Occupational Therapy Services
Have you or a family member been diagnosed with autism, ADHD, sensory processing disorder, or another neurological disorder?
Does your child have behavioral issues or are they struggling in school?
Do you or your child struggle with anxiety or depression because of a developmental disability?
If so, occupational therapy treatments can help.
Read on below to find out more about the occupational therapy treatments we offer at District Speech.
What Is Occupational Therapy?
Occupational therapy is a unique form of therapy geared toward helping people overcome the barriers that stand in the way of their various occupations in life.
When you think of the word “occupation” you might think of it in the sense of your professional career. And occupational therapy does cover that, but it’s about so much more.
From an occupational therapy perspective, an occupation is any type of activity that occupies your time. This includes:
- Daily self care activities (personal hygiene, eating, getting dressed, etc)
- Daily household activities (caring for family or pets, mobility, meal prep, cleaning, etc)
- Sleep and rest
- Education, both formal and informal
- Work related activities
- Play and leisure activities (play & exploration for children, hobbies, pastimes, etc)
- Social activities (community & family participation)
As you can see, this covers just about every aspect of daily life.
The main focus of occupational therapy is to understand the barriers standing in the way of your various occupations, and to either remove them or find a way around them.
District Speech can help.
What Does An Occupational Therapy Appointment Look Like?
Like many fields of healthcare, your first appointment with your occupational therapist will be the longest. This is because your occupational therapist needs to get a complete picture of your health in order to begin treatment.
During your first appointment, your occupational therapist will evaluate you for a wide range of different abilities, including:
- Your range of motion
- Your strength
- Your balance
- Your flexibility
- Any injury-based limitations
They’ll also ask you some questions about your health history, including any injuries, congenital conditions, illnesses, and any other limiting factors you may have.
Finally, they’ll take the time to listen to the concerns and complaints you have about the activities you’re currently struggling with.
From there, you and your occupational therapist will discuss your treatment options, setting some goals based on improving your ability to function and complete the tasks you need to complete.
At follow up visits, your occupational therapist will work with you using manual therapy, exercises, and other treatments to help you build the skills you need to achieve your goals.
What Can Occupational Therapy Help With?
There are a number of different health concerns an occupational therapist can help with.
Let’s take a closer look.
Occupational Therapy For Sensory Processing Disorder
Sensory processing disorder is a disorder where your brain has trouble making sense of the information sent to it by your senses. In most cases, it’s not an issue with your senses themselves, but with the way your brain processes your senses.
Symptoms of sensory processing disorder in kids include:
- Seeming aversion to sounds or bright lights
- Poor motor skills
- Disliking clothes or preferring to be nude
- Aversion to being touched
- Frequent tantrums or mood swings
- Difficulty focusing
- Either an abnormally high or low threshold for pain
Symptoms of sensory processing disorder in adults include:
- Being easily overwhelmed
- Being clumsy
- Having poor balance
- Having difficulty focusing
- Being disorganized, both mentally and physically
Occupational therapy treatments for sensory processing disorder can help.
For sensory processing disorder treatments for kids, we’ll work with your child to retrain their mind to better interpret their senses. This can help them cope better with their daily life, and minimize the effect it has on their life long term.
For sensory processing disorder treatments for adults, we’ll explore the different roles you play in your life and how your sensory processing disorder gets in the way of those. From there, we’ll work with you to adjust your various responsibilities in a way that minimizes the effect your condition has on them.
Sensory processing disorder can be frustrating, but it doesn’t have to disrupt your life. Book your appointment with an occupational therapist at District Speech today.
Occupational Therapy Treatments For ADD/ADHD
Some people may describe ADD/ADHD as just an inability to focus or just being overly excitable. But there’s more to it than that.
Those with ADD/ADHD have difficulty in social situations as well as accomplishing many aspects of their work. It can cause problems in all aspects of life, including one’s education, career, social and romantic life, hobbies, and more.
Common symptoms of ADD/ADHD in children include:
- Trouble taking turns
- Trouble focusing
- Trouble finishing their tasks
- Hyper-focus on particular areas of interest
- Poor posture
- Trouble regulating their emotions
- Trouble sitting quietly, or spending far too much time doing so
- Trouble remembering
- Poor academic performance
Common symptoms of ADD/ADHD in adults include:
- Poor time management skills
- Trouble focusing
- Moodiness or mood swings
- Trouble organizing your life
- Poor posture
- Trouble with memory
If you or your child has been diagnosed with ADD/ADHD, or you suspect ADD/ADHD, occupational therapy treatments can help.
Occupational therapy treatments for ADD/ADHD for kids include things like learning to regulate one’s emotions, improving listening skills, social skills, and posture, as well as handwriting skills, executive functioning, and more.
Occupational therapy treatments for ADD/ADHD for adults include getting a better understanding of the various obligations you have in your life, and how your ADD/ADHD is interfering with those. From there, we’ll develop strategies to help you complete the work you need to complete with minimal disruption from your ADD/ADHD.
ADD/ADHD is a frustrating thing to live with, but it doesn’t have to hold you back. Occupational therapy treatments from District Speech can help.
Book your appointment with District Speech today.
Occupational Therapy Treatments For Autism Spectrum Disorder
Autism spectrum disorder is a neurological disorder characterized by issues with social interaction and with communication. At one time, autism spectrum disorder was considered to be a group of different disorders – autism, Asperger’s syndrome, pervasive development disorder, and childhood disintegrative disorder. Now, it’s accepted that these are all flavors of the same issue.
Symptoms of autism spectrum disorder in children include:
- Trouble learning to speak or understanding others
- Trouble understanding nonverbal cues
- Trouble understanding others’ feelings
- Trouble sleeping
- Trouble holding a conversation
- Lack of facial expression
- Monotone speaking
- Trouble holding eye contact
- Reliance on routine
Autism spectrum disorder is not something you grow out of, so as a result there are plenty of adults who have autism spectrum disorder as well. As the understanding of autism spectrum disorder has grown, so has our ability to recognize the signs in people of a young age.
If you’re an adult wondering if you have autism spectrum disorder, see if you relate to any of these symptoms:
- Social anxiety
- Frequent habits that seem like nervous tics
- Highly focused interests
- Trouble focusing on tasks outside of your interests
- Trouble with change
- Trouble with emotional regulation
- Trouble understanding sarcasm
- Trouble understanding facial expressions or body language
- Being easily overwhelmed
Currently, there is no known cure for autism spectrum disorder. There is unlikely to ever be one either, since autism spectrum disorder is a developmental disability. This is a natural part of human diversity.
Rather than trying to “fix” autistic people, occupational therapy is geared toward helping autistic people thrive regardless.
If you’re not sure whether you or your child has autism spectrum disorder, District Speech can help you get an autism diagnosis in Washington DC with our autism screening services.
If your child has already been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, though, we can still help.
Occupational therapy treatments for kids with autism at District Speech focus on helping them develop the skills they need.
This can include:
- Developing motor skills
- Developing social skills
- Developing self sufficiency skills
- Developing emotional regulation
- Developing basic hygiene and toilet skills
- Developing their ability to handle change
- And more
Occupational therapy is often paired with speech therapy for autism near me for the best results.
Meanwhile, occupational therapy treatments for adults with autism at District Speech are focused on elements like:
- Managing your emotions
- Managing your anxiety
- Recognizing and dealing with triggers
- Developing your ability to focus
- Developing your social skills
- Developing problem solving skills
- Developing your ability to handle change
Depending on your needs, it might be best to work with an adult speech therapy provider as well to get the best results.
Living with autism spectrum disorder doesn’t have to hold you back in life. Many autistic people live full, happy, fulfilling lives. Occupational Therapy treatments from District Speech can help.
Occupational Therapy Treatments For Other Disorders
There are a wide range of different conditions and concerns occupational therapy can help with, including:
- Cerebral palsy
- Down syndrome
- Vision impairment
- Hearing impairment
- Muscular dystrophy
- Injuries to arms or legs
- Fetal alcohol syndrome
- Tourette syndrome
- Chronic pain
- Oppositional defiant disorder
- Digestive disorders
- Executive function disorders
- Neurological disorders
- Traumatic brain injury
- And more
To find out more about how occupational therapy services at District Speech can help, contact us today.
Book Your Appointment With District Speech
Have you or your child received one of the diagnoses listed above?
Do you suspect you or your child may be dealing with one of the above conditions?
If so, book your appointment today at District Speech.
Receiving a diagnosis like the ones you see above can be scary, especially when it’s a diagnosis for your child.
But many people live fully, happy, fulfilling lives regardless of their diagnoses.
Book your occupational therapy appointment today with District Speech – we can help.
Let District Speech help.