Does your Child need Occupational Therapy?
Some of the kids who visit Advanced Pediatric Therapy already have one or more medical diagnoses or educational labels such as Cerebral Palsy, Down Syndrome, ADHD, Autism, Asperger’s Syndrome or “mild mental retardation”. However, at Advanced Pediatric Therapy we want to move beyond the label and the possible limitations that might be implied by a diagnosis. Our goal is to understand the symptoms and address the underlying processes and causes of the challenges.
An individual showing several of the following signs and symptoms indicates the need to seek out occupational therapy services.
Problems with Coordination
- Poor balance
- Clumsy and careless
- Body Awareness Problems, may bump into other children
- Weaker than other children
- Doesn’t know how to move body to complete a unfamiliar or sequencing task
- Has trouble using both sides of the body together
- Immature gross motor skills (running, skipping, jumping)
- Immature fine motor skills (drawing, cutting)
- Sloppy handwriting, no interest in coloring or drawing
- Frustration or avoidance of motor tasks
- Uses too much force on things (i.e. may write too dark or too light)
- Poor chewing skills
- Muscle tone may feel soft or like a “marsh mellow” , may be floppy as a baby
- Delays in crawling, walking, and running
- Tends not to play with toys, especially if dexterity is required
Overly sensitive to light, sounds, touch, tastes, smells or movement
- Often irritable or angry
- Withdraws from touch
- Avoids certain clothes, fusses when it is time to get dressed
- Covers ears to block out noises or cry with loud noises
- Afraid of playground equipment or stairs
- Fearful of activities that involve fast movement
- Easily car sick
- Picky eater, can’t eat in restaurants, gags on food
- Feels pain more intensely than others
- Startles easily, especially as an infant
- Resists cuddling or is very clingy to parents
Under-reactive to sensory stimulation
- Seeks out intense input to his body, such as crashing body into couch
- Loves to roughhouse
- Twirls in circles
- Oblivious to pain
- Can’t sit still
- Wanting to touch everything
Activity level that is unusually high or low
- Needs to move
- Slow to move and fatigues easily
- Fluctuates between both extremes
- Inability to unwind or calm self
- Easily distracted
- Appears lazy, bored, or unmotivated
- Chews on shirt
Delays in speech, language, or auditory processing
- Responds slowly to verbal instructions
- Ignores you when you call his name
- Distracted in a group or uncomfortable in group settings
- Does not speak as well as his peers
Poor organization of Behavior and Poor self Concept
- Is impulsive with little self-control
- Fidgety, inattentive, easily distracted
- Out-of-proportion reactions to challenging situations and unfamiliar environments
- High level of anxiety
- Resists changes, inflexible at times
- Tendency to have intense tantrums for longer periods
- Difficulties with transitions
- Difficulty shifting focus from one activity to another
- Abnormal sleep patterns
- Stubborn
- Expresses feelings of being “stupid”
- Impairments in social interaction
- Repetitive actions or interests
- Lack of play skills or make-believe play
- Clings to parent
- Can‘t calm self, even with a pacifier
- Poor sleeping habits
Delays in Academic Achievement
- Inability to organize self or work
- Poor handwriting
- Have trouble copying from the board
- Skip words or lines when reading
- Difficulty following directions
