What is Occupational Therapy?
What is OT?
If you’re reading this, someone has probably suggested occupational therapy for your child. Whether that was a friend, pediatrician, or internet influencer, you may be wondering what OT actually is.
That’s okay! We get this question a LOT and are always happy to explain.
To understand occupational therapy, we need to define “occupation.” Contrary to popular belief, an occupation is so much more than just a career. In OT terms, an “occupation” is anything that “occupies” your time. Anything you do. This can be overwhelming because when you think about it this way, occupational therapy is SO broad. Occupational therapy helps people gain functional independence to participate in the occupations they want and need to do.
The 9 areas of occupation identified by the Occupational Therapy Practice Framework are:
Activities of Daily Living (ADLs)
Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADLs)
Education
Work
Play
Leisure
Social Participation
Sleep & Rest
Health Management
Occupational therapy is individualized and client-centered because every single person is different. We all have different roles, responsibilities, interests, and priorities. For an adult, your priorities might be getting back to work, driving, showering independently, or participating in your hobbies.
Children participate in a lot of the same occupations as adults (on varying age-appropriate levels), but their primary occupation is PLAY!
Science proves time and time again that children learn BEST through play! At Pine Belt Therapy Services we use a play-based and child-led approach to help children gain functional independence in the occupations that matter. Whether your child’s goals are tooth brushing, handwriting, social participation, attention, putting socks on, taking turns, or potty learning, we will be playing EVERY single session.
