Occupational Therapy

Occupational Therapy Overview

Occupational therapy helps to develop the necessary abilities to accomplish a person’s activities of daily living and/or to find ways to compensate for physical, cognitive, and/or affective limitations to ensure optimal participation in these activities.

With children, an occupational therapist can help develop the fundamental abilities in self-care activities (dressing, eating, grooming), in academic activities (writing, organization, mathematics), and in leisure activities (sports, after-school activities, social outings). An occupational therapist will also help modify the environment or the activities so that the child can accomplish them.

Across these various activities, our occupational therapists can guide your child to self-regulate (emotions, energy, and attention/concentration) and to become more autonomous.

Clientele

Children with all levels of abilities can benefit from an occupational therapy treatment session, in particular those who have the following difficulties:

• Difficulties with concentration, including children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
• Difficulties with emotional and sensory regulation, including children on the autism spectrum, those with anxiety and/or challenging behaviours
• Difficulties with coordination and/or fine and gross motor control, including children with Developmental Coordination Disorder
• Difficulties to achieve expectations, including children with a Learning Disorder
• Difficulties to achieve developmental stages, including children who present with neurological conditions

Assessments

• Occupational Therapy assessments
  • Movement ABC-2 (motor coordination)
  • Sensory Profile
  • Test of Everyday Attention
  • Evaluation Tool of Children’s Handwriting
  • Test of Visual and Perceptual Skills
  • Writing speed test
  • Key-Math
  • Anxiety questionnaire (Scared-R)
  • Introceptive Questionnaire
  • Visual-motor Integration Test
• Functional assessments and dynamic performance analysis
• Vestibular and oculomotor screening

Interventions

• Cognitive
  • Problem solving
  • Memorization (mental imagery)
  • Learning strategies
• Affect/Emotion
  • Cognitive-behavioural and emotional/anxiety management strategies
• Body/Physical
  • Sensory (self-regulation)
  • Motor learning

What to Expect

The occupational therapist will evaluate the identified problematic activities and establish a treatment plan. This plan can include the treatment of the child with the occupational therapist, home-based activities, and in certain cases, a referral to another therapist (e.g. audiology, speech-language pathologist, or physiotherapist).

A session in therapy is usually 60 minutes and is oriented towards the activities identified by the child/parents to put in place the strategies/accommodations to increase autonomy and success.