Occupational Therapy

Person in camouflage cap is being assisted with an arm raised in a bright indoor room

What is Occupational Therapy?

Occupational therapy treatment focuses on helping people with a physical, sensory, or cognitive disability be as independent as possible in all areas of their lives. Occupational therapy can help kids with various needs improve their cognitive, physical, sensory, and motor skills and enhance their self-esteem and sense of accomplishment. Occupational therapists can evaluate kids’ skills for playing, school performance, and daily activities and compare them with what is developmentally appropriate for that age group.

Pediatric and School-based Services:

  • help kids develop/improve on fine motor skills so they can grasp and release toys and develop good handwriting skills
  • improve hand–eye coordination to improve kids’ play and school skills (hitting a target, batting a ball, copying from a blackboard, etc.)
  • help kids with severe developmental delays learn basic tasks (such as bathing, getting dressed, brushing their teeth, and feeding themselves)
  • teach kids with physical disabilities the coordination skills needed to feed themselves, use a computer, or increase the speed and legibility of their handwriting
  • evaluate a child’s need for specialized equipment, such as wheelchairs, splints, bathing equipment, dressing devices, or communication aids
  • work with kids who have sensory and attentional issues to improve focus and social skills
  • Child writing in a workbook at a blue table with colorful letter and number tiles nearby

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  • Hands sorting mixed beads in a clear container on a green table

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  • Person jumping on a blue trampoline in a gym interior

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  • Toddler crouching and playing with colorful shape-sorting toys on a blue carpet

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  • Child in red polka-dot pajamas using a toy hammer at a table, seated on a purple cushion.

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  • Child reaching up for a yellow ring held by an adult in a playroom, seated on a blue mat.

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  • Child smiling on a blue balance board in a gym, wearing a red polka-dot shirt.

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Occupational Therapy for Adults

Occupational therapists assist individuals in achieving greater independence in all areas of life including self-care, home management, and community activities. Occupational therapists assist people in performing these activities with the greatest extent of independence possible


Adult and Geriatric Services:

  • Activities of daily living
  • Adaptive equipment needs
  • Chronic pain
  • Community mobility and reintegration
  • Hand and upper extremity dysfunction
  • Neurological impairments
  • Return-to-work / proper body mechanics
  • Sensory processing-visual perceptual treatment

 

  • Hands shaping blue clay on a wooden table, with an orange shirt in the background

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  • Hands rolling a small white ball across a textured dark surface

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  • Hand resting on a towel while a clinician measures blood pressure with a cuff at a table

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  • Hands applying a blue wrap to a wrist on a wooden table

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How Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy Differ

Although both physical and occupational therapy help improve individuals’ quality of life, there are differences. Physical therapy deals with pain, strength, joint range of motion, endurance, and gross motor functioning, whereas occupational therapy deals more with fine motor skills, visual-perceptual skills, cognitive skills, and sensory-processing deficits.