Occupational Therapy Interventions

The occupational therapy interventions found on this page are powerful tools for promoting child development. These OT activities can be used in therapy sessions and to build development of motor skills, sensory play, executive functioning, handwriting, and more.

Occupational Therapy Interventions

Most of our posts have a therapeutic spin on them.  As an Occupational Therapist, I love to pull my background into play activities.  The pages below will provide developmental information and treatment ideas in Fine Motor Development, Sensory Integration, Visual Perceptual Integration, and Developmental Milestones.  

Occupational therapy is one of the child therapies that supports daily functional tasks and what is meaningful for the individual and supports the whole person. This support allows the person to accomplish daily functional tasks so they can learn, play, and thrive.

It is my hope that Occupational Therapists can find informative ideas for Occupational Therapy treatment and goals and Parents and Educators can become more informed and find activities that will meet your child’s interests and needs while working on areas that need development or are just fun.  Look around at the resources below and let us know if there is something specific you are looking for.

Occupational Therapy Activities for Visual Perceptual Skills

Some of our most popular Visual Perceptual Integration posts include:

You can see more on Visual Perceptual Motor Integration activities by searching by area:

Occupational Therapy Fine Motor Treatment Ideas for Kids: 

Occupational therapy interventions typically include fine motor activities to develop hand strength, manipulation, endurance, and participation in functional tasks. The following fine motor activities can be included in OT interventions.

We’ve got a collection of all of our Fine Motor Activities together in one place.


Some of our most popular fine motor activities are:

You can see more on Fine Motor by searching by development area.

 

 

 

Occupational Therapy Sensory Integration Treatment Ideas for Kids:

Occupational therapy interventions can include sensory processing strategies to meet the needs of children. The following sensory play ideas can be a part of occupational therapy activities.

 

Sensory Processing is an important part of development of the child.  The whole child develops from an interconnected system of touch, taste, sight, smell, auditory processing, vestibular, and proprioceptive input.  Advocates for children with Sensory Processing Disorder and diagnoses on the Autism spectrum will find ideas for treatment, play, and learning on our Sensory page.

 

 

Some of our most popular Sensory Integration Activities are:

 

Oral Sensory Processing Animal Cracker Activity

 

What is PANDAS?

 

 

Fidgeting During Homework

Alphabet Discovery Bottle
 Homemade Lacing Cards

 Motor Planning Fine Motor Maze

 

Hand Strengthening Building Activity

 Dinosaur-Sized Sensory Feelings and Proprioceptive Activities 

Teach Direction Following in the Kitchen

 Open Thumb Web Space Activities and Homemade Fuzzy Beads

 

 

Preschool Sensory Play |Toddler Sensory Play | Gifts for Sensory Play | Water Bin Play Ideas

 

 

Baby Sensory Play Ideas | Sensory Bubble Play | Proprioception in Handwriting | How to Make a Sensory Bottle

 

 

Attention Exercises

 

 

 

Occupational Therapy and Child Development

Occupational therapy interventions focus on child development and participation in functional tasks, through the participation in daily occupations, as a therapeutic activity.

 

Children develop at different rates and speeds.  Difficulties with fine motor skills, visual perceptual skills, sensory integration, and behaviors will interfere with typical development, but often times, children simply do and achieve tasks at different times.  These resources share typical childhood development and tips to work on different areas.  Remember that all children are different, however and these are just guides of typical skill development.

 

 

Typical Baby Development

Toys to Teach Kids to Dress Themselves Independently 

Visual Motor Integration Developmental Milestones

Developmental Milestones for Independence in Getting Dressed

 

 

Childhood Development and Action Rhymes

Functional Skills for Kids and Independence

 

 

 

 

 

All information found on this website is to be used for informational purposes only.  Each child is an individual and development and treatment techniques can not be assumed to work for all children with defects or difficulties in any one area or areas.  Each child needs to be assessed by a pediatrician and/or Occupational Therapist for concerns in development.  Information may not be replicated or reproduced in part or whole (including paraphrasing to present on webpages or printed informational presentations) unless direct permission is granted by the author of this blog.  This blog and it’s author(s) are not responsible for any action as a result of reading this blog and it’s social media outlets.  By reading this blog, readers acknowledge and accept responsibility for all activities and any resulting action/behavior/reaction of participants.  For any questions or inquiries, see the About Me page for contact information.

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.