Occupational Therapists are licensed medical providers who treat patients across the lifespan, from pediatrics to adults to geriatrics, do the things they want and need to do. They work with both children and adults to improve their performance of their daily activities despite their injury, illness or disability.
Pediatric
Occupational Therapists treat the pediatric population by helping children develop all of the many skills they need for the “jobs” of childhood – playing with friends, going to school, eating, dressing, and participating in sports/hobbies. An occupational therapist can help a child with fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, balance, behavior problems, and becoming more independent with daily activities such as eating, dressing and hygiene. If you are concerned about your child’s participation in any of these activities, an occupational therapy evaluation may be the next step in addressing those deficits.
Handwriting
Handwriting is a complex skill that involves coordinating multiple body parts in order to express written language. It requires coordinating the eyes, arms, hand and body posture to develop a proper pencil grip with clear letter formation. An Occupational Therapist can evaluate a child to determine the specific areas of difficulty that are impeding handwriting, such as strength, endurance, hand-eye coordination, and fine motor skills.
Hand Therapy
Hand Therapy is a type of rehabilitation performed by an occupational therapist on patients with conditions affecting the hands and upper extremities to hasten the return to their prior level of function. Patients who may benefit from hand therapy include: those affected by an accident or trauma leaving them with wounds, scars, burns, injured tendons or nerves, fractures, or even amputations of the fingers, hands, or arms. Others include patients who suffer from the effects of conditions such as carpal tunnel syndrome and tennis elbow, as well as from such chronic problems as arthritis or a neurologic condition (i.e., stroke).
ADLs
An Occupational Therapist can assist patients who have been affected either by illness or injury to return to performing their activities of daily living with decreased assistance from caregivers.
