What is Occupational Therapy
You would not be the first person to wonder what is occupational therapy or OT (for short). The word occupation refers to the activities and roles that “occupy” a person’s life. Occupations include the daily activities, leisure, and meaningful activities that a person completes for themselves, within their family, and/or within their community. OT is a profession the supports individuals across the lifespan to improve areas of function, modify environments or tasks, and provide education to clients, families, and caregivers.
So what are children’s occupations? Children play, explore, learn, seek connection, and develop and master skills. They are members of families, someone’s friend, or classmate. They may participate in sports, dance, art, reading, or building legos. Many of the occupations of children begin to build and strengthen their capacities to regulate their body, understand their emotions, build relationships, and develop skills for independence and leisure. When an infant, toddler, child, or adolescent is working through developmental, sensory, and/or motor challenges, participating in these occupations will be impacted.
A little word about Sensory Processing
The focus and framework of our services considers how an individual processes sensory information. We have eight sensory systems receiving, interpreting, and responding to sensory stimuli from our body and environment. Collectively these provide a foundation to our feelings of safety, how we use our bodies, and how we develop skills. Using this framework allows us to address the challenges in these sensory foundation areas to support higher level skills.