What is occupational therapy? And, what does occupational therapy look like in early intervention?

Written by Briana Rigau

OT month blue heart

What is occupational therapy? If you’re not quite sure what occupational therapy is, you’re not alone.

Occupational therapists help people participate in the activities that people want and need to do in everyday life. An occupation is anything that you fill your time with; an occupation is a meaningful and purposeful everyday activity. There are eight areas of occupation that can be addressed through occupational therapy: activities of daily living (i.e., the basic things that you do to take care of yourself every day, instrumental activities of daily living (more complex things that you have to do to take care of yourself), sleep and rest, leisure, play, education, work, and social participation.

In early intervention, occupational therapists work with children ages birth to three-years-old and their families in their natural environments. Here are some examples of some of the occupations an occupational therapist can address with young children and their families:

  • Activities of daily living: feeding and eating, dressing, diaper changes, bath time, teeth brushing, hair brushing
  • Instrumental activities of daily living: going to the grocery store, picking up toys, helping with meal preparation, helping with laundry
  • Rest and sleep: nap time, bedtime
  • Play: playing at the park, playing with toys, coloring, pretend-play, dancing along to a song
  • Leisure: community outings (trips to the museum, zoo, aquarium, etc.), quiet time
  • Social participation: socializing with peers and adults in adaptive, age-appropriate ways throughout play and other daily routines
  • Education: circle time and structured classroom activities at daycare or an early learning center, reading books

This list is not comprehensive and some of the examples above can fit into more than one category. The specific occupations an occupational therapist will address with a child and their family varies based on the concerns, priorities, and needs of the child and their family.

Occupational therapists use a variety of evidence-based approaches to help a person perform and participate in the occupations that they want and need to be able to do. Here are some examples of approaches and interventions an occupational therapist can use with young children and their families:

  • Sensory integration1: activities to build a child’s tolerance for different types of sensory input that they encounter in daily life (e.g., feeling different textures, eating different textures and tastes, sliding, swinging, riding in the car, going upside-down), activities to help children regulate (i.e., calm) to participate in daily activities and routines, modifying the environment or activity to reduce or increase the types of sensory input encountered during occupations
  • Motor control2: activities to help a child use their body effectively (both fine motor and gross motor movements) during occupations, modifying the environment or activity to promote a child’s ability to effectively use their body during occupations
  • Cognitive3: activities to improve a child’s cognitive skills (e.g., problem-solving, mental flexibility, attention, learning, coming up with new ideas) needed to participate in occupations, modifying the environment or activity to promote a child’s ability to effectively use their cognitive skills during occupations
  • Biomechanical4: activities to address a child’s strength, range of motion, and endurance needed to participate in occupations; modifying the environment or activity to compensate for limitations with a child’s strength, range of motion, and/or endurance during occupations

Briana Rigau, OTD, OTR/L

Pediatric Occupational Therapist

References:

  1. Fisher, G. (2016). The Sensory Integration Model. OT 500 lecture presented November 10, 2016, University of Illinois at Chicago, PowerPoint slides.
  2. Fisher, G. (2016). The Motor Control Models. OT 500 lecture presented November 1, 2016, University of Illinois at Chicago, PowerPoint slides.
  3. Fisher, G. (2016). Cognitive Models. OT 500 lecture presented November 8, 2016, University of Illinois at Chicago, PowerPoint slides.
  4. Fisher, G. (2016). The Biomechanical Model. OT 500 lecture presented October 27, 2016, University of Illinois at Chicago, PowerPoint slides.