Why Would a Child be Referred to Occupational Therapy?

Gross motor difficulties (Movement, strength and balance development):

• The child has poor posture while sitting in a chair at the table and during situations of unsupported sitting
• Low muscle tone
• Poor ball skills
• Poor balance skills
• Difficulty coordinating both sides of the body
• Avoids tasks and games that require gross motor skills
• Clumsy

Fine motor difficulties:

• The child struggles to grasp crayons and pencils
• Avoidance of fine motor activities or their hands tires easily during fine motor tasks
• The child has difficulty manipulating small objects and using scissors
• The child may press too hard or too light on the paper when writing
• The child struggles to string beads, do buttons and manipulate toys
• Not developing a hand dominance at an age appropriate time/li>

Visual motor delays:

• Poor handwriting, drawing and colouring skills
• Difficulty with copying shapes or letters
• Difficulty with copying from the board or another paper

Visual perceptual delays:

• Difficulty with the spacing and sizes of letters
• Difficulty with recognizing letters
• Difficulty with visual tracking and crossing midline
• Difficulty finding objects among other objects
• Difficulty with the concept of right and left
• Poor sorting and matching
• Letter reversals
• The child struggles to build puzzles

Sensory processing difficulties:

• Overly sensitive or heightened reactivity to sound, touch, or movement
• Under-responsive to certain sensations (e.g., high pain tolerance, doesn't notice cuts/bruises)
• Constantly moving, jumping etc.
• The child frequently runs into things in the classroom, falls to the floor, or purposely crashes into things or people.
• Easily distracted by visual or auditory stimuli
• Emotionally reactive
• Difficulty coping with change
• Inability to calm self when upset

Social difficulties:

• Struggles to Interact with others and following routines