Occupational Therapy Evaluations: Assessing More than Handwriting & Sensory
By: Sarah Evanko, OTR/L
Occupational Therapy is often summarized, by individuals outside of the profession, as handwriting and sensory therapy. However, the scope of an occupational therapist consists of a wide range of skills and areas that can be evaluated. When a parent or a physician refers a child for an occupational therapy evaulation, an occupational therapist will want to look at all the occupations that a child does in a day, and the assess the skills that can impact their performance. So what are those skills, and what can an occupational therapist help your child with?
Daily Occupations
- Feeding
- Dressing
- Bathing and grooming
- Play
- Rest and sleep
- Education
- Leisure
- Work
- Social participation
Motor Skills
- Gross motor Skills
- Motor planning
- Fine motor Skills
- Visual-motor skills
- Visual tracking oculomotor
Oral-Motor Skills and Feeding
- Oral-motor structures
- Oral movement
- Oral-motor sensitivity
- Feeding history
Sensory and Perceptual Skills
- Visual processing
- Auditory processing
- Muscle tone
- Oral sensitivity
- Proprioceptive processing
- Vestibular processing
- Tactile processing
- Interoception
Cognitive Skills
- Attention, arousal level
- Cause-effect relationship
- Organization
- Social-emotional regulation
- Memory
- Planning, sequencing, and organization
- Problem-solving
- Making and maintaining friendships
The list goes on! This is just a snippet of what an OT can address with your child. If you have questions or concerns regarding your child’s development, our occupational therapy team is here to help.
