Has your child’s recent injury made it difficult for them to complete a particular task? Is your child having trouble with daily tasks such as writing, eating, and clothing himself, or is he or she very sensitive to sound? Or do you have concerns about your child being distracted and fidgety in class?
The main responsibilities of a child throughout their formative years are learning, developing, and playing. Unfortunately, some children’s physical, cognitive, and sensory problems prevent them from learning critical life skills. They frequently struggle with comparable abilities such as visual-perceptual, fine or gross motor, sensory processing, and others. If the child’s development is falling behind, an occupational therapist will assess this and establish an activity plan to assist them to catch up.
In order to provide your child with more comfort while performing daily tasks, let’s learn more about occupational therapy in detail and learn how to determine if your child requires it.
What is Occupational Therapy?
The goal of occupational therapy (OT) is to assist patients become more balanced,
coordinated, and skilled with their motor abilities. It helps both adults and children who struggle with daily tasks. Occupational therapy dramatically enhances a child’s development. Our occupational therapists will provide treatment for play, social skills, cognitive development, play management, school readiness, fine motor abilities, and sensory and motor skills, which will help your child participate in daily activities with ease. Our school readiness program in Kerala aims to provide children with the necessary intellectual, social, emotional, and physical abilities to feel confident and thrive in regular classroom settings.
How Do Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy Differ?
Rehabilitative treatment comes in the form of occupational therapy and physical therapy. Rehabilitative treatment aims to maintain or enhance your quality of life or condition after an illness, accident, or surgery.
Patients with fine motor skills issues may benefit from Occupational Therapy. Typically, fine motor abilities include making small motions with the upper body. An Occupational therapist may help patients with mental health issues by encouraging the adoption of healthy coping mechanisms that enable them to work or succeed academically.
Physical therapists, on the other hand, are movement specialists who enhance a patient’s quality of life with hands-on care, education, and recommended exercise. Physical Therapists concentrate on regaining mobility, lowering discomfort, and enhancing gross motor abilities while fostering independence and function and averting impairment. The ability to move and coordinate the arms, legs, and other major body parts is known as gross motor abilities, and it is normally established in childhood.
To summarise, getting patients to move their body better is the primary emphasis of physical therapy (PT), whereas the ability to perform activities of daily life (OT) is the main distinction between the two types of therapy.
Who Might Need Occupational Therapy?
Occupational Therapy can benefit children with:
- Congenital (present at birth) conditions: Down syndrome, cystic fibrosis, spina bifida,etc.
- Neurological conditions: These include Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), Cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, and others.
- Delay in development: A delay in achieving developmental goals in language, thought, social interaction, or motor abilities
- An injury that calls for the use of mobility aids or prosthetics: Such as conditions following surgery, orthopaedic wounds, traumatic amputations, etc.
- Problems related to sensory processing, behavioural issues or mental health issues, learning disabilities, etc.
- Problems with Fine and Gross motor skills
Our occupational therapists can assess and assist your child respond to sensory information in an efficient manner. Dr.Beemas Clinic provides highly effective Sensory Integration Therapy Treatment in Kerala. Please consider contacting Dr. Beema’s Clinic if you would like further information about treatment alternatives for sensory integration difficulties other than sensory integration therapy.
Every child is different when it comes to needs and ability level. Certain children may develop quickly, while others may take longer. The length of time that a kid needs occupational therapy varies depending on your child’s diagnosis and needs.
How important is occupational therapy in the treatment of autism?
Learning life skills needs to be approached differently for every child with autism since they are all different. Sensory processing problems are common in children with autism, and they can result in difficult behaviours. An occupational therapist can assist a child in taking charge of the overload of information, deconstructing it, and reacting properly at home, at school, and in other settings.
With the help of our occupational therapists at Dr.Beemas Clinic we can:
- Assist in developing social skills, play abilities, and sensory processing.
- Acquiring the ability to form adult and peer connections.
- Helping children learn how to do everyday tasks like brushing hair, buttoning shirts, etc.
- Encouraging the child to express their emotions in more suitable ways
How to Explain Occupational Therapy to a Child?
It is preferable to have an open conversation with your child about occupational therapy than to keep him in the dark about it. Assure your child that he will have interesting activities to look forward to. You may ask the therapist in advance about some of the activities that will be included in the OT exam so that you can inform your child of the exciting activities he will be doing during his appointment. The therapists are interested in your child’s best interests and will modify the environment or format of the assessment as necessary to improve your child’s ability to reach their maximum potential.
Remember to give your child a reward for each treatment session and big achievement. He’ll feel motivated to work along with the therapist, enjoy the process, and have a better understanding of the significance of the therapy.
Occupational Therapy Centre in Kerala
If you believe your kid is not developing to their full potential, get in touch with our licensed occupational therapists at Dr. Beemas Clinic in Muvattupuzha. We provide customised and goal-oriented occupational therapy, making us one of Kerala’s top child development centres.
Dr. Beemas Clinic, one of the best occupational therapy clinics in Kerala, assists children in gaining the abilities needed to be self-sufficient in all aspects of their lives. We also help parents by giving them the knowledge and resources they need to successfully implement treatment in their homes. Make your appointment today to determine the ways we can help your child with their strength, stability, play, social, and gross motor abilities, among other things.