Pediatric Occupational Therapy in NJ
What is Pediatric Occupational Therapy?
Pediatric Occupational Therapy is...
Pediatric Occupational Therapy focuses on a child’s participation in everyday activities such as playing, which occupies most of their time. Children learn, grow, and develop fundamental skills through play-based intervention, which helps them interpret the world around them.
The American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) defines “play” as a child’s “job” or “occupation” to develop physical coordination, emotional maturity, social skills to interact with other children, and self-confidence to try new experiences and explore new environments. Our team of occupational therapists develop individualized, unique, and creative treatment plans using playful interventions that keep a child engaged, challenged, and using the essential skills needed towards accomplishing age-appropriate goals.
Developmental delays, traumatic injury during childhood, and illness can result in a child’s inability to complete daily activities such as dressing, grooming, bathing, feeding themselves, social development, and sleep hygiene successfully. Our customized treatment approach routinely addresses strength and coordination deficits, sensory processing problems, stimulates social interaction, and facilitates following directions. Our comprehensive approach promotes independence in daily routines, academics, and extra-curricular activities.
Our occupational therapists regularly educate parents on techniques and interventions to incorporate at home. More involvement and follow-through at home facilitates progress.
Give us a call. Let’s PLAY!!!
Pediatric OT Services:
▪ Gross & Fine Motor Function
▪ Sensory Integration
▪ Visual Motor & Perception
▪ Social & Play Skills
▪ Handwriting
▪ Safety Awareness & Community Integration
▪ Hand & Upper Extremity Injuries
▪ Feeding Difficulties
Pediatric Occupational Therapy Screenings in NJ:
Available in at our clinic in Cedar Knolls, New Jersey!
Developmental Red Flags:
Sensory Processing
▪ Reacts negatively to touch, movement, sounds or sights
▪ Frequent tantrums & difficulty transitioning
▪ Falls & bumps into others/objects often
▪ Hesitation & fear of movement
Academic
▪ Difficulty recognizing and producing letters & numbers
▪ Illegible handwriting
▪ Difficulty with cutting, coloring, & shape formation
▪ Difficulty keeping up with classwork
▪ Difficulty remaining seated, organized, & attentive
Fine Motor
▪ Low muscle tone
▪ Poor endurance
▪ Coordination difficulties
▪ Not established hand dominance
Play
▪ Atypical milestone development
▪ Difficulty interacting with peers/siblings
▪ Difficulty engaged in imposed play opportunities
Feeding
▪ Limited variety in diet
▪ Difficulty using utensils
Self-Care
▪ Difficulty with fasteners & dressing self
▪ Will not tolerate teeth brushing, bathing, or hair brushing
Sleep
▪ Difficulty falling asleep & maintaining sleep
Visual Perception
▪ Difficulty copying from board
▪ Difficulty completing puzzles, mazes, word search, & I spy activities
Our Treatment Process:
We work with infants, whether or not they are achieving their milestones within expected time frames. To children transitioning into school, through college and adult life to make sure they can be as independent as possible in their daily roles and routines.
Following a targeted evaluation, we look at the underlying skills needed to carry out those tasks or areas of difficulty to understand where those challenges are coming from.
We use a collaborative approach with the family to implement the same things at home for improved generalization of skills across different environments.
The overall goal is to function in a safe environment to promote exploration, play, learning, and social interaction for improved independence and participation in valued areas of the child and families’ lives.
Pediatric OT Appointment/Information Request:
