There are many situations where occupational therapy, one of the divisions of Kinesiology, is the right choice. Occupational therapy is often used for children to treat physical and developmental disorders through purposeful activities. It is an appropriate therapy when there are concerns about the child’s fine motor, sensory, visual motor and other skills.
Occupational therapy is appropriate for a child with difficulties with fine motor skills such as dexterity, coordination and writing skills. It can help the child to improve body posture, pencil grip, eye coordination and more.
Some children have tactile processing issues. They perceive the stimuli as harmful and they interpret touch in a different way that is either under sensitive or over sensitive. With certain clothing, food textures or unexpected touch, the body of these children releases excessive emotional reactions.
Another area where children can benefit from occupational therapy is with motor coordination. This could include a deficit in hand-eye coordination, problems with fine motor skills, poor performance in sports, poor handwriting and other academic issues.
Certainly, before any therapy would begin, an occupational therapist would evaluate the child’s development and needs and would assess where to begin. Parents who think that there might be issues that need to be addressed should speak to a primary care physician to begin the process of having a child evaluated.