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Occupational Therapy

Children’s Hospital of Richmond offers Occupational Therapy services at four locations. These services center on rehabilitation and development in the specialty areas listed below.

Assistive Technology

A child may need assistive equipment to function in his orher daily life. An Occupational Therapist (OT) can help evaluate what is needed, design or acquire the equipment, and work with the child and family to learn how to use it for maximized functional ability.

Assistive Technology can include equipment related to a specific task such as a special grip for improved handwriting, a weighted spoon, or an assistive device for dressing. It can also include orthotic devices (i.e., device designed to assist with limb function), splints, casting and adaptive equipment, as well as more complex systems such as communication devices, voice activated environmental control units or adapted computer access methods. Additionally, upper extremity prosthetic (i.e., device that replaces a missing limb or body part) evaluation and training is also an area of specialization for OTs.

Cognitive Skills

A child’s cognitive ability includes the skills needed to remember a sequence of activities, logic, and short and long-term memory, all of which help a child with general functional skills and the ability to organize and complete daily activities, such as dressing or getting ready for school. Often part of rehabilitation programs following an injury, Occupational Therapy involves helping children re-gain cognitive skills through task analysis of activities and child’s response; related therapy; suggesting ways to adapt a child’s environment to minimize problems related to cognitive issues; and educating family members in providing cueing and other support as needed.

Daily Living Skills

To address activities of daily living, OTs have special training in providing assistance with feeding, dressing, hygiene and bathing. They also have training in assistive devices related to these skills and the development of skills related to a physical limitation, such as transfers (moving from bed, tub or toilet to wheelchair, etc.). The OT is often involved in determining special equipment needed to accomplish daily living needs such as toilet seats, tub benches and other devices. For feeding issues, OTs focus on the coordination and strength needed to bring utensils to the mouth as well as oral motor coordination, swallowing and eating. Behavioral eating skills may also be part of a comprehensive program.

Fine Motor Skills

Children need to develop the strength and dexterity to use their hands in a variety of ways. Reach, grasp and release are the basic skills involving physical ability, as well as eye-hand coordination. These skills advance to using utensils to eat, crayons and pencils to write, scissors to cut, and many other pre-academic/developmental tasks achieved during childhood. An OT has specialized knowledge of the development of these functional skills, including special training in the development of strength and dexterity skills. They can identify areas for improvement; incorporate purposeful activities to develop motor skills and related perceptual and sensory processing skills into therapy sessions; and also provide education/training to families to continue progress in their child’s daily life.

Gross Motor Skills

Movement is an important way for children to explore their environment. This area of OT can include therapeutic exercise; muscle re-education and strengthening; the development of balance and coordination; as well as a focus on upper extremity skills including strength, mobility and range of motion associated with hand use, reaching and carrying.

Interactive Metronome® Assessment & Training

Children’s Hospital of Richmond is one of a few Richmond area health care providers now offering Interactive Metronome® assessment and training services. The Interactive Metronome® involves computer-powered technology to improve motor planning, timing, concentration and sequencing for children with attention disorders, learning disabilities and coordination deficits.

Sensory Processing

The five “far senses” - sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell - and the three “near senses” - tactile (touch sense throughout one’s body), vestibular (information received in the inner ear relating to movement of the body and changes in head position) and proprioception (tells a person where their body parts are through input from muscles, ligaments and joints) constantly send a large amount of information to the brain. Some children have problems receiving, organizing and processing information from one or all of these senses, which can make it difficult, or impossible, for a child to learn from their own experiences and behave in a meaningful, consistent way. This condition, known as Sensory Integration Dysfunction or Sensory Processing Disorder, represents another area of growth for children and an area where OTs can help evaluate and assist children in the development of these skills.

OTs observe a child’s functional play activities and movement to identify areas that are difficult or strong and incorporate sensory-based activities in therapy to build up those areas that continue to pose problems. Additionally, they educate families about how sensory processing problems affect a child’s daily living, social and educational activities.

Social Skills

Participating in play is an important way young children explore and learn. Part of a child’s life activity begins through interaction with others in areas such as “give and take” play. As a child grows, social and interpersonal skills become paramount to functioning in school. OTs can identify areas for growth and incorporate activities to develop social skills into therapy sessions and provide education for parents on how to do this at home. They often work closely with other specialists, such as speech/language pathologists, to help a child develop communication skills and proper language use.

Visual/Perceptual Skills

Perceptual skills involve processing, understanding and resultant activity based on what a person sees through the senses, particularly visual and hearing. These skills can include eye-hand, eye-foot and eye-mouth (eating) coordination. Good visual/perceptual skills are needed for academic and pre-academic (coloring, reading, handwriting, etc.) skills, as well as for visually understanding the environment. For a child facing visual/perceptual issues, an OT can identify problem areas; offer specific suggestions on modifying play or learning activities in a way that helps develop these particular skills; and work with child and family toward improvement through structured purposeful activities.

Information & Referrals

Occupational, Physical and Speech/Language Therapy services are available at the Brook Road Hospital location and at the hospital’s three Therapy Centers. For information or to make a referral, call Patient Services at the Brook Road Hospital at (804) 228-5818 or call Therapy Center locations directly. Referrals may be initiated by physicians, family members, or community professionals & agencies.

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The information on this site is provided for informational and educational purposes only; it does not contain specific medical advice. If you have specific health questions or problems, consult a health care professional for personal medical advice.