Occupational Therapy

What is occupational therapy?

Occupational therapy is an approach that helps people improve daily function at school, at home, in social settings, or in the workplace. It focuses on assisting individuals as they build the skills needed to move through their daily routines. 

The process begins with a thorough assessment of your current level of function and the improvements you hope to achieve through occupational therapy. The information gleaned during these initial explorations allows practitioners to craft a highly personalized occupational therapy plan. 

What are some areas of focus within occupational therapy?

Your occupational therapist focuses on building or improving several areas of function that support speech, including: 

Sensory integration

Working to improve how you interpret and incorporate sensory data from your immediate environment helps you control multiple functions that affect speech. Lip positioning, tongue movement, jaw function, auditory processing, and the timing of speech are all controlled by sensory integration. 

Motor skills

Strengthening your musculoskeletal system helps improve the fine motor skills needed for speech. Posture, dexterity, and developing strength in the trunk portion of your body are all areas of focus. 

Regulation

Learning to control your alertness is key in occupational and speech therapy. Engaging in speech or therapy sessions becomes challenging if you are distracted by environmental inputs or significantly disassociated with the world around you. Regulation is especially important when working with children. 

What are some benefits of combining occupational therapy and speech therapy?

Speech therapy focuses on helping you build the skills needed to communicate effectively. Occupational therapy takes a more holistic approach, striving to improve function in all areas of your daily life. 

Because there is so much integration between motor skills and speech function, combining occupational therapy with speech therapy brings a number of benefits. The highly personalized nature of occupational therapy also helps you better understand how your efforts are moving you closer to your goals. 

The skill-building activities within occupational therapy align with your progress in speech therapy. This supports improvement in both speech and physical function at the same time, moving treatment forward smoothly. 

If you’re ready to explore occupational therapy in more detail, calling the office to book a visit is the first step. Online booking is also an option and takes only a few moments.