Services

(Currently providing services to ages 0-5 years)

Sensory Processing

One of the areas that greatly affects development is sensory processing; or the ability of the brain to process or interpret the information that is delivered from the sensory systems, particularly the tactile (or the sense of touch), vestibular (or the sense of balance and movement), and proprioceptive (or the sense of pressure and vibration on muscles and joints). These affect:

body scheme or awareness
bilateral integration
overall balance
protective reactions
coordination and so much more.

Motor Planning

Motor planning is a very complex neurological function which is affected by many components within the central nervous system. In turn, motor planning influences all aspects of the child’s mobility and all functions that have to do with muscle performance including, but not limited to, using large muscles for general mobility, small muscle control for all hand functions, and control and coordination of oral and facial musculature necessary for feeding and speech development.

Fine Motor Skills

The area of fine-motor skills looks at the development of the hands including visual responses and tracking as foundation to fine-motor development, grasp and prehension (manipulation), reach, voluntary release, bilateral and midline skills (the ability to use hand at midline as well as to coordinate the use of both hands), as well as eye-hand coordination skills.

Family and School

A child's ability to adapt, learn and grow are all affected by the areas mentioned above. When a child has difficulty, it is important to create a loving and supportive environment at home and at school. Sometimes an expert is needed to assist the family in accomplishing this goal.

Early Intervention

When most people hear the word “occupation” they think of jobs or other activities that adults engage in, but actually occupation is defined as what a person needs or wants to do that is appropriate for his or her age or life stage. Occupational therapy (OT) can help people reach their maximum independence level for all of their daily activities by changing something about their skill set, the actual activity, or the environment in which an activity is performed (Fun fact: society first became aware of the benefits of occupational therapy when it was used with injured soldiers during World War I.)

How does OT apply to babies?

From birth, we engage in daily activities (our “occupation”) – eating, playing, sleeping, crawling, and walking – which build the skill sets for more complex daily activities that we will engage in when we are older. How do we know if our baby may need occupational therapy to develop those skills? Following are ten quick questions you can ask yourself to see if your baby is developing healthy foundations for the skill sets he needs for his current occupations and future daily activities:

Does your baby have more difficulty going to sleep or staying asleep than other babies her age?

Does your child tend to use one side of his body more than the other? Does one side of the body appear significantly stronger than the other?

Does your baby become so upset in new settings that it’s hard to calm down?

Does your baby appear to over- or under-react more than other same-age children when given a new texture, temperature, taste, touch (including being held), noise, or sight (bright colors, changes in light, etc)?

Is your baby able to play with hands at midline (4 months) and/or transfer objects from hand to hand (7 months+)?

Does your baby seem to be weaker or have less endurance than other same-age babies?

Is your baby able to grasp/hold small objects or toys for several seconds (3-5 months)? If 9 months or older, is she able to voluntarily release objects (including pressing down on a surface to release)?

Does your baby bump into things, failing to notice objects or people in their way?

Does your baby visually track moving objects or people in their way? Does he attend and reach for items of interest?

Has your child met gross motor developmental milestones: 1-3 months weight shifting in prone, 3-5 months rolls to sit, 5-7 months weight shifting while sitting and rolling over, 7-9 months crawling, 9-12 months pull to stand?

If your baby has any deficits in these areas, consider talking to a licensed Occupational Therapist.

by Caroline Miller, MSOT from Kids Creek Therapy.com (Georgia)