They think it’s play, but we know it’s work! The primary role of an Occupational Therapist (OT) in pediatrics is to help children achieve developmental skills and create solutions for participation in daily living through play. Occupational Therapists do this through the knowledgeable selection and use of everyday activities to evaluate and enhance children’s development and meaningful participation in daily tasks.
Our Staff
Occupational Therapists at the Center are registered, licensed, and hold certifications from the National Board of Occupational Therapy. Continuing Education is ongoing and our therapist’s collegiate degrees range from Bachelor of Science to Doctorate in Occupational Therapy.
Services
Children’s “occupations” are play, school, social participation, community engagement, and activities of daily living (eating, dressing, bathing, sleep, grooming…).
Services are provided thru functional activities for children who have:
- Cerebral palsy, Spina Bifida, & other neurological/neuromuscular disorders
- Sensory processing disorders
- Feeding and eating dysfunction
- Developmental dysfunction
- Autism Spectrum Disorders
- Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
- Social skills and adaptive behavior difficulties
- Down Syndrome and other Chromosome Disorders
- Learning differences
- Visual-Motor dysfunction (eye-hand coordination)
- Assistive Technology Access needs
- Equipment and Environmental Adaptation needs
- Fine Motor dysfunction and/or Handwriting Issues
- Orthopedic Issues
Multiple systems work together to help children with their functional abilities. Knowing where they are in space, how to move through space and against gravity, how to interact with and integrate information from their environment (including how to ignore some aspects) while coordinating their body, arm, and hand movements can be very challenging. Adding overreaction or underreaction to taste, smell, movement, noise or visual input is often overwhelming. Muscle incoordination, weakness, or neurologically impaired systems further complicate the success of what should be simple engagement and play.
Our Occupational Therapists utilize various evaluation tools and interventions to support children in their development, support the caregivers and families in their journey, and provide resources for physical and environmental adaptations as appropriate.
OT’s work hand in hand with families as well as Physical Therapists and Speech Language Pathologists if needed, to promote the child’s functional development and success.
To request an appointment, please call us at (912) 355-4601 or send an email to our Scheduling Specialist at speechscheduler@speechandhearingsav.org.