Occupational Therapy is a division of rehabilitation medicine that helps individuals of all ages to develop the skills required to become more independent in their day to day life. Here at Chitter Chatter, our goal in occupational therapy is to help children develop fine motor skills, sensory processing, gross motor coordination, self-feeding skills, visual-motor integration skills, and dressing skills to help each individual grow to reach their full potential. 

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 The first step in this process is to use standardized assessments that will help the practitioner understand your child and their strengths and weaknesses. With the parent as an integral part of the team, the occupational therapist will collaborate to create goals to give your child the skills to participate in everyday life. 

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 From there, our occupational therapists understand that play is one of the most important occupations in a child’s day. We use play and creative activities to work towards goals. By increasing the challenge each week, the child will be pushed to learn new skills at a pace that is therapeutic and appropriate for them.

Feeding Therapy: During the initial evaluation, our clinician will discuss with the family what concerns they have regarding feeding. Our clinicians are trained in oral motor, sensory, and behavioral based evaluations and interventions. In order to eat, a child must first have the oral motor skills to manipulate food in their mouth safely and effectively. If the child demonstrates competent oral motor skills but, instead, demonstrates sensory dysregulation in relation to feeding skills, such as poor tolerance for messy play (i.e. getting their hands dirty) this may be targeted. Other children may have a limited food inventory and will work on including more food into their diet. Our clinicians will determine the best plan, in collaboration with the family, to allow the child to eat a variety of food in a safe manner.