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Children
needing help with handwriting, school tasks and routines,
self-help skills and social participation may need occupational
therapy services.
Occupational therapists and certified occupational therapy
assistants work with children and their families at home and
at school focusing on the areas of:
- Mobility and Transitions
- Handling Classroom Materials
- Functional Written Communication
- School Tasks and Routines
- Self-Help Skills
- Social Participation
- Pre-vocational and Vocational Skills
- Play and Leisure Skills
- Overall Health and Wellness
| Occupational Therapy is a profession that assists individuals
of all ages with different abilities to engage and be
more functional in their daily living. Through assistive
equipment, compensatory techniques, adapting one's environment,
rehabilitative procedures and education, occupational
therapy practitioners help individuals become more involved
in meaningful and satisfying life activities. Depending
on one's age, these activities might include shaking a
rattle (baby), learning work/job skills (adolescent),
or planting a vegetable garden (adult and older adult).
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For children in elementary and secondary
schools, they are expected to learn both academic and
non-academic (functional) skills. Academic skills might
include subtracting double-digit numbers, composing a
report, and locating cities on a world map. Functional
skills would include unlocking a padlock on a school locker,
cutting out figurines for a science project and writing
legible words down on paper efficiently and quickly. For
students to be successful in the school setting, they
need to have both functional and academic skills in working
order. |
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