Occupational Therapy

Attention is the ability to focus on a task, both with and without distractions. Having good attentional skills allows your child to filter irrelevant information from the environment so that they can focus on what is important in the moment.

Self-regulation refers to our ability to control our own thoughts, emotions, and behaviours in relation to our environment. For example, when a child plays in the playground or competitive game, it is beneficial to have a heightened state of alertness. However, the same state would not be appropriate in the library.

Fine motor skills refer to the ability to co-ordinate movements of the eyes and hands to manipulate tools and objects. It also involves the ability to perform small precise movements quickly and smoothly.
A child with fine motor difficulties may present with the following:

• Frustration with hand activities due to an inability to carry out fine manipulations or inaccurate placement of objects. 
• Difficulty with pincer grip and screwing movements e.g. undoing jar lids 
• Preference for outdoor activities, rather than fine tabletop activities 
• Poor Scissor Skills 
• Difficulty using tweezers / stacking blocks 
• Difficulty with construction toys e.g. Lego, jigsaw puzzles. 
• Difficulty pouring water during water play 
• Poor colouring
  

Handwriting is the ability to efficiently produce writing in a readable and efficient manner. Writing by hand in the early years has been shown to improve letter recognition and written expression.  

Common handwriting challenges include:  

• Immature pencil grasp 
• Poorly formed letters 
• Difficulty writing on a line 
• Poor handwriting size 
• Poor spacing within and between words 
• Poor copying skills 
  

Motor coordination is an important skill required for your child to explore the world around them with ease. Children require this skill for play (eg. Playground skills, jumping, ball skills etc), learning (eg. Drawing, cutting etc) and to perform their daily living activities. 

Children with motor coordination difficulties may present with:  

• Difficulty using both sides of their bodies effectively  
• Difficulty with control of force  
• Difficulty planning movement required for an activity 

Play is every child's occupation. During play, children develop many other skills such as language, social, gross motor, and fine motor skills.  

Pretend play helps your child to: 

• Organize their thinking 
• Relate events 
• Understand abstract ideas 
• Practice how to behave and problem-solve in different scenarios and social settings 

Social engagement skills are important in allowing your child to establish and maintain positive relationships. These skills allow them to appropriately initiate interactions with others, respond to interactions and maintain back and forth interactions.  

Some skills required for effective social engagement include: 

• Eye Contact 
• Joint Attention 
• Turn Taking 
• Sharing  
• Understanding and management emotions of self and others 
• Cooperation and Negotiation  
• Problem Solving 

Self-care skills involve common daily activities your child participates in. These activities include dressing, showering, feeding, brushing teeth, toileting and sleep participation.  

Sensory processing is a neurological process where the brain receives, organises and interprets sensory information from within the body and surrounding environment. Types of sensory information include visual, hearing, smell, taste, touch, proprioception, vestibular and interoception. Sensory processing is important for your child to respond and adapt their responses when engaging in daily activities.  

Common problems related to sensory processing include:  

• Picky eating  
• Irritable when dressed (eg. Dislikes tags or certain texture of clothes) 
• Dislikes brushing teeth, washing hair or cutting nails 
• Dislikes walking barefoot on grass or sand, may tiptoe instead 
• Over-sensitive to touch, smell, noise or with other people  
• Frequent and long meltdowns