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

 
 
 
Activities, tips,and ideas for Occupational Therapy vision therapy and visual perceptual integration skills in children.  Parents and teachers of students with low-vision or visual processing difficulties will find many ideas here.  Occupational Therapists can use this as a resource in treatment with pediatrics.
 

You will find many visual motor integration and visual perceptual skill resources and treatment ideas on my Visual Motor Skills page.



Some of our most popular Visual Perceptual Integration posts include:

 Teach Kids to cut on the lines Visual processing and visual efficiency problemsOccupational Therapy treatment tips and tools for pediatrics and school-based therapy using mostly free or inexpensive materials and items you can find around the home.  Great resource and many ideas here!
 
 
 Sensory Processing and handwritinghttps://www.theottoolbox.com/2015/11/benefits-of-playing-with-stickers-occupational-therapy.html
 
 
 Scooping and pouring fine motor and hand dominance with beads
 
 
 
 
 



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.

Occupational Therapy fine motor skill development and treatment ideas.  This is a resource for parents, teachers, and occupational therapists who are treating students and children with fine motor development difficulties in handwriting, scissor use, self-care tasks, and functional skills.

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:

 Extended wrist fine motor activity in-hand manipulation activities
 
 fine motor writing activity Pencil Grasp Activity Pencil Grasp Exercise Thumb opposition activity
 
Neat Pincer Grasp Fine Motor Activity Buttoning Tips and Tricks
 
 

 

 

 Scooping and pouring fine motor and hand dominance with beads
 
 
 
 
 
 Motor Planning Fine Motor Maze hand strengthening activity Scarecrow Scissor skills fine motor craft
 
 
 
 
 
 

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.
 
Sensory integration treatment ideas and tips for Occupational Therapists, parents, and educators for students in classrooms, at home, and in outpatient treatment clinics.  This is a great resource for children with Autism, SPD, and sensory integration needs or deficits.
 
Some of our most popular Sensory Integration Activities are:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
https://www.theottoolbox.com/2016/01/how-to-help-kids-pay-attention-sensory-movement.html
 
 

 

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.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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.