Question 1

What is Occupational Therapy?

Accepted Answer

Occupational Therapy, or OT for short, aim to help individuals perform everyday tasks. “Occupations’ refer to daily activities the individual wants to, needs to, or are expected to do.
 
Occupational Therapists aim to help the individual achieve success in their occupations by:
 
- developing the knowledge and skills required for the occupation
- modify the task or the way the task is completed
- modify the environment or provide alternative equipment and assistive devices

Question 2

What skills can OTs help with?

Accepted Answer

Occupational Therapists also work with children. Paediatric Occupational Therapists can provide assessment, therapy and consultation around:
 
- Child development including is your child meeting developmental milestones and what are the next milestones for your child
- Self-Care activities/Activities of daily living, such as toileting, dressing, and feeding
- Gross motor skills, including hand eye coordination and core strength
- Fine motor skills, including manual dexterity and strength
- Participation and engagement in daily activities and routines
- Attention and concentration in daily activities and routines
- Sensory processing difficulties
- Behavioural issues
- Social skills and play
- Self-regulation including emotional regulation and alertness
- School Readiness
- Prescription of equipment
In addition to helping children develop their knowledge and skills in certain skill areas, Paediatric Occupational Therapists also work with the child’s family and school education team to ensure there is good understanding about the child (including their diagnosis, if any), strategies that help the child and how to better support the child in the child’s typical environments.

Question 3

What diagnoses can OTs help with?

Accepted Answer

Occupational Therapist work with children with and without diagnosis. We have experience in working with children with a range of conditions including:
 
- Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
- Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
- Intellectual impairment
- Global Developmental Delay (GDD)
- Cerebral Palsy
- Downs Syndrome
- Sensory Processing Disorder
- Learning problems
- Social emotional challenges
- Anxiety
- Developmental delays
- Behavioural difficulties

Question 4

Helpful Websites

Accepted Answer

Check out the following website for more information about Occupational Therapy for Children.
Occupational Therapy Australia: https://aboutoccupationaltherapy.com.au/working-with-children/(https://aboutoccupationaltherapy.com.au/working-with-children/)
Raising Children Network: https://raisingchildren.net.au/guides/a-z-health-reference/occupational-therapist(https://raisingchildren.net.au/guides/a-z-health-reference/occupational-therapist)
Understood.org: https://www.understood.org/en/learning-attention-issues/treatments-approaches/therapies/occupational-therapy-what-you-need-to-know(https://www.understood.org/en/learning-attention-issues/treatments-approaches/therapies/occupational-therapy-what-you-need-to-know)