April Is OT Month

by Megan Gallego, OT Graduate Student and Volunteer at GiGi’s Playhouse NYC

April is occupational therapy month. Many people ask what is Occupational Therapy and what do occupational therapists do?

Occupational therapists work in schools, outpatient centers, and in individual homes. They help children to work on tasks that are meaningful to them and help them gain skills to succeed in everyday life. A child’s occupation includes play, self-care, and social interaction. Occupational therapists main goal is to help children participate fully in school and social situations by working on writing, hand skills, coordination, attention, visual skills, sensation, self-care, and feeding. Occupational therapists work with groups and individuals to create specific interventions to improve the child’s ability to perform activities of daily living, reach their goals, and achieve success in their everyday lives.  

Here are some activities you can do at home do help your child build the skills they need to help improve their success at home or in school.

1) Occupational Therapists work with children to improve fine motor skills; this will help them increase their handwriting ability and their capacity to do self-care tasks like feeding or getting dressed.

These are some Fine Motor Challenges to improve skill while having fun.

• How high can you build a tower of marshmallows and toothpicks in one minute?
• How many paper clips can you chain together in one minute?
• How many coins can you flip over from heads to tails in one minute?
• How many stacks of 10 pennies can you build in one minute?

2) Occupational Therapists help children who have a difficult time with sensory experiences. They may seek extra sensations, for example excessive hugging, touching, or banging against objects. On the other hand they may avoid sensations such as covering their ears when they hear music or being very particular with certain materials of clothing or the food they eat.

These are some Sensory Challenges to improve skills while having fun.

• Unroll two rolls of toilet paper and wrap it around yourself in under one minute (This gives extra tactile input)
• How many times can you push a therapy ball through a tunnel in one minute? (This provides extra proprioceptive input)

3) Occupational Therapists work on gross motor skills and exercises that engage the left and right sides of the brain in order to improve the use of both hands together (bilateral integration and crossing midline).

These are some Crossing Midline Challenges to improve skill while having fun.

• Take the left elbow and bring it to the right knee and vice versa (do this 10 times)
• Take right hand and touch the left shoulder, and vice versa (10 times)
• Toe taps and leg extensions: place your hands on your waist and tap the right leg over the left foot and vice versa
• Toe touches: use the opposite hand to touch the opposite foot

4) Occupational Therapists work on specific skills such as fine or gross motor, with the goal of applying these abilities to activities of daily living. We ask children to practice daily living skills in order to improve in this area.

These are some Activities of Daily Living Challenges to improve skill while having fun.

• How many times can you tie and untie your shoe in one minute?
• How many times can you put on and take off your coat completely in one minute?

If you are interested in getting occupational therapy for your child contact Artistic Quality Therapy Associates 227 W 29th St, New York, NY 10001 (212) 736 -8900

Megan is graduating in May and receiving her license in January.  To contact her about future services, call the Playhouse at 646-801-7529.