About Pediatric Occupational Therapy at the Therapy Tree
Pediatric Occupational Therapists are trained to help your child reach their full potential in any area of life that they may be struggling in. Our Pediatric Occupational Therapy Team provides a holistic approach in helping children gain independence, support the development or improvement of fine motor skills, sensory motor skills, oral-motor and feeding difficulties, and the visual motor skills needed to perform daily living activities successfully and with more independence, while improving socialization in their family, school, and community environments.
How do I know if my child needs Occupational Therapy?
Children develop and acquire skills at different rates, but certain stages in a child’s development have specific expectations. There are many reasons why a child may struggle. There could be a delay in physical development or motor coordination, there may be an underlying emotional issue such as anxiety, there may be unidentified visual or auditory processing difficulties, or there may be impulsivity / self-regulation challenges. At wellness check-ups, your child’s pediatrician may discuss concerns about self-care, communication, or daily activities that might be problem areas and write a prescription referring your child to occupational therapy.
If you are concerned that your child may need occupational therapy, please view our guide to pediatric occupational therapy screenings. If your child is between the ages of Birth to Five years of age, and you believe your child might benefit from occupational therapy, consider a Free Developmental Screening with us.
You can learn more about our screenings and developmental milestones by visiting our Free Developmental Screenings page. Please call us at 847.265.7300 or email us at info@thetherapytree.org to schedule a screening. In addition, you can download and fill out our Developmental Screening Informed Consent form to bring with you to the screening.
What happens after the Screening?
Once we complete a developmental screening, our therapists will provide you with a Screening Summary Sheet. If the therapists who performed the screening feel that a full evaluation is needed, they will request in writing, that your pediatrician prescribe an occupational therapy evaluation on the Screening Summary.
What happens if a full evaluation is suggested?
Your child will be evaluated to determine if occupational therapy would be of benefit and what areas of development need improvement. Each child presents with a unique set of strengths, and a unique set of struggles. Our team considers all factors that contribute to growth and development including the physical, cognitive, psychological and emotional aspects. The evaluation can provide you with the insight and clarification you need in order to feel confident that you are doing everything possible to support your child and the health and happiness of your family as a whole.
We strive to provide you with the most comfort, knowledge, and confidence in understanding what occupational therapy will accomplish. After the evaluation, if it is determined that therapy is necessary, we will address in-depth, specific obstacles that are occurring with your child’s and work to develop an individualized treatment plan along with teaching tools for parent/caregiver to continue skill-building in the home, to improve or eliminate these problem areas. The use of different techniques, both traditional and complimentary, along with collaboration across multiple specialties available at The Therapy Tree, provide children the best possible outcome for increasing growth, independence, confidence, and overall life skills.
The type of therapeutic methods used and length of services are dependent on varying issues such as what problems are being addressed, who willing participants are and what their desired goals are, and also influenced by the strength and help of their support systems, and level of needs to be met. Sometimes sessions are set on a weekly basis, taking learning step by step and at a steady pace. Other times sessions can be more or less frequent based on the client’s particular needs at the time.
The Pediatric Occupational Therapy Team
This specialized discipline requires at minimum a Master’s in Occupational Therapy, State licensure, and continuing education courses throughout licensure. Professional certification by passing an additional examination allows pediatric occupational therapists to use the Occupational Therapist Registered (OTR) credential.
The Therapy Tree pediatric occupational therapists are responsible for evaluating patient conditions and needs, develop a treatment plan for patients, determining activities and specific goals to be accomplished, and determining the need for collaboration with other therapists here, including speech and language therapy, physical therapy, and/or counseling services.
When necessary our therapists work with outside healthcare professionals and school systems, to help facilitate any additional needs and solidify all care and communication.
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