OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY
Occupational therapy teaches children the functional skills needed for independence in play, motor skills development, self-care, and socialization. Our occupational therapists help children master daily life skills by learning through play while using the fine motor and sensory systems.
Our occupational therapists help children with developmental delays causing difficulties in familiar activities of everyday life. Our occupational therapists help children develop the skills needed to perform everyday tasks. Our therapy targets improving coordinated motor skills and/or use of the hands, as well as promoting skills for listening and following directions, self-regulation, social play, dressing, and grooming. Some other areas of focus may include helping children improve abstract reasoning, problem-solving, decision-making, perceptual skills, as well as memory, sequencing, and motor planning.
Therapy Care occupational therapists are certified by The American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), are licensed by the State of Illinois and hold a master’s or doctorate degrees in Occupational Therapy.
What We Treat
Feeding and diet sensitivities
Sensorimotor skills
Sensory integration
Body and spatial awareness
Activities of daily living (ADLs)
Self-care skills
Social and peer interaction skills
Visual-motor integration
Visual perceptual skills
Fine motor control and coordination
Gross motor control and coordination
Our Approach
After a thorough evaluation, our therapist will create a customized therapy plan tailored to accomplish each child’s unique therapeutic goals. It will include the right combination of strategies, including exercises, games, equipment, tools and modalities, and home activities the whole family can participate in. We may also be able to make other types of recommendations for their school and adaptive equipment or devices a necessary.
The key to pediatric occupational therapy, as with therapy in general, is to challenge the child while fostering a warm and welcoming environment. The child thus develops skills while having fun at the same time. When these two aspects of therapy remain in balance with each other, the child is able to make sustained progress toward the goals and ultimately the child is able to maximize his/her potential.
Does My Child Need Therapy?
How do I know if my child may need occupational therapy? Can my child benefit from occupational therapy? These are the two most common questions we receive from parents. There is no clear answer, but there are some indicators to look out for:
Using silverware or straws age appropriately
Using zippers, buttons, shoelaces
Coloring, drawing, tracing, prewriting shapes age appropriately
Not developing a hand dominance at an age-appropriate time
Avoiding tasks and games that require fine motor skills
Avoids or has difficulty going up and down stairs
Difficulty coordinating both sides of the body
Noticeably poor balance
Fearful of feet leaving the ground
Does not cross the midline of their body playing or doing tasks
Overly sensitive or heightened reactivity to sound, touch, or movement
Under-responsive to certain sensations (e.g., high pain tolerance, doesn’t notice cuts/bruises)
Easily distracted by visual or auditory stimuli
Emotionally reactive
Inability to calm self when upset
Difficulty with imitative play
Participates in repetitive play for hours (e.g., lining up toys)
Does not join in with peers/siblings when playing
We Provide Academic Services!
We take great pride in helping our academic partners address their challenges. Meeting your district’s goals through efficient and economically sensible clinical services is the hallmark by which we measure our success.