Pediatric Occupational Therapy
What is Occupational Therapy?
Occupational therapy is a holistic health profession that looks at every aspect of the person to empower them to be as independent as possible in their daily lives. Occupational therapists are able to adapt the tasks and environment as well as determine and capitalize off of their clients strengths to enable their client to accomplish the things they have to and need to do. Occupational therapists take into account their clients physical, sensory, psychological, cognitive and even spiritual needs to empower them.
Our therapists have extensive knowledge in a wide variety of areas including:
- Feeding: breast feeding, bottle feeding, sensory sensitivities and meal time participation
- Fine motor skills : Handwriting, fastening clothing clasps, bilateral hand use, scissor skills.
- Attention: attention to task, joint attention, attention to play
- Social skills: play, fostering connections between you and your child and your child and their world.
- Sensory needs Teeth brushing, bath time struggles, messy play and more.
- Transitioning: working through big feelings, addressing meltdowns and fostering trust.
- Strengthening: Core, hand and overall strengthening.
- Everyday skills: Dressing, feeding, developing a routine, getting a good night sleep. '
- Advocating: Advocating for neurodiversity affirming strategies being used for your child.
Skilled Assessment
Rhoads to Independence, LLC utilizes a variety of child-led assessment techniques to collect data to inform the OT process.
How do we assess your child:
- Parent interview
- Play observation
- Home video analysis
- Natural Environment observation
We have access to standardized tests and assessments, but we only use them if absolutely necessary. Why? Most of these tests have not been normed on neurodiverse populations. We prefer a strengths based approach for our clients.
Standard OT Services
- Individual 45 minute OT session via in person or teletherapy
- Parent consultation at the end of each session
- 48 hour response to emails and text messages (Weekend communication responded to Monday AM unless it is an emergency)
*Additional resources and services available upon request.*
Consultation
Rhoads to Independence offers consultation services for families, therapists and organizations. We found that sometimes teams need out of the box thinking. After years of collaborating with therapists for cases that were not ours, we decided to offer official consultation to provide as many clients with our expertise as possible.
We have extensive knowledge in collaborating in the following
- Sensory processing
- Sensory integration
- Strengths-based service delivery and goal setting
- Neurodiversity affirming strategies to reach goals
- Using preferred items and activities to reach goals
Collaborating
Our therapists are passionate about collaborating with other therapists and students. We are proud to offer shadowing, teaching and learning opportunities for OT students, programs and other OTs.
Services Update Sept 2024
All of our services will be occurring virtually until further notice. We appreciate your understanding and look forward to providing you with the same quality RTI services you know and love.