Occupational Therapy Handouts
Our occupational therapy team have developed handouts to support participants and their families with understanding different areas and concepts that their Occupational Therapist is currently supporting them with. We understand that this information might be new, or it can be challenging to know where to start when researching it, so a written resource to refer back to can be helpful.
Proprioception: How you perceive where your body is within an environment. Important as it allows us to move in a safe and coordinated way.
Core Strength: Involves the muscles surrounding the abdomen, pelvis and back. Important for development of fine and gross motor skills including running, handwriting and cutlery use.
Shoulder Stability: Involves muscles in the shoulder working together to control movements during fine and gross motor activities. Important for activities such as handwriting, shoelace tying, cooking, and swimming.
Sensory Diets: Developed to target an individual’s sensory preferences/needs. Helpful as it will assist to reduce impact of sensory processing challenges that may affect attention, behaviour or learning. A good sensory diet can assist people to focus throughout the day.
Executive Functions: Management system of the brain, helps us to make decisions and manage attention throughout the day. This is important as these skills are directly involved in all activities of daily living such as getting ready for school, cooking and adapting to change.
Reward Systems: A tool that can assisting with motivation towards goals. They are important as they teach individuals to be responsible for their actions and gives them a sense of achievement.