Occupational Therapy

Sensory Integration refers to the organization and response to input coming from our senses (i.e. vision, auditory, olfactory, tactile, proprioception, vestibular, interoception). Our brains receive information from things we see, touch, hear, smell, or taste. This information helps us to interact with the world around us and carry out our everyday tasks successfully. Sensory Integration is essential for all the things we need to do daily from how we move and control our bodies to engaging in self-care tasks, social interactions, work/ school, etc. Typically, sensory integration develops naturally as we grow and engage in our environment. However, when there are instances of irregularities in development, it can lead to sensory integration disorders and cause functional deficits.   

 Sensory processing difficulties can present in many ways from over- or under-sensitivity affecting one or multiple senses. Children may be overly sensitive to clothing, sounds, and food textures. They may also “underreact” to sensory input leading to difficulty sitting still, clumsiness, thrill-seeking behavior, etc. Occupational therapists help with sensory integration by first identifying areas of difficulty and then engaging in appropriate sensory experiences to improve the individual’s ability to interpret sensory information provided by the given sense. Your OT will help to develop a “sensory diet” for your child. This is important to facilitate participation in necessary sensory activities daily to further promote sensory integration and functional skills.   
 Therapy Services offers sensory equipment on site to meet our patients’ needs during occupational therapy treatment. Some examples of these items include rock wall, ball pit, trampoline, interactive metronome, tactile sensory bins, crash mats, a variety of swings, and more!  

Sensory Integration and Praxis Test (SIPT)

SIPT is a standardized assessment designed for ages 4 years, 8 months to 8 years, 11 months old. It assesses both sensory processing, especially proprioceptive, kinesthetic, tactile and visual systems, as well as behavioral responses children may have if they have a sensory integration deficit. This assessment will help determine if a person is under or over reactive to stimuli coming from touch, visual, auditory, and/or movement sensations. The findings help facilitate treatment that is focused on the individual and their needs. Our OT, Kara Blosser, has been SIPT certified since 2002. SIPT administration may take 2-3 hours and may be completed on consecutive days within the OT session.

Occupational therapy in pediatrics focuses on improving children’s participation in daily activities, encouraging independence, and achieving developmental milestones. Occupational therapists evaluate and treat several areas of development including sensory processing difficulties, fine and gross motor skill delays, and cognitive impairments. By educating families and using skilled intervention OT can help children achieve their full potential and be successful in their everyday lives at home, school, and within their community. Research indicates that early intervention and consistent therapy can significantly improve children’s functional outcomes and overall quality of life (Coster et al., 2013).

Our occupational therapists will evaluate and treat the following areas for you child:

• Fine and Gross Motor Skill Development
• Visual Motor and Visual Perceptual Skills
• Handwriting
• Coordination
• Strength and Endurance
• Sensory Integration
• Attention and Direction Following
• Behavioral and Emotional Regulation
• Cognition
• Feeding
• Reflex Integration
• Activities of Daily Living
• Self-Care Skills

Each child is born with a set of involuntary primitive reflexes. Primitive reflexes are protective motor responses that help babies in the birthing process, survival outside the womb, and reaching early developmental milestones. Most of these reflexes go away(integrate) after the first year of life. However, if they do not disappear, they are considered retained and directly impact development and learning in various ways. 

Reflexes can be looked at as building blocks for sensory-motor development and are essential for learning. Without proper integration, retained primitive reflexes can affect the following areas:

• Motor planning & coordination
• Fine motor skills
• Gross motor skills
• Balance
• Postural strength
• Sensory processing
• Emotional regulation
• Learning
• Attention
• Hyperactivity & impulse control
• Handwriting & grasp
• Reading & dyslexia
• Crossing body midline
• Visual tracking and scanning
• Social skills
• Executive function & organization
• Bedwetting
• Oral motor skills & feeding

Here at Therapy Services we use skilled exercises and sensory strategies to develop reflex patterns to their full maturity. Each therapist can model these exercises for simple carry over at home!