How does occupational therapy help an infant or toddler?
Undoubtedly, a baby who has been in his mother’s tummy for all nine months and heard her heartbeat will be more comfortable with his mother after birth. At the first request, he will be fed, cradled and caressed, the child will be calmer. Unfortunately, there are situations when you need to solve an urgent issue, and with the presence of a child it is impossible to do this. You can read more here about unique programs for young children. To make everyone happy
Occupational therapists are trained to understand the “occupation” of people of all ages and to help figure out how best to encourage learning and adaptation to allow for optimal performance in the face of disability. For infants and toddlers, their occupation is developing play, communication, mobility and independence in self help skills. OTs must understand all areas of child development and behavior in order to adequately evaluate and plan treatment goals. Occupational therapists have training in neurology, orthopedics, development and other medical aspects of care for young children which allows them to provide support and adaptations as needed such as splinting, specialized equipment or tools to allow children to achieve their learning and play goals. Specialized training and experience allows them to provide support and programming for children with particular needs such as behavioral disorders, including autism, extreme prematurity, special health needs and home care, etc.
