Does your child struggle with daily activities like walking, talking, crawling, and face difficulty in doing things independently such as buttoning a shirt, brushing teeth, or eating? If yes, then we get you! Many parents feel the same way – lost, confused and worried.
But worry not! Specialised pediatric occupational therapy and physical therapy at TNDC helps support children in winning over these challenges, and help improve emotional regulation, motor skills and daily tasks. Ultimately, to achieve the end goal of independence and confidence to lead a successful daily life.
If you are wondering how occupational therapy can benefit your child or loved ones, you are at the right place. We’ll help you explore different signs that indicate that it might be the correct time to seek professional help.
Benefits of Occupational Therapy for Child Development
Occupational therapy offers multiple benefits that extend beyond physical improvement:
Enhanced Independence: Children learn skills to manage self-care, school tasks, and social interactions.
Improved Motor Skills: Both fine and gross motor abilities are developed through targeted exercises.
Better Emotional Regulation: Therapy teaches children how to manage stress and frustration.
Sensory Integration: Techniques help children process and respond to sensory information, reducing overload.
Academic and Social Success: Improved skills lead to better performance at school and more meaningful social interactions.
By addressing various developmental challenges, occupational therapy paves the way for a confident and independent future.
Visible Signs That Your Child Could Benefit From Occupational Therapy
Every child is different and takes their own time in learning daily activities, but if the kid cannot do daily activities by themselves and continuously needs someone’s support, it is a sign that they need occupational therapy.
Occupational therapy helps them with sensory processing, motor skills and daily activities. Here are a few signs to look out for:
1. Their developmental goals are not achieved
Developmental milestones or goals help caregivers or parents to measure and monitor their child’s growth. It avoids the confusion on what and when to expect from children on achieving certain developmental skills like walking, eating, talking. It sets a general timeline for parents to follow.
For instance, as per occupational therapy guidelines, children should ideally start feeding themselves foods with fingers by 10 months and with the spoon by 18 to 24 months. If the child is not able to achieve that, it means the child is showing developmental delays. Early intervention therapy can be really helpful in such cases to achieve milestones quickly.
2. Difficulty in visual processing
Visual processing is a process in which children’s reaction is based on what they see. For example, running away when seeing a dog barking. But if the child does not show any reaction, that means he is not able to connect visual things to mind.
Moreover, if a child does not recognise letters or alphabets or finds difficulty in keeping space between shapes, it is a sign of visual processing disorder.
3. Struggling with sensory processing
Our mind tends to react when we come in contact with sight, touch, smell, hearing, and taste. For example, if someone calls our name, we react. But when you don’t have proper command of your senses, it becomes difficult to react quickly.
That’s what happens with children having sensory processing issues. They often get overwhelmed by the senses and tend to overreact with frustration to noise, instability or underreact while doing certain activities.
4. Facing issues with motor skills
Gross motor skills include large body movements that engage legs, arms, core and torso for performing activities like running, jumping or balancing. They demand whole body coordination, therefore, play a crucial role in physical development.
5. Facing challenges with fine motor skills
If your child struggles with balance or has difficulty with gross motor tasks, they may also face challenges with fine motor skills. This is because both types of motor skills depend on a strong core—the body’s foundation for movement.
The same principle applies to children—without a stable core, fine motor skills like writing, buttoning a shirt, or holding utensils become more difficult. If your child is showcasing ongoing balance or movement difficulties, professionals at TNDC can help you identify the best personalised path forward.
6. Weak emotional regulation
If your child takes longer to calm down in stressful or overwhelming situations, they might be struggling with emotional regulation. They may also have more frequent and prolonged temper tantrums compared to their peers.
If your child becomes easily upset without a clear reason, it could be a sign of difficulty managing emotions. An occupational therapist can work with your child to identify the root cause of their emotional reactions and develop effective coping strategies.
Through targeted techniques, both you and your child can learn self-calming methods to better handle emotional outbursts and foster a sense of control in challenging moments.
7. Unable to perform daily tasks
If a child is struggling with everyday tasks like dressing, eating, bathing etc, it is a serious concern. You must see a skilled occupational therapist, they can help children improve independence in doing activities like self-dress, combing hair, eating, etc.
8. Refraining social interactions
When a child consistently avoids social interaction, it may signal underlying difficulties. If the child struggles to communicate, shows little interest in engaging with new people, or finds it challenging to adapt to new environments, these behaviors can indicate social instability. Additionally, difficulties in sharing thoughts, feelings, or belongings with family and peers can highlight their discomfort in social settings.
Social withdrawal can impact a child’s emotional development, self-esteem, and ability to form meaningful relationships. Over time, this may lead to feelings of loneliness, frustration, or even anxiety in social situations. Identifying these signs early and seeking support through occupational therapy can help children build essential social skills, gain confidence, and navigate interactions more easily.
9. Developmental delay in oral sensory
Oral sensory is coordinated movement of teeth, jaw, lips, soft palate and tongue. When children don’t achieve these skills on time, they may face difficulties like:
Struggle with chewing food
Liquid loss from the mouth after breastfeeding
Feeling overly relaxed after eating
Shows tantrums in choosing food
Can’t drink from cup at an appropriate age
All these things directly impact speech development, nutrition and overall well being of child. Recognising these issues early can help treat the oral sensory delays and improve eating habits.
10. Learning Disabilities
Occupational therapy can be essential for children facing challenges such as difficulty learning new concepts, easily getting distracted, struggling to solve age-appropriate problems, only being able to learn one thing at a time, perceiving homework as a burden, encountering difficulties while completing tasks, and having trouble controlling impulses.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Occupational Therapy
1. What is occupational therapy? Occupational therapy is a healthcare service that helps children develop the skills needed for daily living through targeted activities, exercises, and sensory integration techniques.
2. How does occupational therapy work for children? Therapists evaluate a child’s specific challenges and create a customized treatment plan that includes play-based exercises, sensory integration activities, and motor skill development to improve independence.
3. What are the signs that my child might need occupational therapy? Key signs include delays in reaching developmental milestones, difficulty with sensory processing, challenges in fine and gross motor skills, weak emotional regulation, and struggles with daily self-care tasks.
4. When should I seek occupational therapy for my child? If your child consistently struggles with age-appropriate activities, shows signs of sensory or motor difficulties, or has trouble with social interactions, early intervention through occupational therapy is recommended.
5. How can occupational therapy benefit my child’s overall development? Occupational therapy enhances a child’s independence, motor skills, sensory processing, emotional regulation, and social abilities, leading to better performance at school and improved quality of life.
Final words
Now that you understand that occupational therapy is a versatile solution to many developmental issues, how it helps and if it can benefit your child; choose the best therapist for your kid. TNDC offers the best experienced occupational therapists in Noida. We offer personalised solutions for the unique needs of your kid.
