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The Role of the Occupational Therapist
Occupational Therapists working with children observe a child’s occupations. These are the things that children need to be able to do to live their lives and fulfill their occupational roles, i.e. to be part of a family, play, look after themselves, make friends and go to school to learn !
The primary goal of the Occupational Therapist is to help children develop, restore and maintain those skills, behaviours and relationships necessary for independent living.
Occupational Therapy plays a role in helping a child and the family to adapt to the challenges impose on everyday life by a physical, psychological or learning disability.
The Occupational Therapist assesses the child’s performance and skills in activities that are meaningful to the child. When problems are identified, the Occupational therapist helps the child to gain the relevant skills, or adapts the environment or makes adjustments and compensation or functional deficits. This enables more productive and satisfying learning and growing experiences for the child.
Occupational Therapy Assessments Available to Therapy in Praxis Limited
Clinical Observations
[neurobehavioural & neuromuscular, somatosensory processing]
Movement Assessment Battery for Children
Bruinicks Osteretsky Test of Motor proficiency
SPA
Gross Motor Function Test [GMFM]
Sensory Profile [including infant & toddler and adolescent]
De-Gangi Test of Sensory
Miller Assessment of Preschoolers
First Step
Peabody
Bayley Scales
PEDI
Test Visual Perceptual Skills – Revised [TVPS] including Upper Level
Motor-Free Visual Perception Test – 3rd [MVPT-3]
Developmental Test of Visual Motor Integration – 5th [VMI-5th]
Including motor coordination and visual perception components
Test of Visual Motor Skills – Revised [TVMS-R]
Test of Auditory Perception – TAPS including Upper Level
Goodenough-Harris Draw a Man
Perceived Efficacy and Goal Setting System [PEGS]
School Functional Assessment
Typically, an Occupational therapist would follow a ‘process-orientated
approach’ which focuses on the identification and remediation of the
underlying difficulties and with the expectation that intervention would
result in sustained improvements in occupational performance, [Coster,
1998].
Current thinking around Occupational Therapy and in particular with
children experiencing developmental coordination disorders advocates a
‘top down’ approach to assessment and therapy intervention.
These approaches focus on how children manage everyday activities
associated with daily living and work on the assumption that children
develop skills as a consequence of the interplay between
‘Child-Task-Environment’ [Mandich et al, 2001].
Children’s Goals !!!
Sports : Not good – other children nasty, riding bike, running, Always last, skipping, football, ball games, Going high on swing
Fastenings : shoelaces, zips, buttons
Hand skills : cutlery, scissors, art, opening door handles
Pencil skills : writing a lot of words, faster, neater, tidier
Occupational Therapy Assessment Naming & farming problems > what does the child need to, want to or is expected to do ? What cannot the child do as effectively as he / she wishes ? What priority does this have for the child ? What is the impact of not doing the above ?
How achievable is this ? Occupational Therapy Treatment Child client – centred Holistic Goal orientated Primary objective = successful function Balance of occupation : self care, productivity, play & leisure
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