Occupational Therapy Is For Children & Adults
When you hear the term “occupation” you might think of a career or a job, but this really refers to activities that children or adults do every day. Our occupational therapists in Raleigh & the triangle work with children and adults to help them hone the fine motor skills they need to help them participate and excel in the activities that are expected of them on a daily basis. At Developmental Therapy Associates, we strive to help all of our patients develop and master these skills so they can succeed in life.
Our Occupational Therapy Services Include:
- An individualized evaluation where the occupational therapist works with the family to establish a clients therapy goals
- An individualized intervention to improve client’s ability to perform daily activities and to reach their therapy goals
Occupational Therapy Helps With
- Sensory integration/sensory processing
- Social interaction
- Behavior organization
- Gross motor/fine motor skills
- Visual motor/handwriting skills
Customized Programs & Approaches
- Astronaut training-visual/vestibular
- Therapeutic listening
- Bike riding
- Treatment Intensives
- Sensory processing issues
- Interactive metronome
- Beckman oral-motor intervention
- DIR/floortime approach
- SOS approach to feeding
- Social skills groups
- Neurodevelopment therapy (NDT)
When Is Occupational Therapy Necessary?
The majority of our adult patients are facing a difficult time in their life, such as an injury, trauma, chronic illness, or disability. Our occupational therapists will be able to work with you to develop a plan to help you gain or regain the skills that you need to be successful. Identifying a need for occupational therapy in children can be a bit more complex, which is why we have created the checklist below that serves as a set of guidelines to track the progress of your child’s development. However, if you still aren’t sure, you can always schedule an evaluation with one of our occupational therapists to determine if your child can benefit from occupational therapy.
Occupational Therapy Milestones
Infants
- Looks at hands Clutches and pulls at clothes
- While on Belly works to lift head
- Bears weight on forearms when on belly
- Follows eyes upward
- Follows eyes downward
- Grasp cube against palm
- Mouths hands
- Tracks objects from side across midline
- Extends arms straight towards rattle
- Claps hands together when on their back
- Props up on Forearms while on their belly
- Briefly keeps both hands on a rattle
- Feeds self a cracker
- Shakes rattle
- Holds and drinks bottles/spouted cup
- Bangs objects on table
- Pulls to stand using Arms and upper body
- Holds legs + foot our for putting on pants and shoes
- Uses fingers to hold small cubes
- Releases object independently on a surface
- Puts object into large container
- Places 1 large block on second block
- Claps hands together
- Pincer grasp to pick up cheerios, uses tip to index finger and thumb
- Bangs objects together
Toddlers
- Scribbles
- Pints w index finger
- Holds toy in 1 hand & manipulates with other
- Stacks 2-3 cubes
- Places many cubes in a cup
- Tries to put on a shoe
- Removes socks
- Holds cup by handle
- Places circle in a shape sorter
- Stirs spoon in a cup
- Removes loose fitting shoes
- Unzips large zipper
- Releases object independently on a surface
- Pulls apart pop beads
- Scoops food w a spoon
- Puts objects into large containers
- Places ½ inch pegs in a pegboard
- Snips with scissors, cutting in 1 place
- Imitates Horizontal strokes
- Strings 2-4 large beads
- Places 2-5 rings on a stacking pole
- Puts shoes on with assistance
- Spears food with fork, some spillage
- Uses spoon with little spillage
- Stacks 6-8 cubes
- Holds cup with 1 hand
- Washes hands independently
- Helps to push pants down & pull them up
- Builds 4 cube train
- Removes pull over clothing
- Put Shoes on (may be wrong foot)
- Copies a circle
- Builds a 9 block tower
- Unties and removes shoes
- Dries hands
Preschoolers
- Unscrews jar lid
- Cuts 6 inch across paper
- Complete 5-8 piece interlocking puzzle
- Displays hand dominance
- Builds 4 cube wall
- Laces 3 holes (after demonstration)
- Throws tennis ball overhand 10 feet
- Holds pencil with thumb and 3 or more fingers
- Hold pencil in tripod grasp (thumb, intex and middle finger)
- Unbuttons medium sized buttons
- Buttons medium sized buttons
- Holds scissors in one hand and paper in another
- Copies a cross, after looking at a visual image of one
- Copies a diagonal stroke
- Copies a square
- Cuts out a circle (3 inch in diameter) w 1/4th inch accuracy
- Holds spoon with fingers
- Puts on socks
- Draws a 3 part person
- Traces medium sized geometric shapes 1 1/8th inch accuracy
- Catches tennis ball from 5 feet 2/3 times
- Imitates 2/3 postures
- Puts shoes on correct feet
- Builds 6 cube pyramid
- Draws straight line to connect 2 dots
- Build 6 cube steps
- Draws a 9 part person
- Copied diagonal strokes
- Copies X
- Cuts out a square (3 inch sides) with 1/4th inch accuracy
- Builds structures with legos
- Copies a triangle
- Copies a rectangle
- Connects 2 dots in a straight line
- Copies, then writes first name from memory
- Copies letters and numbers
- Draws a person w a head, facial features, legs, arms, body, hands and feet
- Uses scissors to cut out simple and complex shapes
- Ties laces in a bow.