Occupational Therapy
A hands‐on, client‐centered approach that seeks to improve gross, fine, and visual motor function, social-emotional skills, and cognitive skills in children.
Skills for every day, at school, and in life.
Our occupational therapists utilize a neurodevelopmental treatment (NDT) method. NDT is a hands‐on, client‐centered approach that seeks to improve gross and fine motor function in children and adults with neurological problems (such as cerebral palsy), and thereby improve their independence in a variety of contexts. The framework is used to analyze and treat posture and movement impairments based on the typical development of kinesiology and biomechanics.
Pediatric Occupational Therapy
Fine Motor Skills
Fine motor skills refer to the use of the small muscles in the hands. These include skills to use and move items in our hands and our mouths, including holding a pencil/crayon/marker/ picking up food with our fingers, using our hands to button, zip, or snap, and even foundational skills to chew. These skills are needed for self-care and participation in activities at school and at home. Fine motor activities also often require or are closely related to developed visual motor integration and bilateral coordination. Many children referred to occupational therapy for help with fine motor skills are having difficulty manipulating toys, keeping up with handwriting, or fastening clothing (tying shoes, buttoning etc.).
Gross Motor Skills
Gross motor skills use the larger muscles of the body to perform daily functions. These everyday functions include sitting upright, standing, walking, and running, lifting our arms over our head, reaching and throwing. Gross motor activities require/include bilateral coordination, endurance, and balance. Individuals referred to occupational therapy for help with gross motor skills are most likely having difficulty keeping up with peers on the playground, learning how to roll, sit, walk or run, throwing or catching, or moving in order to do things like feeding themselves or to get dressed.
Listening Therapy
The Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) is an evidence-based listening therapy designed to reduce sound sensitivities and improve auditory processing, behavioral state regulation, and social engagement behaviors through filtered music. As a practical application of the Polyvagal Theory, the SSP acts as a non-invasive, acoustic vagal nerve stimulator, helping to re-tune the nervous system to better support connection, collaboration and resilience. The SSP is suitable across the lifespan and has been designed to complement a variety of therapeutic approaches and modalities. The SSP may be helpful in reducing symptoms and supporting overall health and resiliency for people seeking support for depression and anxiety; neurodevelopmental differences, such as autism, hyperactivity and attention; learning difficulties; auditory and other sensory processing differences; trauma history; sleep; neurological changes; and other challenges related to autonomic dysfunction, such as eating difficulties, gut health, and more.
Cognitive Skills
Cognitive skills are the core skills your brain uses to think, read, learn, remember, reason, and pay attention. Working together, they take incoming information and move it into the bank of knowledge you use every day at school, at work, and in life.
Visual Motor Skills
Visual motor skills, otherwise known as visual motor integration is the ability to interpret visual information and respond with a motor action. For example, you see a baseball and you respond by moving your hands to catch the baseball. Research indicates that visual motor skills are related to academic performance and eye-hand coordination skills. Children referred to occupational therapy for intervention related to visual motor skills will often have difficulty with handwriting, learning how to throw or catch, organize their rooms, or keeping up with academic work including reading and math.
Social Emotional Skills
Social emotional skills are the skills we use every day to interact and communicate with others. They include verbal and non-verbal communication, such as speech, gesture, facial expression, and body language. Social skills include both the skills needed to understand others and their actions but to also understand yourself and your own actions. Children referred to occupational therapy for assistance in this area are often having difficulty managing behavior at home, in the community, or in the classroom. Some kiddos have difficulty making or keeping friends or managing their anger.
Getting Started is Easy
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Book Appointment
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Your First Visit
Fill out our new client paperwork and bring it with you on your first appointment.