like being told out of the blue that we have to complete a task we don’t like. I would hate to come home from work and have someone tell me that I need to work on my taxes or setting up a new printer (both activities aren’t my favorite ). It’s the same for your kids! Set a time for homework and stick to it.
4. Flexible seating
I often tell families at the office, “What is your priority? That your child sits at the table or that they are completing the work?”. There is no unwritten rule that says homework must be completed at a desk and if your little one prefers to stand, lay down, or sit on the floor, as long as they are focused and doing the homework, I say let them!
5. Visual schedule and timers
Predictability on a small scale can be so helpful during times of big life transitions. For example, going back to school is a big change, but it can be helpful to have a plan for after school so that not everything in the day is a surprise. Now even if you have the same plan everyday, you can’t assume that your child “knows the routine”. I highly recommend having a visual schedule of some kind to keep your afternoons on track and keep everyone on the same page. Timers can also be so helpful for transitions. For more information on transitions, check out our transitions blog.
While going back to school is a huge change for everyone in the family, there are definitely ways to support self-regulation after school. If you have questions or more concerns about your child’s development, reach out to our office for a complimentary consultation!
Kaelyn Green is a licensed occupational therapist at Valued Voices. She is certified by the University of Southern California in Sensory Integration and is an advocate for addressing underlying sensory functioning in order to improve occupational performance. She is passionate about meeting children and families where they are at and seeks to tailor interventions to the unique needs of her clients. When she is not working, you will find Kaelyn taking care of her two goldendoodles, working in her garden, or taking trips to the Central Coast.
What are the stages of gestalt language development?
If you are curious to learn more about the six stages of gestalt language development, please click the button below.
At Valued Voices, we believe in the power of connection, collaboration, and meeting each child where they are. That’s why we’re such big fans of co-treatment sessions! These sessions bring together the expertise of both speech-language pathologists (SLPs) and occupational therapists (OTs) to create a truly holistic and neuro-affirming approach to therapy.
Co-treatments allow us to honor the whole child, supporting their communication, sensory, motor, and social needs in a way that feels natural, engaging, and empowering. By working together, our therapists can create dynamic, integrative sessions that not only target goals but also foster confidence, independence, and joy.
Here’s a closer look at how co-treatment works and why it’s such a game-changer for the families we serve.
How the Co-Treatment Model Works
Co-treatment sessions involve an SLP and an OT working side by side during the same session to address overlapping areas of need. This collaborative approach is especially effective for children whose goals in speech and occupational therapy are interconnected.
Here’s how it comes together:
Shared Planning: Before sessions, the SLP and OT collaborate to identify common goals and design activities that address communication, motor and/or sensory needs.
Integrated Activities: During sessions, activities are carefully crafted to target goals for both disciplines. For example, a child might practice requesting items (speech goal) while engaging in a fine motor task like building with blocks (OT goal).
Ongoing Adjustments: Both therapists provide live feedback, adjust activities as needed, and seamlessly integrate their unique techniques to support the child.
Improving fine motor control alongside articulation skills (e.g., writing letters while practicing clear pronunciation).
Supporting sensory regulation to help a child stay engaged during speech/language tasks.
Integrating social communication and play skills, like turn-taking or problem-solving, through hands-on activities.
Building self-expression while working on attention, sequencing, or coordination skills.
The Benefits of Co-Treatment
Co-treatment offers a wealth of benefits for children, families, and therapists alike:
1. Holistic Support
Many children have interconnected needs, like sensory regulation impacting communication. Co-treatment allows us to address these areas simultaneously, providing comprehensive care.
2. Improved Generalization of Skills
Practicing skills in multiple contexts, like language during motor tasks, helps children apply what they’ve learned in real-life settings.
3. Enhanced Engagement and Motivation
Co-treatment sessions are dynamic and fun, combining creative activities that reflect both SLP and OT goals. This keeps children motivated and reduces frustration.
4. Shared Insights and Strategies
Therapists learn from each other’s approaches, leading to stronger, more tailored interventions for the child.
5. Efficient Use of Therapy Time
For families juggling busy schedules, co-treatment minimizes the need for separate sessions while still addressing all necessary goals.
6. Improved Parent Education
With both therapists present, parents receive comprehensive feedback and strategies to support their child’s progress at home.
7. Stronger Team Communication
Real-time collaboration ensures seamless communication between therapists, reducing gaps and enhancing the child’s care.
Examples of Co-Treatment Activities
Here are just a few ways SLPs and OTs work together to create meaningful, integrative sessions:
Sensory Play with Communication: A child uses words, phrases, sentences, gestures, or a device to request items from a sensory bin, targeting speech goals while working on fine motor or sensory integration.
Obstacle Course with Sequencing: The child completes an OT-designed obstacle course while practicing sequencing with both the SLP and OT.
Cooking Activities: Following directions, sequencing, building vocabulary, and requesting items with the SLP while strengthening fine motor skills like stirring or pouring with the OT.
Interactive Games: Turn-taking games that support social communication goals for the SLP and motor planning, coordination, and/or regulation goals for the OT.
When Co-Treatment Makes Sense
Co-treatment is ideal for children whose therapy goals overlap significantly or who benefit from a highly integrative approach. It’s particularly effective for:
Supporting sensory regulation to improve attention and communication.
Building social skills that require both physical interaction and verbal exchanges.
At Valued Voices, we’re passionate about creating therapy experiences that are not only effective but also affirming, joyful, and deeply connected. Co-treatment sessions embody this philosophy, offering a multidisciplinary approach that helps children thrive in a way that feels natural and empowering.
If you’d like to learn more about co-treatment or explore whether it’s the right fit for your child, we’re here to help!
Book a complimentary consultation todayand let’s work together to support your child’s unique journey.
Sholeh Shahinfar is the Founder of Valued Voices, a licensed Speech Language Pathologist, Child Communication Specialist and Certified Oral Motor Therapist. She is passionate about uplifting children’s voices in the world and inspiring self-expression. In her free time, Sholeh embraces a vegan lifestyle, loves going to the ocean, exploring nature with her pup Kobe, practicing yoga, traveling, and spending time with her loved ones.
What are the stages of gestalt language development?
If you are curious to learn more about the six stages of gestalt language development, please click the button below.
At Valued Voices, obtaining a holistic picture of your child’s functioning is central to developing an accurate treatment plan. As therapists, we rely on standardized measures, parent interviews, teacher interviews (if applicable), clinical observations, and more to ensure the impressions we gather of your child are as complete as possible. Below are answers to some commonly asked questions about this process!
Standardized assessments are specific tests that clinicians use to measure strengths and areas of challenge for individuals. They provide results that are compared to normative data for your child’s age group.
2. How do you pick which assessments to use?
We pick which assessments to use based on your child’s age and potential areas of concern, as well as any behavioral needs as well. For more information please check out our FAQs page.
3. What if my child doesn’t perform well on the day of testing?
That’s okay! We want to obtain a holistic picture of your child’s needs. If your child is having an “off day” we will take that into account when writing up the report. Additionally, we don’t base our interpretations on one test or subtest. We use lots of measures to ensure the results are as accurate as possible.
4. Are there different types of initial evaluations?
Yes! At Valued Voices we offer two types of initial evaluations- a Standard Evaluation and a Comprehensive Evaluation. The standard evaluation includes standardized questionnaires, clinical observations, and parent interviews. The comprehensive evaluation is conducted over a longer session and involves specific fine motor testing as well.
5. How does this differ from my child’s IEP?
Your child’s IEP is a legal document in which it is determined if your child qualifies for school based services. Occupational therapy is not something that is always assessed as part of the IEP, and even when it is, we use different assessment tools to determine who qualifies for OT. Check out the differences between school based OT and clinic based OT here.
6. What happens after testing?
After testing, the clinician will draft a treatment plan and goals based on the results from all data. We then go through the treatment plan with you to make sure it makes sense and reflects your concerns and views on your child’s needs.
Re-Assessment:
1. What is a re-assessment?
A re-assessment is when clinicians re-administer the standardized testing to measure progress and determine if services should continue, or be reduced.
2. Why is it important to complete re-assessments?
It is important to complete re-assessments yearly to ensure that the treatment plan is up to date, and that your child is receiving services tailored to their current area of need.
3. What if my child has been assessed by the school district?
It’s really important that your clinician is informed of any testing being done at the school district, or other offices. This informs which tests we should use. We don’t want to ask your child to complete the same test twice as that would invalidate results and probably not be fun for your child.
4. Does re-assessment always mean discharge?
No! While re-assessment helps guide discharge planning, it does not always mean discharge, it just focuses on updating the treatment plan, and narrowing the areas of focus. Kids grow and change all the time, and their treatment plan should reflect that!
Assessment is such an important step in developing your child’s treatment plan, but there is definitely not a “one-size fits all” assessment plan for all kids. At Valued Voices, we want to work with you to develop a plan that not only assesses the areas of need, but also includes your perspective. As a clinician, it’s our job to partner with parents and families, not just tell you what to do. We are a team, and all steps of the intervention process should reflect that. If you have questions about assessment or your child’s development, please reach out to us for a complimentary consultation.
Kaelyn Green is a licensed occupational therapist at Valued Voices. She is certified by the University of Southern California in Sensory Integration and is an advocate for addressing underlying sensory functioning in order to improve occupational performance. She is passionate about meeting children and families where they are at and seeks to tailor interventions to the unique needs of her clients. When she is not working, you will find Kaelyn taking care of her two goldendoodles, working in her garden, or taking trips to the Central Coast.
What are the stages of gestalt language development?
If you are curious to learn more about the six stages of gestalt language development, please click the button below.
At Valued Voices, we strongly believe that when we focus on a child’s strengths and interests, this is where all the magic happens! Rather than going into our sessions the way we think it should be, we fully embrace the child’s world of play and let the child lead!
Children always gravitate towards what they enjoy and learn best when they are interested and when we navigate our sessions in this way, it keeps them motivated and makes it meaningful for the child. The best part is that this allows us to connect most authentically with our kiddos and build a relationship on trust, connection and acceptance, which are the foundations for all things in this world!
First thing I always advise, which may sound scary to some, is…don’t go into the session with a set plan. The more flexible you are, the better your session will go. When it comes to child-led therapy, there really is no planning. You will still have a purpose for the session and guide it, just without having it all planned out. Whether you are a parent or professional reading this, this style requires more thinking on your feet, I recommend starting out slow and keep the environment stimulation free. What do I mean by this? I mean don’t have to many things out at once, so if you are in a therapy room or playroom, make sure you structure it in a way that is not distracting or too overwhelming for your child. I typically recommend having no more than 3-4 options of toys/activities available, I would always make sure that within these objects, at least half or more are preferred, familiar toys/activities, and one or two others are novel toys/activities (see this is where the planning comes in but in a very intentional, child-centered way: you are still planning the toys/activities, just not the step-by-step on what you want your child to do with it). Let go of all expectations during child-led play: don’t worry about how your child is playing or interacting, just go with their flow! Sometimes, it could be difficult to find out what a child will be interested or engaged in, so you can consider some sensory-motor play activities.
Child-Led Therapy & Safety
There is a big misconception that child-led therapy means we do whatever a child wants, and it becomes a free for all; this is absolutely not the case. First and foremost, safety is the most important thing that should be considered not only in sessions, but across all settings. If your child is doing something that is not safe, we absolutely need to set boundaries to keep them safe.
If your child is doing something that is unsafe, it is important to consider if they may be dysregulated. For example, a child may be jumping off furniture because they are seeking proprioceptive input. Click here learn more about dysregulation and sensory needs.
Child-led therapy simply means that the adult is not planning or directing the sessions, instead the child is. There are no expectations on what or how your child will do or play with, we are simply just honoring their interests, preferences and following their lead.
Advocating for a Child-Centered Approach
In the past, traditional therapy techniques have often been compliance based, so moving to a child-led therapy approach requires a big mindset shift. It is important to educate parents and professionals about the importance, functionality and meaningfulness that comes through a child-centered approach.
We know that children learn best through play and are best supported through natural, meaningful contexts; this is why when we adopt and nurture a child-centered approach, it allows us to model language and other skills, that are motivating and meaningful for the child.
A child-centered approach nurtures and grows trust, acceptance, connection and much more fun! I encourage you all to give it a try!
Want to learn more about a child-centered approach?
Sholeh Shahinfar is the Founder of Valued Voices, a licensed Speech Language Pathologist, Child Communication Specialist and Certified Oral Motor Therapist. She is passionate about uplifting children’s voices in the world and inspiring self-expression. In her free time, Sholeh embraces a vegan lifestyle, loves going to the ocean, exploring nature with her pup Kobe, practicing yoga, traveling, and spending time with her loved ones.
KAELYN GREEN
Kaelyn Green is a licensed occupational therapist at Valued Voices. She is certified by the University of Southern California in Sensory Integration and is an advocate for addressing underlying sensory functioning in order to improve occupational performance. She is passionate about meeting children and families where they are at and seeks to tailor interventions to the unique needs of her clients. When she is not working, you will find Kaelyn taking care of her two goldendoodles, working in her garden, or taking trips to the Central Coast.
What are the stages of gestalt language development?
If you are curious to learn more about the six stages of gestalt language development, please click the button below.
One of the main components of sensory integration and pediatric occupational therapy is the idea that the activities are “child led”. It is my job as your child’s therapist to take whatever they are interested in (cars, superheroes, Bluey, etc) and turn that into a functional activity that addresses both their sensory needs and works toward their goals. I could plan the most amazing activity, but if your child walks in the door and does not want to play that game or participate in that activity, it is my job to be flexible and adjust my plan accordingly. It can be harder than it sounds!
From my experience, this is the most important skill we have in our toolbox as therapists. We want the child to be invested in their own intervention, and in order to do that, we can’t force them to participate in activities that aren’t fun! I tell families in every screening, “Our sessions should look like we are playing games the whole time. Your child should want to come back next week. That is my goal”. But why is this so important? Children learn best when they are not stressed, and have opportunities to explore. They will gain more skills and knowledge if they are having fun and given a chance to try new and exciting things, and also if they are given opportunities to problem solve within a supportive environment.
All this to say, that child led sensory motor play doesn’t have to stay in the clinic! This type of play can be implemented at home, and boost your child’s development in all areas.
Here are my top 3 favorite child-led sensory activities for home:
1. Making a Sensory Bin
This activity can be adapted in so many ways! Oftentimes, families tell me they are worried about having a sensory bin at home due to mess or mouthing. I love the idea of a “taste safe” bin using household ingredients for the younger children or for those prone to put toys and materials in their mouths. And as for the mess, moving the bin outside is my top recommendation. Make a base (ie. taste safe kinetic sand, jello, pudding, etc.) and add in washable toys, cars, coins, etc. The goal of this is to provide opportunities for your child to explore and find new ways to play!
2. Arts and Crafts
This may seem simple but painting, coloring, and building with clay are some of the best child-led fine motor activities around! Start with an idea (“let’s draw a race track for your cars!”) and see where the activity leads!
3. Building a fort:
Building a fort is such a fun way to add in proprioceptive input and motor planning to your child’s day! I recommend helping with the set up and materials, and letting your child figure out how to assemble and build the fort together. This is always a fun launch point for pretend play and games!
Ultimately, the activities that will fit your child and their skills best, are the ones that you discover together! It can be hard to do, but try letting your child take charge of the playtime and see where it leads you!
If you have concerns about your child’s development or their play skills, contact us for a complimentary consultation!
Sholeh Shahinfar is the Founder of Valued Voices, a licensed Speech Language Pathologist, Child Communication Specialist and Certified Oral Motor Therapist. She is passionate about uplifting children’s voices in the world and inspiring self-expression. In her free time, Sholeh embraces a vegan lifestyle, loves going to the ocean, exploring nature with her pup Kobe, practicing yoga, traveling, and spending time with her loved ones.
KAELYN GREEN
Kaelyn Green is a licensed occupational therapist at Valued Voices. She is certified by the University of Southern California in Sensory Integration and is an advocate for addressing underlying sensory functioning in order to improve occupational performance. She is passionate about meeting children and families where they are at and seeks to tailor interventions to the unique needs of her clients. When she is not working, you will find Kaelyn taking care of her two goldendoodles, working in her garden, or taking trips to the Central Coast.
What are the stages of gestalt language development?
If you are curious to learn more about the six stages of gestalt language development, please click the button below.
Handwriting is one of the most common areas parents ask me about in my practice. It is such a necessary occupation for classroom tasks, general fine motor development, and visual perception/motor tasks. Pencil grasp development is central to legibly completing handwriting tasks and there are so many factors impacting pencil grip development and fine motor control that it can be tricky to determine when grasp patterns are ineffective and when/how to intervene.
What is a Pencil Grasp and Why is it Important?
Simply put, a pencil grasp is the way in which one holds onto a writing utensil. While I could go on and explain the technicalities of finger placement in relation to the writing tool, and how the hyperextension of different joints impacts the success of the grasp, it really is not relevant in this context. In general, an effective grasp pattern is one that does not cause fatigue quickly when writing or drawing, and that does not impact the legibility or accuracy of the work. Pencil grasp can have a large impact on the legibility of handwriting, which is a relatively large occupation for kids. Therefore, remediation of dysfunctional grasp patterns is important to academic success.
Pencil Grasp Development and Dysfunctional Pencil Grasps
As a child grows, they gain more control over coloring and writing tools, which lead to development of a mature grasp. Typically a child’s pencil grip moves from fisted (or using the entire hand to retain grasp of the tool) to digital pronate (or holding on to the top of the pencil and pointing the index finger down towards the writing tip) to a four finger or quadrupod grasp. A quadrupod grasp is where the thumb and index finger are in opposition around the pencil tip, the middle finger supports the index, and the pencil rests on the ring finger. A three finger or dynamic tripod grasp is where the thumb and index fingers are controlling the pencil movement, with the back of the pencil rest on the middle finger. Basically, it’s expected that the child holds the pencil with an “adult grasp” around age 5. There is a lot of variation in pencil grasps, and really pencil grips are dysfunctional when the child is using an immature grasp pattern or when they are using too much force or pressure when completing work.
Factors Impacting a Child’s Pencil Grip
Surprisingly, many different body systems need to work appropriately and efficiently to support a functional pencil grasp. The common areas impacting pencil grip are detailed below, however it’s by no means comprehensive. Occupational therapists work to determine if the pencil grip is dysfunctional, if intervention is warranted, and what specific areas are impacting functional grip development. Occupational therapists in both the school system and in outpatient clinics can work on fine motor skills and help your child develop an appropriate grasp.
Core Strength and Postural Control:
As an OT, they teach you “proximal stability leads to distal mobility”. In other words, you need to have strength and control in your core, shoulder and arm muscles to allow for your finger and wrist muscles to do their jobs. If you think about it, you won’t be able to write or draw anything well if you can’t sit upright in your desk, or are having to use whole arm movements to complete that drawing. If you don’t believe me, I highly encourage you to try signing your name or completing a more precise drawing activity while keeping your wrist and elbow stable, and only moving your shoulder and arm. It’s tricky, I promise. Core strength and functional strength in your shoulder and arm muscles allow for development of tool use and fine motor coordination. When remediating pencil grip, this is usually where I start.
Proprioceptive and Tactile Processing:
Proprioceptive processing and tactile processing are exceedingly important to efficient pencil grasp development. Proprioception is our body’s way of determining body awareness and body position. The receptors are located in all of our muscles and joints and are activated by stretching and contracting our muscles or applying force or resistance to our joints. This system helps other types of input integrate in the central nervous system due to the anatomical orientation of the nervous system tract. It is responsible for safety awareness, gradation of force and pressure, tool use, gross motor and fine motor coordination, and self-regulation. The tactile system is our body’s way of receiving, decoding, and reacting to touch. This system can process light touch, deep pressure (tight hugs, weighted blankets) vibration, and temperature. The main receptors are in our skin, with the highest concentration of receptors located around our mouths and fingers. Now you may be thinking that these don’t sound relevant to handwriting and hand muscles, but trust me on this. Hand muscles require the same communication from our nervous system as all other body systems do. When proprioception or tactile processing is not efficient or is unreliable, maintaining an effective grasp pattern is challenging to say the least. It can be hard to “feel” the writing tool in your hand, resulting in needing more surface contact in order to feel in control of that writing utensil. This may look like a closed web space (or the area between the thumb and index fingers is small) rather than the ideal open web space. Therefore, you may often see a fisted grasp or a variation of a four finger grasp when children who present with sensory processing differences are writing. It is not always a matter of strength, it’s maybe a matter of subcortical processing and sensory integration.
Fine Motor Strength:
Oftentimes children have limited strength, low muscle tone or limited dexterity in the small muscles of the hands, impacting their ability to maintain an appropriate grasp on a coloring tool. This is typical of children who can write one or two sentences with a dynamic tripod grip, then fatigue and switch to a less functional grasp pattern. Generally speaking, a closed fist grasp or digital pronate grasp require less strength and coordination than a tripod grasp does.
When is Pencil Grip a Problem?
Everyone uses a different type of grasp. Whether you use a thumb wrap, three fingers, four fingers, or some combination of grasp types. Pencil grasp development is important but its also important to recognize that different does not always mean wrong. Occupational therapy may be warranted when the grasp development is impacting function. If your child’s hand is getting tired quickly, or if their grasp is impacting the legibility of their handwriting, then remediation may be needed.
Tips for Adjusting Pencil Grasp at Home
While there are many different strategies for adjusting pencil grasp, here are a few of my favorites:
Pencil Grips
There are just about a million different pencil grips you can find which say they are the best for promoting a dynamic tripod grasp. I wish I could point you to a surefire brand or type that works for all kids regardless, but unfortunately that isn’t the case. Your child will likely need to try out quite a few different grips to determine which one fits their little fingers the best. Whether it’s a triangle grip, a “puppy dog” grip, or a crossover grip, see which is most comfortable for your child’s little hands and which is promoting appropriate thumb, index finger, and third finger placement.
Hiding “Treasure”
This may be one of my absolute favorite tricks. When a child is holding a crayon or pencil with a less than functional grasp, I ask them to “hide” pom poms or other small objects against their palm with their fourth finger and pinky. This will force the fingers to move into a. tripod grasp as only the thumb, index fingers and middle fingers are available to hold the pencil. Try keeping this small object in the hand for as long as tolerated, and work up to longer periods. If your child has smaller hands, use smaller objects. Remember, your child’s hands are working hard to maintain the grasp, and they may fatigue. It is okay to take breaks while the muscles build strength and develop.
Fine Motor Games
Just like other muscles in our bodies, our fine motor muscles need to develop with different stretches, exercises, and activities. In occupational therapy we often play different “warm up” games before moving to handwriting activities. This helps to wake up those muscles before we ask them to hold a pencil correctly. Your child can work on these muscles by using resistive putty to find treasures like beads or gems, placing coins into a piggy bank using their thumb and index finger to pick up the pieces, playing Mancala or opening and closing a tennis ball monster to feed him pom poms. Any activity that requires coordination of fingers and hands is likely helping develop those pencil-grasp muscles.
In summary…
Just like the rest of our body, our children develop hand strength and coordination over time. Exercising is key to developing an appropriate pencil grip. If you have concerns about the way your child is holding their pencil or crayon, it is always best to consult a trained occupational therapist. Whether or not occupational therapy is needed, the therapist can help develop specific activities your child can use to improve their pencil grip.
Kaelyn Green is a licensed occupational therapist at Valued Voices. She is certified by the University of Southern California in Sensory Integration and is an advocate for addressing underlying sensory functioning in order to improve occupational performance. She is passionate about meeting children and families where they are at and seeks to tailor interventions to the unique needs of her clients. When she is not working, you will find Kaelyn taking care of her two goldendoodles, working in her garden, or taking trips to the Central Coast.
As an occupational therapist, the number one question I get from parents, caregivers, and even other professionals is “What is occupational therapy?”. The name really doesn’t provide a lot of information on what OT intervention looks like, or how it benefits a pediatric population. Occupational therapists are trained healthcare professionals who help individuals who experience traumatic injuries, illness, or developmental delays increase independence and confidence in order to participate in everyday tasks. Occupational therapists have a master’s degree or a doctoral degree and can have additional certifications in sensory integration. While OT’s can work with adults too, pediatric occupational therapists work to develop fine motor skills, gross motor skills, school skills, and other types of skill sets in order to support participation.
What is a Childhood Occupation?
Occupational therapy addresses anything and all things you need to do during your everyday life. Consider how your morning went. You probably woke up, got dressed, brushed your teeth and hair, made breakfast, packed a lunch, etc, etc, etc. These activities are all considered occupations because they occupy your time during the day. In order to complete these tasks efficiently, you need accuratefine motor skills, gross motor skills, visual perceptual skills, sensory processing skills, balance, bilateral coordination, executive functioning, and more. Occupational therapists work on developing skills in order to improve independence with day to day tasks. For children, occupational therapists develop treatment plans which focus on improving sensory integration, developing gross motor skills, bilateral coordination, executive functioning, problem solving, and fine motor skills needed to meet developmental milestones, achieve independence with everyday activities, and improve their ability to play and develop peer relationships.
What are Fine and Gross Motor Skills?
Gross motor skills include any motor action that uses large muscles of our body. If you are. using your arms, legs, core, or any combination of those major muscle groups, you are likely completing a gross motor task. Examples of these skills include, skipping, jumping jacks, riding a bike.
Fine motor skills usually involve only the small muscles of the hands. Fine motor skills can include but are not limited to handwriting, scissor skills, using a spoon, fork, or knife, coloring, buttoning, fastening a zipper, shoe tying, stringing beads, etc.
What are Sensory Processing Disorders?
Sensory processing is the general term for how our body takes in information from the environment (sensory input) through our receptor organs (like our noses, eyes, mouth, skin, etc.), decodes that information, and then uses it to inform our motor reactions. We all process sensory information differently, and there is not a “correct” way to respond to different environmental input. That being said, when sensory processing issues impact function, well being, or independence with daily living, intervention may be warranted. Sensory processing disorders are the general description for difficulty tolerating, responding to, or registering certain types of sensory input from the environment, impacting day to day activities.
Emotional Regulation and Occupational Therapy
Oftentimes, when sensory processing or motor coordination are challenging, children can have difficulty regulating their emotions, tolerating frustration, filtering extraneous sensory input, and feeling confident and secure in their bodies. This can negatively impact social skills, school performance, and can cause strain for families. Seemingly minor disagreements or interactions can result in large emotional reactions, aggression, and big feelings. Occupational therapy works to help individuals develop a toolbox of coping strategies, communicate their feelings, and take steps to reduce the frequency of tantrums and frustration to promote positive interactions with daily activities.
Does my child need occupational therapy?
If your child is struggling to participate in everyday routines and activities (like brushing teeth, brushing hair, getting dressed, self-feeding, organizing materials, fastening zippers, fastening buttons, tying shoelaces, etc.) or is having difficulties focusing, completing multi-step tasks, or completing school activities, they may benefit from intervention.
Overall…
Occupational therapists work on developing skills in order to improve independence with day to day tasks. Childhood occupational therapy works to support those day to day skills for children ages 0-23. These areas usually involve dressing, self-care, self-feeding, fine motor, and gross motor skills. If you have concerns about your child’s development, behavioral problems, or suspect sensory processing problems, consult with your pediatrician or a pediatric occupational therapist to determine if services are needed. You know your child best, and if you have concerns, it is always best to reach out!
Kaelyn Green is a licensed occupational therapist at Valued Voices. She is certified by the University of Southern California in Sensory Integration and is an advocate for addressing underlying sensory functioning in order to improve occupational performance. She is passionate about meeting children and families where they are at and seeks to tailor interventions to the unique needs of her clients. When she is not working, you will find Kaelyn taking care of her two goldendoodles, working in her garden, or taking trips to the Central Coast.
