Your child’s life is made up of occupations, or everyday activities. These occupations include playing, learning, sleeping and resting, interacting with friends, getting dressed, and other daily activities. Many of us generally don’t think about a child’s daily occupations until he or she has challenges doing them. Everyone has occupations—from the toddler whose occupations are playing and learning, to the older child whose occupations are being a student and developing the skills to become more independent. Occupational therapy supports children of all ages—newborns to teenagers—by incorporating the occupations that are important to you and your child into the intervention process.

Occupational therapy practitioners are either occupational therapists or occupational therapy assistants. Occupational therapy practitioners serve children, youth, and their families by promoting active participation in daily activities and offering prevention, promotion, and interventions for various populations and settings. They are skilled professionals who use research and scientific evidence to ensure that their interventions help your child achieve his or her goals. With strong knowledge of a person’s psychological, physical, emotional, sensory, cognitive, and social makeup, occupational therapists can evaluate how your child’s condition (or risk for one) is affecting his or her participation in life and provide ways to overcome any barriers while using a holistic perspective.

An occupational therapist will evaluate your child (as well as the environment and the task or activity) and, with additional input from you, develop individualized goals that address resuming or pursuing things that are important to your child and family. You and the occupational therapist will then work together on an individualized intervention plan to help improve or maintain your child’s ability to perform daily activities and reach those goals. This plan will take into account what your child wants and needs to do, as well as his or her abilities, which may include modifying both the task and the environment to allow your child to be as independent as possible. 

Source: The American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA)