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Farmington
Talcott Plaza
230 Farmington Avenue
Farmington, CT 06032
Phone:
(860) 674-1824
Fax:
(860) 674-1836
info@thetalcottcenter.com
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The Talcott Center
for Child Development is here to provide comprehensive occupational
therapy evaluations, treatment plans, and consultative services for your
child. All of our therapists have extensive training and experience in
treating a wide range of concerns including sensory integration, fine
motor development, coordination, feeding, and muscle strengthening. We
know how critical your child’s development is and we are here to foster
their growth!
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What is Occupational
Therapy?
Occupational therapy (OT) – the name can be deceiving! No, it is not a
profession designed to help you find a job. Likewise, occupational
therapists do not provide professional counseling if you are not happy with
your job. Occupational therapy is a profession dedicated to improving
an individual’s function and performance in everyday life. Through the
use of therapeutic self-care, work, and play activities, OT’s strive to
maximize a person’s independence, enhance their development, and prevent
disability.
How can my child
benefit from Occupational Therapy?
Occupational therapist’s can
play an active and vital role in the development of all children.
Below you will find a few examples of specific skills that can be addressed through OT intervention.
Sensory Integration
Sensory
integration is the ability to take information in through our senses,
understand and organize this input, ultimately producing a meaningful
response. Children who experience dysfunction in this area have difficulty
effectively processing incoming information. They may appear disorganized,
hyperactive, irritable, or fussy. They may be defensive to different
textures, tastes, or sounds. Participating in motor activities may be
extremely troublesome as they are insecure with heights, unaware of how to
approach a new task, or unable to coordinate their movements. Some
instances of sensory dysfunction are mild, while others can severely impact
everyday functioning.
Fine Motor Skills
When we talk about the fine motor musculature of our
bodies, we are referring to the small muscles located throughout the hands
and fingers. Strength and coordination of these muscles are necessary
for completing everyday activities. For a child, strong fine motor
skills are essential, especially as they enter those early school years.
Younger children use their fine motor skills during play by manipulating
toys, stringing beads, and coloring. Older children incorporate these
skills when they write, tie their shoes, type on the computer, or pay for
their lunch.
When children experience difficulty in these areas,
they loose self-confidence. Because these tasks are hard for them,
they may no longer find certain play activities fun. They may refuse
to write and color, and they may avoid playing with friends. Avoiding
these tasks only hinders development, as those very tasks that are
difficult, are those tasks that strengthen.
Gross Motor Skills
As fine motor skills refer to the smaller muscles of
the body, gross motor skills refer to those larger muscles. We use our
gross motor skills constantly throughout the day. Children require
coordination of these larger muscles to ride their bikes, catch a ball, and
carry their lunch tray during school.
Occupational therapy can address these skills on a
vast spectrum of individual needs. Certain children may require OT
intervention to learn basic skills such as lifting their arms to put their
shirt on or sitting unsupported to play with their toys. Other
children require direct intervention to help them learn how to catch a ball
or ride a bike. Even those children who may be athletically inclined,
could still benefit from services to refine and strengthen their present
abilities.
Motor Planning
Our ability to carry out skilled tasks in their
correct sequence, from beginning to end, is called motor planning. Motor
planning is a complex process that requires higher-level organization
skills. In order to complete a task, we must first understand what is being
asked or required of us. We must then be able to create a plan as to how we
will carry through with the activity. Finally, we must be able to produce a
coordinated motor response, which allows us to perform and complete the
task.
We create a motor plan for each new task we learn in
our lives. Learning how to get dressed isn’t automatic at first.
Initially, we are taught how to put our clothes on and in what order. We
learn that our socks go on before our shoes and that our shoes go on after
our pants. Through practice and repetition, this task becomes automatic.
Motor planning, however, is
difficult for many children. Those who experience difficulty in this
area may appear extremely clumsy with new tasks. They may be unable to
follow their teacher’s verbal instructions and may sit confused at their
desks. They may appear lost when presented with new activities and are
unable to remember how to carry out old activities.
Bilateral Motor Coordination
This term refers to the cooperative use of both sides
of the body. Proficiency in this area indicates a strong connection between
both sides of the brain as they work concurrently on a task. We often see
bilateral coordination emerge in infants as they clap their hands together
to play pat-a-cake or hold their bottle with both hands. As children grow,
we see their bilateral coordination skills advance as they use two hands to
string beads, open jars, and cut out pictures.
Bilateral coordination, however, does not just refer
to the use of two hands simultaneously. It refers to both arms and
legs. Children incorporate higher-level coordination skills when they
climb up the ladder on the playground, pedal their bikes, swim, or perform
jumping jacks.
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