Occupational Therapy Month

Happy occupational therapy month! April is OT month and every year, I love to recirculate this blog post because it offers so many OT memes and social media graphics for explaining what we do in occupational therapy. This year, we’ve got a few fun free OT PDFs for OT month, too, so if you are working in school based therapy, in clinics, or in homes and want to celebrate the OT profession WHILE building skills, those resources are for you.

OT Month Activities

Below, you’ll find easy ways to celebrate OT month so we can celebrate the profession of occupational therapy and share with others what an amazing thing it is to be an OT professional!

Below, you’ll find ideas for OT month:

  • OT Month memes (share them on social media!)
  • OT month printable activities. Use the free occupational therapy PDFs in treatment sessions. Grab all of them below.
  • If you are a member in The OT Toolbox membership, log in and head to OT Month resources. You’ll love the grab and go activities!
  • Collaboration ideas

I’ll update this post each day during the first week of April so you can gather your OT month materials. And, don’t forget to grab some of the memes below to share on your social media (just link back to this page) so you can celebrate occupational therapy along with all of your friends!

occupational therapy month ideas

OT Month Activities

There are a five fun, EASY ways to celebrate OT month. Pick out these activities for the whole month of April:

But before we get started with the OT month ideas, be sure to check out this Autism acceptance month, during the month of April and all year long.

  1. Share OT memes on social media! Scroll below for a new graphic explaining what we do in therapy sessions (and why!). There are enough for every day in April. You’ll even find inspirational occupational therapy memes, too. Here are more OT memes to share.
  2. Get creative with fun and festive OT month activities. Make OT month even better with an April occupational therapy calendar that is a perfect addition to your therapy lesson plans this year. Let’s make occupational therapy month exciting with fresh OT ideas!
  3. Use some of our OT month worksheets and activities that build skills. Not your typical “worksheet”, these are printable activities that get kids moving and functioning, with an emphasis on FUN. You’ll find 5 new OT month activities that celebrate the profession and use therapy materials for occupational therapy awareness.
  4. Grab the OT Materials Bundle! During the month of April, it’s only $8 and includes 13 OT month resources using supplies that we use every day during OT sessions. You’ll also find 8 bonus articles on ways to grow as a professional.
  5. Collaborate with other OT professionals! April is the perfect time to grow as a professional, celebrate others in the field and chat all things OT. In the OT Materials Bundle, you’ll find articles on how to collaborate with others, how to reflect on OT practice, how to find an OT mentor, and ways to network as a busy OT professional.
Occupational therapy memes for OT month

Occupational Therapy Month Memes

April is Occupational Therapy month!  To celebrate, I’ve created a month of images that can be shared on social media.  Each image is an underlying area that influences development and includes a therapist quick tip.  These are occupational therapy tricks and tips! 


It’s my hope that each day in April, you’ll share your creative ways to work on these skills. 

 

Happy Occupational Therapy Month!

 

 Kinesthetic learning activities
 
DAY 1: Kinesthetic Learning- Try these kinesthetic learning activities.
 
 Vestibular activities for kids
 
DAY 2: Vestibular Activities- Try these vestibular activities.
 
 Toys and tools to help with attention
 
 
 Laterality and hand dominance
 
DAY 4: Try these activities to address laterality and hand dominance.
 
 Proprioception activities
 
DAY 5: Try these activities to develop and address proprioception needs. 
 
 Distal finger control exercises
 
 
 Neat pincer grasp activities
 
 
 Tactile sensory input activities
 
DAY 8: Try these activities to develop tactile discrimination and the tactile sense.
 
 Bilateral coordination activities
 
 
 What is motor planning activities
 
DAY 10: Try these activities if you are wondering, “What is motor planning?”
 

   olfactory sense scented play

DAY 11: Try these olfactory sense scented play ideas.

 Eye-hand coordination activities
 
 
 Visual scanning activity
 
DAY 13: This is a fun visual scanning activity.
 
 In-hand manipulation activities
 
DAY 14: Read more about in-hand manipulation activities.
 
 What is finger isolation
 
DAY 15: Read more about finger isolation.
 
 Precision of grasp activities
 
 
 Visual discrimination activity
 
DAY 17: Try this activity to build visual discrimination.
 
 What is visual memory
 
DAY 18: Read more about visual memory here.
 
 Visual closure activity
 
DAY 19: Try this activity to develop visual closure.
 
 Form constancy visual perception activity
 
DAY 20: Try this technique to develop form constancy.
 
 
DAY 21: This is a fun way to develop visual figure ground skills.
 
 Visual tracking tips and tools
 
 
 auditory processing activities
 
 
 Core strengthening with music
 
 
 intrinsic hand strengthening
 
DAY 25: Use these strategies to build intrinsic hand strength.
 
 Task initiation executive functioning strategies
 
 
Wrist extension in occupational therapy month
 
 
 How to help kids learn impulse control
 
DAY 28: Use these ideas to help kids learn impulse control.
 
 Use animal crackers  oral motor exercise
 
DAY 29: This is a fun way to practice oral motor exercise.
 
 Visual spatial skills
 
DAY 30: Try these activities to help with visual spatial skills.

More OT Month Graphics

Use these OT month graphics to promote occupational therapy. The professional of occupational therapy is an incredible profession. Let’s share all that we love about OT and bring awareness of this amazing profession to others!

Occupational therapy graphic
OT month graphic
OT month image
OT month graphic
Occupational therapy month graphic
occupational therapy month
Occupational therapy month image
Occupational therapy month images to share
Occupational therapy month quote
Happy OT month
What is occupational therapy quote

A final note on OT month for OT practioners

As we step into occupational therapy month again with another April, let’s remember what it is that makes our profession special. Occupational therapists (OTs) and occupational therapy assistants (OTAs) help patients to participate in every day occupations! We help people do the things that occupy others’ time. We help others do the things that matter most to them It’s all of the most meaningful activities a person desires and needs to participate in for daily life.

For children this may include things like doing cartwheels, riding a bike, getting dressed, writing their name, brushing their hair, or playing with friends. 

For us as professionals, the most important thing IS to serve and support others. OT is the most encouraging, enlightening, and inspiring profession there is, and YOU are a part of that light!

YOU make a difference in the world. That difference makes a ripple of impact. Helping one person achieve a small goal effects that person’s family and everyone they are in contact with. Now multiply that wellbeing to your entire caseload.

Occupational therapists are difference makers!

Occupational therapy assistants are difference makers!

We literally do, as occupational therapy professionals, what matters most in this world.

Happy OT month, fellow occupational therapy professionals!

Colleen Beck, OTR/L has been an occupational therapist since 2000, working in school-based, hand therapy, outpatient peds, EI, and SNF. Colleen created The OT Toolbox to inspire therapists, teachers, and parents with easy and fun tools to help children thrive. Read her story about going from an OT making $3/hour (after paying for kids’ childcare) to a full-time OT resource creator for millions of readers. Want to collaborate? Send an email to contact@theottoolbox.com.

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occupational therapy month ideas

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