My child won’t sit still! Occupational Therapy can help.

Image result for school chair clipart black and white

Jessica Hoffarth MS OTR/L is an occupational therapist at Child and Family Development- Midtown office. 

She found this great list of twenty-two reasons why a child can’t sit still on pediastaff.com, compiled by Loren Shales OT. While these ideas might seem unrelated to actual sitting, Jessica recognizes that the topics are worth exploring to determine what might be contributing to behavior, motor abilities as well as general health and developmental skills.

In particular, she notices in her own pediatric clients that body systems difficulties (respiratory, neuromuscular, sensory processing, etc.) may manifest in unexpected ways, including the “simple” task of sitting in a chair.

  1. not getting enough exercise
  2. poor postural stability, low muscle tone, and/ or weak trunk and spine
  3. chair/desk does not fit
  4. tactile defensiveness
  5. sitting with back exposed
  6. auditory defensiveness
  7. poor breather
  8. undetected visual problems
  9. poorly functioning inner ear 
  10. immature nervous system 
  11. poorly functioning metabolic processes 
  12. not getting enough sleep
  13. too young or too immature for the task/ position 
  14. expectations of the setting (i.e. classroom, church) are too much and the child feels lost, inadequate and confused
  15. basic needs: may be hungry, thirsty, tired, or need a bathroom
  16. over scheduled
  17. too much screen time
  18. caregivers have too much screen time
  19. difficulties at home with or between parents and siblings
  20. doesn’t know to respond to adult redirection
  21. expected to sit for too long
  22. boredom 

Read the full article with detailed explanations here

Learn more about how occupational therapy can help here.

Contact our office to schedule a free phone call with our occupational therapists.