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Signs My Child Needs

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Occupational Therapist

Does my Child Need an OT?

Occupational therapy isn’t just for children with a clinical diagnosis or disorder. If your child is struggling to keep up in school or not meeting developmental milestones they could benefit from extra support.

Are you concerned about any of the following behaviours or milestones?

Contact us today to schedule an assessment.

  •  Frequent meltdowns and tantrums
  • Poor attention or concentration
  • No safety awareness (always climbing running and on the go)
    Picky eating or refusal to eat
  • Problems with feeding themselves
  •  Behaviour concerns from kindy, prep, or school
  • Coordination and fine motor concerns
  • Messy or slow handwriting
  • Difficulty making friends or playing with other children
  • Struggling to develop independence in daily living skills such as toileting

Developmental Delays

  •  not reaching developmental milestones of sitting, crawling, and walking
  • not learning at an age appropriate level
  • not developing age appropriate play and social skills

Fine Motor Skills

  • difficulty with manipulating toys and puzzles
  • difficulties with pencil grasp
  • difficulties using feeding utensils at an age appropriate time
  • poor handwriting, letter/number formation
  • difficulties using scissors
  • difficulties with clothing fasteners: zippers, buttons, shoelaces
  • not developing a hand dominance at an age appropriate time
  • difficulties with colouring, drawing, tracing, prewriting shapes
  • avoids task and games that require fine motor skills

Movement, Strength, and Balance Development (Gross Motor Skills)

  •  appears clumsy or uncoordinated
  • difficulty going up and down stairs at an age appropriate time
  • difficulty with the concept of right and left
  • poor ball skills
  • low muscle tone
  • high muscle tone
  • poor balance
  • fearful of feet leaving the ground
  • difficulty coordinating both sides of the body
  • doesn't cross midline of his or her body during play and school tasks
  • avoids tasks and games that require gross motor skills

Visual Processing

  • difficulty with the spacing and sizes of letters
  • difficulty with recognizing letters
  • loses his or her place when reading or copying from the board
  • difficulty with copying shapes or letters
  • has poor eye contact
  • difficulty with visual tracking and crossing midline
  • difficulty finding objects among other objects
  • difficulty with copying from the board or another paper
  • difficulty with the concept of right and left

Oral Motor/Oral Sensory

  •  drools excessively
  • chews food in the front of the mouth, rather than on the molars
  • difficulty using a cup at an age-appropriate time
  • difficulty with drinking from a straw at an age-appropriate time
  • lengthy bottle or breast feedings
  • child appears tired after eating
  • baby loses excessive liquid from his or her lips when bottle or breast feeding
  • child loses excessive liquid or food from his or her mouth when drinking or chewing
  • child appears to be excessively picky when eating, only eating certain types or textures of food
  • child excessively mouths toys or objects beyond an age-appropriate time

Sensory Processing

  •  overly sensitive or heightened reactivity to sound, touch, or movement
  • under-responsive to certain sensations (e.g., high pain tolerance, doesn't notice cuts/bruises)
  • constantly moving, jumping, crashing, bumping
  • easily distracted by visual or auditory stimulie
  • motionally reactive
  • difficulty coping with change
  • inability to calm self when upset

Social Interaction Skills

  •  difficulty interacting socially and engaging with family and peers
  • difficulty adapting to new environments
  • delayed language skills
  • overly focused on one subject (e.g., space, universe, dinosaurs, trains)
  • not coping in the school environment

Learning Challenges

  •  unable to concentrate and focus at school
  • easily distracted
  • difficulty following instructions and completing work
  • tires easily with school work
  • poor impulse control
  • hyperactivity or low energy
  • not keeping up with workload at school
  • difficulty learning new material
  • makes letter or number reversals after age seven

Play Skills

  •  needs adult guidance to initiate play
  • difficulty with imitative play
  • wanders aimlessly without purposeful play
  • moves quickly from one activity to the next
  • does not explore toys appropriately
  • participates in repetitive play for hours (e.g., lining up toys)
  • does not join in with peers/siblings when playing
  • does not understand concepts of sharing and turn taking

Contact us today to schedule an assessment.