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3 Reasons To Hire An Occupational Therapist For Your Child

29 May 2017

Vicki Alexander

Many parents worry and wonder about the growth and development of their child. Although every person is different, as so is every child, there are some standards that the child should follow as they reach milestones. If the child gets too far behind, it might be worth hiring a pediatric occupational therapist to help work with the child. Here are some reasons to get your child occupational therapy.

1. The Child Is Not Walking Normally

One thing that an occupational therapist does with children is help them with gross motor skills. Gross motor skills are large movements of the child, so things like swinging arms to hit a baseball or even catch a ball, walking, dancing, balancing, and so forth. If the child is delayed in their walking it is usually not because the child is unable to walk, but lacks some of the foundational skills to be able to walk. Thus, a therapist can help build a solid foundation so that the child learns to walk.

In addition, if the child is walking strange, or has sustained an injury, such as a broken leg, that makes their walking different and difficult after the cast is off, they could benefit from occupational therapy.

2. The Child Is Not Speaking Properly

Communication is another common thing that an occupational therapist will focus on. Many children, especially those who suffer from autism, are delayed in their communication skills. Some children fail to speak at all, others fail to construct meaningful sentences, and others have a hard time understanding commands and language. For many children, learning language comes naturally, but if for your child it seems to be more difficult, you might help them along by getting them therapy. The therapist will work on forming sounds, teach them how to form sentences and even help them to learn what certain things mean.

3. The Child Is Behind In Social Skills

Another common reason to hire an occupational therapist is to help teach social skills. If you find that your child is not playing with other children their age, seems to be disinterested in people, or lacks boundaries, an occupational therapist can be very helpful. They can do exercises with the child where they teach the child how to respond in certain situations, how to make friends, and learn appropriate boundaries with physical touch, communication and so forth.

These are some of the common reasons parents hire an occupational therapist for their child. For more information, you will want to contact a company such as ABC Pediatric Therapy.

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