Occupational Therapy for Pediatric Care

Why pediatric occupational therapy may be the key to your child’s success

Does your child struggle with their motor skills or coordination? Have they been diagnosed with a learning disorder or behavioral problem? If so, your child might benefit from occupational therapy.

Pediatric occupational therapy is designed to address each child’s individual needs. Occupation therapy helps patients learn to execute self-care tasks, leisure activities, and responsibilities to live a productive life. Our highly skilled occupational therapists at Root Pediatrics in Bozeman, MT provide individualized treatment tailored to the child’s strengths, interests, and unique needs.

Wondering if pediatric occupational therapy is a good fit for your child? We can help! Call us to book an appointment at Root Pediatrics in Bozeman, MT today!

What Is Pediatric Occupational Therapy?

Pediatric occupational therapy is an effective way to help youthful patients gain independence by improving visual skills, sensory-motor skills, and other functions required to perform in different settings. Occupational therapy aims to help children restore and maintain functional independence in daily environments.

While physical therapy focuses on range of motion and physical functionality, OT helps children ease into daily activities and complete appropriate tasks for their age. Occupational therapy for children often incorporates speech therapy which is used for conditions like speech apraxia. Speech therapy focuses on the jaw, lips, throat, and tongue. If applicable to your child’s condition, occupational therapists will work with speech-language pathologists (SLP) to maximize progress during therapy.

Who Benefits From Occupational Therapy?

Children don’t require a medical condition to benefit from occupational therapy. OT can help kids overcome delays or difficulties so they can participate in home, school, and social environments. Children with the following conditions are often treated in occupational therapy:

• Birth injuries/congenital disabilities
• Sensory processing disorders
• Brain or spinal cord injuries
• Learning disorders
• Autism
• Behavioral issues
• Developmental delays
• Post-surgical hand conditions
• Spina bifida
• Cerebral palsy
• Chronic illnesses

Many of these conditions and their symptoms can cause a child to have issues with their self-esteem and personal connections. Fortunately, our therapists are here to support your family and guide your child through a progressive treatment plan. During your initial consultation at Root Pediatrics in Bozeman, MT, our pediatric OTs will assess your child’s condition, behaviors, and limitations that they display. We will observe how your child functions in normal settings and design a plan with corrective measures in order to enhance your child’s life.

What Can Be Accomplished Through OT?

Occupational therapists can help children in a number of ways, including:

• Improving fine motor skills: Cutting paper, handwriting, opening a lunchbox, grasping toys
• Improving hand-eye coordination: Throwing a ball, copying from a whiteboard, playing an instrument while reading music
• Learning simple tasks: Bathing, getting dressed, brushing teeth
• Behavioral correction in all environments: Anger management, coping skills, learning to handle emotions
• Learning to use specialized equipment: Wheelchairs, splints, crutches, communication aids, etc.
• Improving attention and social skills

Our pediatric occupational therapists at Root Pediatrics in Bozeman, MT help children build confidence and success in self-care, school, recreational activities, and community participation.

What to Expect During Sessions at Root Pediatrics

Our occupational therapy programs help children build developmental skills in a safe, fun, and comfortable way. Our therapists can teach your child how to perform daily tasks, including dressing and eating, drawing, writing, and playing with friends.

Many of these conditions and their symptoms can cause a child to have issues with their self-esteem and personal connections. Fortunately, our therapists are here to support your family and guide your child through a progressive treatment plan. During your initial consultation at Root Pediatrics in Bozeman, MT, our pediatric OTs will assess your child’s condition, behaviors, and limitations that they display. We will observe how your child functions in normal settings and design a plan with corrective measures in order to enhance your child’s life.

During treatment, your child’s OT will develop goals to support areas of need, assess your child’s developmental and learning needs, implement appropriate activities to help meet a child’s goal, and make environmental changes if necessary. We will begin with a comprehensive assessment of your child and their needs. We know that each child is unique in their own way, which is why we customize treatment plans to ensure our patients have the best chance of success. It’s important that we understand your child’s daily environments, such as school, hobbies, recreational activities, and home life. This way, we can tailor exercises and developmental strategies to fit your child’s lifestyle.