Aurora Speech Clinic serves families in Aurora, Newmarket, and across York Region. We offer a number of therapy services, including pediatric occupational therapy.
At Aurora Speech Clinic, we value a family centred, multidisciplinary approach to treatment. We offer pediatric occupational therapy services as a complement to our speech therapy services or as a standalone treatment.
Pediatric occupational therapists (OTs) are regulated health professionals who work with children. Their therapeutic goal is to enable kids to participate fully in the activities of daily life: to enhance a child’s functioning in things like self care, leisure, and productivity tasks.
Occupational therapy for children can help kids thrive in their home and school environments. It provides a holistic approach to enhancing their independence and self esteem.
If your child is demonstrating difficulty with fine motor skills, gross motor skills, feeding, sensory processing, self care skills, or other activities of daily living, occupational therapy can help.
Why Choose Pediatric Occupational Therapy At Aurora Speech Clinic?
Individualized Treatment Plans
Based on the assessment, your occupational therapist will work with your family to set specific, measurable, and achievable goals. These goals are tailored to the child’s needs and may focus on skills related to self-care, play, school, and social interactions. Pediatric occupational therapists use a variety of evidence-based techniques and activities.
The Importance Of Early Intervention
As children grow, they build and discover new skills that help them to move, observe, and communicate with the world around them. But if your child has a delay in one area, it can affect the development of many other related skills. Research shows that early intervention is more effective than the “wait and see” approach in helping your child catch up with their peers and developing motor and self care skills appropriate to their age.
Collaborative Approach
Occupational therapists work closely with parents and caregivers: to educate them about their child’s needs and provide guidance on how to support them outside of therapy sessions. They will work to empower you with the skills and knowledge you need throughout your child’s therapeutic journey. Your occupational therapist may also collaborate with other professionals, such as your child’s speech therapist or teachers, to provide strategies and adaptations for the child’s home and school environments.
Initial Assessment
Pediatric occupational therapists assess a child’s physical, cognitive, sensory, emotional, and social development to identify strengths and areas of difficulty. At Aurora Speech Clinic, we recognize that every child is unique. As such, there is no “one size fits all” approach. Your occupational therapist will take the time to speak with you, the primary caregiver, to gather an in depth history of your child’s development, which will help them tailor the assessment to your child and your specific concerns. From there, they may use a combination of standardized assessments and informal observations to gather additional information.
Occupational Therapy Services For Kids
The pediatric occupational therapy team at Aurora Speech Clinic has training in a broad range of different areas involving childhood development.
However, like many clinicians, they also have more specific areas of interest.
Below, you’ll find more information on areas we treat at Aurora Speech Clinic.
Children receive sensory input from their eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and the rest of their body, which is then processed by their nervous system. Some children have difficulty processing sensory input, which can cause them distress and impact their overall functioning and participation in different activities. Occupational therapy can help.
Self Regulation
Self regulation refers to the ability to manage and control one’s emotions, behaviours, and responses to various sensory and environmental stimuli. Difficulty with self regulation may emerge as emotional outbursts, temper tantrums, and impulsive behaviour. Occupational therapy can support your child to achieve better regulation at home, at school, and in the community.
Gross motor skills include the skills needed to make larger bodily movements such as crawling, walking, throwing, jumping, and riding a bike. Fine motor skills include the skills needed for smaller hand and wrist movements, such as handwriting, fastening buttons, using a fork, and cutting with scissors. Delays or issues with motor skill development can affect many other areas, but occupational therapy can help your child stay on pace with their development.
Children have various tasks to accomplish every day. This includes things like eating, getting dressed, brushing their teeth, tying their shoes, using the washroom, and more. If your child is struggling to perform these activities, your child may benefit from support. Occupational therapy can help.