Does My Child Need Occupational Therapy?
What is Occupational Therapy?
Occupational therapy helps individuals participate and perform in their everyday life activities in their home and community, including school, workplace, and social settings. Occupational therapy focuses on assisting and improving the physical, psychosocial, sensory-perceptual, and cognitive skills that support engagement in daily activity to increase independence and quality of life.
How are their Fine Motor Skills?
Fine motor skills are small movements made with fingers, toes, wrists, lips, and tongue, like holding a small object or picking up a spoon. If your child is struggling with fine motor skills, they may have difficulty with actions such as; Manipulating toys and puzzle, holding a pencil, using silverware or straws at an age-appropriate time, coloring, drawing, tracing, not developing a hand dominance at an age-appropriate tim; etc etc.
How are their Gross Motor Skills?
Gross motor skills help us move and coordinate our arms, legs, and other body parts. They involve larger muscles that help us control our body. A child who is behind in movement, strength, and/or balance may appear clumsy or uncoordinated. They may also have difficulty with these things:
Going up and down stairs at an age appropriate time, coordinating both sides of the body, Understanding the concept of right and left, Poor ball skills, Poor balance. Their muscle tone, or muscle tension and resistance, could be higher or lower than the appropriate developmental milestone. They might also: be fearful of feet leaving the ground, doesn’t cross midline of his or her body during play and school tasks or avoids tasks and games that require gross motor skills
Life Skills Village Launches New Jitterbugs Program
As of August second Life Skills Village will be happy to be able to offer a NEW group that helps bring people together. The Jitterbug group serves as a facilitator for developing gross motor, fine motor, team working, and associative play, with a focus on various sports and activities. Our group runs over the course of 5-weeks; we have one for children ages 5 and 6. Each session is 45 minutes and is on Tuesdays at 4 pm. Oh, and the cost is only $150 per child and $75 for each additional child! We are currently starting with two separate groups August second and another on September sixth. Make sure if you’re reading this and you know a child that’s interested to sign them up fast as spots are filling quickly.
All sessions will be taking place at Life Skills Village. Mathew Horne, one of Occupational Therapists, will be running the group and he couldn’t be more excited to do so! As we go further into the summer all of us at Life Skills are looking forward to the continued growth our Pediatric Programs continue to see.