What is OT? IYKYK
The social media acronym, IYKYK (If You Know, You Know) reminds me of the profession of OT, which is not familiar to most people.
Pediatric Occupational Therapy is a specialty within the OT profession devoted to helping children to achieve greater competence and confidence in the typical daily “occupations” in a child’s life. Typical daily occupations are those activities and skills that children are expected to master at various developmental stages. For example, childhood occupations for a child in 2nd grade may include:
* ADLs or Activities of Daily Living – Independence in getting ready for school grooming, brushing teeth, dressing, bathing, toileting skills, feeding self, chores
* School Skills – Ability to focus/pay attention/learn, age appropriate social and play behavior with peers, emotional regulation, handwriting and written expression skills
* Fine Motor Skills – pencil grasp effectiveness, tying shoes, fastening buttons/zippers, using scissors, legible and fluent handwriting skills
* Executive Skills expected at this age
OTs evaluate and help kids to develop the necessary FOUNDATIONAL SKILLS and BRAIN CONNECTIONS in order to achieve these daily life skills as developmentally appropriate. Foundational Skills are those innate neurological-physiological-psychological faculties that enable functional skill development, such as:
* Sensory Processing (including brain level Auditory Processing, Visual Processing, Vestibular Processing, Proprioceptive and Tactile, and all other senses)
* Focus & Attention Skills
* Visual-Perceptual-Motor Skills
* Motor Planning/Gross Motor Skills
* Fine Motor Skills
* Primitive Reflex Integration & Maturation
* Executive Skills
* Social Skills
Pediatric OTs at A+ Handwriting work with children with many different medical and psychological diagnoses to achieve any or all of the above goals, including ADHD, Autism Spectrum, Dyslexia, Dysgraphia, Dyscalculia, OCD, ODD, and more. Generally speaking, a formal diagnosis or doctor’s order is not necessary for rendering OT services, unless insurance reimbursement is planned.