What is Occupational Therapy?

Occupational Therapy aims to support independence and engagement in meaningful activities of everyday life at home, school and in the community. Occupational Therapists address challenges in sensory processing differences, fine and gross motor, self care, cognitive and social and emotional skills.

Sensory processing:

Occupational Therapists support participants to identify sensory preferences, sensitivities and triggers which impact on their ability to engage and regulate their emotions. 

This can look like, over or under responsive to noise, sights, smells, tastes, movement and textures.

Over Responsivity: Sensory sensitivity

• Tactile (Touch): Sensitivity to touch, textures, fabrics leading to avoiding certain clothing or textures.

• Auditory (Hearing): May easily be startled by loud noises, cover their ears in response to sound or have difficulty filtering out noise.

• Visual (Sight): Sensitive to bright or  fluorescent lights, or becomes overwhelmed in visually stimulating environments. 

• Olfactory (Smell): Reacts to strong smells, scents or odors. 

Under responsivity: Sensory seeking

• Seeks out opportunities that provide more intense input to the body such as spinning, jumping, crashing.

• Seeks out opportunities to touch, smell or taste food and non-food items. 

• Appears to have a high tolerance to pain or unaware of temperature changes.

Fine motor skills:

Include handwriting, cutting and manipulating small objects. These skills support children to engage in their self care skills, school, work, leisure and play activities. 

Gross motor skills:

Include balance, coordination and strength. These skills support children to engage in running, jumping, riding a bike, playing on the playground and sports. 

Visual motor integration:

Include hand eye coordination and visual perceptual skills which support children to engage in reading, writing and catching a ball. 

Self care skills:

Include dressing, brushing teeth, showering, chores, meal preparation and eating, grooming, hygiene, sleeping and toileting. Occupational Therapists support developing the underlying skills such as physical skills, coordination and cognitive abilities to build independence in everyday routines.

Social skills:

Include the skills to develop interpersonal and intrapersonal skills. Occupational Therapists support children and adolescents to foster positive social interactions and relationships. Understand the “Double Empathy Problem” and the “Spoons Theory” to support perspective taking and self care. As well as empower participants to connect with others in ways that support identity and confidence to be their authentic self. 

Emotional Regulation:

The ability to manage and respond to emotions. Occupational Therapists support emotional regulation by teaching coping strategies, self regulation techniques and problem solving skills. 

Cognitive skills:

Include executive functioning skills such as memory, attention, and problem solving. Occupational Therapists support cognitive skills in activities that enhance attention, memory, organisation and decision making through developing internal and external strategies for managing daily tasks. 

Environmental modifications:

Include the modifications to the environment, home, school or other settings to support participation and engagement in activities. This can look like adapting furniture, providing assistive devices or creating a sensory friendly space. 

Transition planning:

Includes support for adolescents and young people transitioning to employment, vocational training and independent living. Occupational Therapists support young people to navigate the challenges of transitioning from school to adulthood.