Occupational Therapists Role

Occupation Therapists play a vital role in identifying and treating sensory integration problems. Occupational Therapists within a paediatric setting  use skilled treatment aimed at maximizing the abilities of infants and children to achieve self-help, play and learning skills appropriate for their age.  Using purposeful activities, including the tasks of daily life such as play, promotes children to function at the highest degree of functional independence as possible. Occupational Therapists are considered experts within this area due to training in neuroscience, anatomy, activity analysis and the ability to use sensory integration based approaches to identify and treat sensory processing deficits. As Occupational Therapists we work with caregivers, parents, family and medical, educational and mental health professionals to increase awareness of the signs and symptoms of sensory processing related problems and the types of interventions that can be applied. Sensory Integration based Occupational Therapy services can be offered through consultation, individual therapy and group therapies. Sensory Integration Therapy can be offered by Occupational Therapists throughout many settings including; hospitals, community based clinics, day programs, forensic settings , rehabilitation centres and in the private sector (American Occupational Therapy Association, 2011).

Reference:

The American Occuaptional Therapy Association. (2011). Occuaptional Therapy Using a Sesnory Integration- Based Approach With Adult Populations.