Occupational therapy (OT) is a therapy aimed at helping people gain and maintain the “occupations” of their lives. These occupations include eating, sleeping, bathing, playing, dressing and grooming, socializing, leisure pursuits, and succeeding in an academic setting. When working in a pediatric setting, it is understood that a child’s main occupation is playing.

Play to Live. Live to Play.

At Idaho Therapy Source, play is the primary approach used in therapy with children. Play is a child’s meaningful occupation. As no two children are alike, every therapy session is tailored toward each child’s specific goals and family objectives for their success. Children are scheduled according to their social needs, grouped with same-age peers as much as possible, for ongoing success in one of the most essential occupations we have as humans – relating to each other.

child doing occupational therapy

BEHAVIORS YOUR CHILD MAY DISPLAY THAT WOULD INDICATE BENEFITTING FROM OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY.

  • Frequent tantrums or avoiding behaviors
  • Becomes dysregulated easily, low frustration tolerance
  • Difficulty calming down after being upset
  • Difficulty eating a variety of foods
  • Difficulty sleeping
  • Sensitive to correction
  • Sensitive to textures in the mouth or on the body, noises, smells, movement
  • Difficulty riding a bike
  • Appears clumsy or accident prone
  • Falls out of chair, has poor balance
  • Impulsive, easily distracted, difficulty maintaining attention
  • Messy handwriting and/or hand fatigues
  • Poor eye-hand coordination, difficulty catching a ball
  • Not age appropriate independent in self-care tasks
  • Difficulty with friendships, does not play well with peers
  • Talks at you instead of with you