Activities of daily living (ADL), which include self-care activities, are things that a child needs to do to take care of themselves. For example: getting out of bed, brushing their teeth, feeding, getting dressed, etc.
A pediatric occupational therapist can perform an assessment and work with your child to improve strength, coordination and perception skills. For instance, if your child has oral motor deficits and struggles with chewing food and drinking, an occupational therapist can help them learn necessary movements to complete these tasks. In addition, an occupational therapist is trained to work with older children and adolescents to learn more advanced self-care activities such as independent bathing, tying shoe laces, and more. Occupational therapists may explore multiple ways to perform a daily task, and can recommend an approach that is best suited for your child.
If your child is a teen or a pre-teen, an occupational therapist can organize fun and educational outings to appropriate facilities in order to help with more demanding daily living skills including, but not limited to:
- Dressing/appropriateness of clothing
- Personal hygiene
- Health and Nutrition
- Exercise
- Transportation
- Meal preparation/cooking
- Kitchen/home safety
- Household chores/clean up
- Safety awareness
- Shopping/gift giving
- Ordering at restaurants
- Advanced telephone use
- Working constructively within a peer group setting
- Money management
Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) may especially have difficulty with some or all of these types of daily activities. An occupational therapist can help facilitate participation to promote independence and well-being.
To learn more about occupational therapy for typical daily activities, simply call Karp Rehabilitation at 604-420-7800!