“All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them.”
Galileo Galilei (1564 – 1642)
Tired of professionals who don’t seem to understand the big picture or the whole child?
Are you hoping to find someone who has knowledge above and beyond the typical therapist?
Would you like some creative and innovative ideas?
Would you also like some practical and down to earth suggestions?
Individuals with learning difficulties often have brain-based differences that create problems in their sensory, cognitive, social, emotional, and motor abilities.
Occupational therapists (O.T.) have extensive university training in body structures, muscles, organs, the brain, and behavior. They can assess and treat problems related to the sensory, cognitive, social, emotional, or motor areas that interfere with the person reaching their potential. O.T.’s are unique in the health care professions in understanding how a person’s sensory needs can often “drive” their behavior.
Occupational therapy (O.T.) joins with the client and/or caregiver(s) to discover and treat their specific difficulties.
O.T.’s can work with children and teenagers with various diagnoses including autistic spectrum disorder, attention deficit disorder, developmental delay, Tourette syndrome, alcohol related neurological disorder, anxiety disorder, and attachment disorder. Examples of some challenges frequently faced by clients include:
- Recognizing their emotions; recognizing others’ emotions
- Understanding and managing their emotions (self regulation)
- Appropriately communicating their emotions
- Handling difficult situations (problem solving and resilience)
- Social problem solving and friendships
- Limited gross and fine motor skills (uncoordination, poor handwriting, unintegrated reflexes)
- Sensory processing differences (sensitive to touch, sound, hyper-active)
- Organization of themselves and their belongings
- Focusing
- Independent functioning in day to day tasks at home or school
- Stressed parents, caregivers, teachers or professionals who need help to understand and help the child
General occupational therapy treatments include sensory processing, Handwriting Without Tears® or fine motor skills, gross motor or reflex integration, cognitive behavior therapy, relaxation techniques, mindfulness, managing anxiety and anger, social thinking, self-regulation, sexuality education for students with special needs, and educational techniques. Educational techniques can be done on an individual basis to help a person or their family to better understand what is going on. Education can also include workshop training for larger groups (schools) on a wide variety of topics that can be customized to meet the needs of the audience. See section on workshops for more information.