Roles of Occupational Therapist in Paediatric Setting (Part 1)

There are many roles of Occupational Therapist in paediatric setting. These include fine motor and gross motor skills, social and play skills, emotional awareness and regulation, as well as sensory processing. In this blog, I will briefly introduce the areas that OT play an important role in.

Fine motor skills:

• Pincer grasp

• Finger isolation

• Hand control

• Hand and finger strength

• Self-care skills: feeding, sleeping, dressing and toileting

• Academic-related skills: handwriting and scissors skills, e.g. pencil grasp

Gross motor skills:

• Balance

• Motor planning

• Bilateral coordination

• Hand-eye coordination

• Body awareness

• Ball skills

Social skills:

• Interaction with others

• Recognition of social cues

Play skills:

• Play stages:

  • Unoccupied play (Birth – 3 Months of Age)

  • Solitary play (3 Months of Age – 2 Years of Age)

  • Onlooker Play (2 Years of Age)

  • Parallel Play (2 Years of Age and Older)

  • Associate Play (3-4 Years of Age)

  • Cooperative Play (4+ Years of Age)

Emotional awareness and regulation:

• Recognition in facial expression

• Identification of self and others' emotions

• Regulation strategies

Sensory processing:

• Sensory inputs: auditory, visual, tactile, vestibular, proprioceptive, oral inputs

• Sensory seeker and/or avoider

• Under-regulation and/or over-registration

Please seek advice if your child has difficulties in the above areas. Find the near GP, paediatrician or OT for further consultation if needed.