Happy Fourth of July! We’ve been feeling patriotic and working hard on a big group therapy project in our pediatric occupational therapy department!
Below is a breakdown of some of the activity analysis addressed during our treatment plans working with each individual child.
Fine Motor Skills
- Grasp and pinch patterns using paint supplies and tiny star cut outs
- Dexterity with their little fingers to skillfully manipulate all craft materials
- Pre-writing practice addressing imitating line orientation
- Intrinsic hand endurance and strength to engage in repetitive movement of fingers and wrist while painting
Gross Motor Skills
- Postural alignment/control and weight shifting when sitting or standing on uneven surfaces
- Spatial awareness and position in space when painting from suspended equipment
- Tone normalization and endurance training when sustaining painting positions: laying on stomach propped on elbows and holding quadruped position
- Facilitating reach patterns and crossing midline to paint from one end of the picture to the other without moving full body
Visual Motor and Perception Skills
- Sequential memory – remembering and recalling the sequence of the task
- Eye-hand coordination while tracing on a line and paining inside the boundaries
- Figure ground skills being able to perceive what stripe they are painting
- Visual closure skills being able to fill in an incomplete part of the flag
Sensory Processing
- Tactical (touch) processing, tolerating wet texture of paint on hands, rough texture of the dried paint in the paper, sticky texture of glue, accepting hand-over-hand guidance and tactile contact
- Visual processing of bright paint colors and patterns
- Olfactory (smell) processing, tolerance of the smell of paint
- Proprioceptive input of deep pressure through upper body limbs when applying force to transfer paint from hands to paper
- Global state regulation, achieving a level that is available to participate in the craft
Psychological Skills
- Listening and following multi-step directions from an adult
- Impulse control with paint
- Psychosocial skills working with another person and achieving a goal together!
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