Three Key Benefits of Occupational Therapy for Kids

Occupational therapy helps kids in improving their fine motor skills, gross motor skills, sensory and physical learning abilities, which mainly help children improve their ability to carry out everyday tasks. For children with a developmental delay or suspected case of developmental delay, occupational therapy can be beneficial in helping them adapt to their physical and sensory environment.

1. Aids in day-to-day tasks

For some children, it may be a struggle for them to get dressed, brush their own teeth as well as using the toilets themselves. Occupational therapy can aid in daily activities who face difficulties in certain self-help skills. The role of the occupational therapist is important here as they help to make the child’s lives easier by teaching them and ensuring that they get better at doing these basic tasks over time.

2. Gross motor skills

Gross motor skills involve the use of muscles in our limbs such as walking, running, throwing a ball etc. These utilise skills such as balancing, hand-eye coordination and body strength. By partaking in physical activities during occupational therapy sessions, it increases a child’s opportunity to use their muscles. Some activities include walking along a balance beam to improve their balancing, setting up a mini obstacle course with uneven surfaces, where your child has to crawl, jump or hop with alternating legs to improve their motor accuracy. Activities are personalised to each child with different goals at the end of their occupational therapy sessions over a course of time.

3. Fine motor skills

Fine motor skills involve movement of the hands, wrists and fingers to carry out tasks which require more precision. Fine motor skills are involved in table top activities such as cutting paper using the scissors, buttoning your shirt, holding a pencil and writing. Some kids have more difficulty in carrying out these tasks and occupational therapy provides opportunities to help children have more well-developed fine motor skills which translate to other daily activities.

Conclusion

Occupational therapy can help children with special needs improve their fine and gross motor skills, which are essential in helping them complete day-to-day tasks. Olive Tree Development Center provides personalised occupational therapy programmes to cater to your child’s needs and foster functional skills needed for everyday life. Book an appointment now to get in touch with our experienced Occupational Therapists.