What Is Occupational Therapy and How Can it Help My Autistic Child?
Occupational therapy gives children with autism the tools and support to develop their abilities. The skills they develop enable them to live fuller, richer lives.
Back to School Challenges
School is now back in session for most school districts. For some children this will be their first time ever to school, for others this is their first time back in over a year due to COVID-19. With the start of a new school year comes back to school challenges. At PediaPlex, we see children go back to school and struggle with adjusting to a new schedule, handwriting, social skills, skills they learned the previous year and so much more. Back to school challenges are normal and we know just how to help! If you’re not on top of these they can continue to grow during the school year so it’s important to address your child’s back to school challenges as soon as you see them pop up.
Recognizing Back to School Challenges
It’s probably been a while since your children have had to sit down in a classroom, listen to a teacher, pay attention, and stay focused. This can be extremely challenging as many children have gotten used to working virtually and at their own pace. It’s important to recognize these challenges and know when it’s time to get them additional help, or at least chat with their teacher about these things during your school conferences. Many children are going back to school and struggling with anxiety about this new environment and often don’t feel comfortable voicing their concerns, or they think that they can overcome these challenges on their own. Talk with your child, ask them how it’s going, and see how you might be able to help them adjust to these new obstacles. If you notice that they often don’t want to go to school, don’t offer details of their day, aren’t completing assignments, or are having behavior problems at school, it might be a sign you should investigate additional services for your child.
Occupational Therapy Help
For children struggling with handwriting or sitting still during class, occupational therapy can be extremely beneficial. During an occupational therapy evaluation, our therapists will work with your child to determine a plan of care by working with them on different tasks to assess their strengths and difficulties. Here are some examples of things we can work on in occupational therapy:
-Handwriting
-Gripping scissors and cutting
-Drawing and coloring
-Reading
-Completing puzzles and math problems
-Posture
If you’ve having concerns in any of these areas, we encourage you to schedule an occupational therapy evaluation!
Speech Therapy Help
Returning to school means retuning to social interactions with peers, reading out loud in a classroom, and so much more! While children were attending school virtually, many of them lacked social interactions with peers their age. It’s no surprise to us that many parents are concerned with their child’s social skills. This is where speech therapy can come into hand! Our speech therapists can help your child learn the best ways to interact with others, how to initiate conversations, and how to properly respond in certain social situations. This one-on-one training with a speech therapist will help your child feel more comfortable in these social settings!
That isn’t the only concern we have seen though. Many children are headed back into school and are being put into situations where they have to read out loud or even give presentations to a classroom. For some children this can be difficult if they struggle with the rhythm of their speech. Our therapists can help them work on the rhythm of their speech to make sure they are pausing at appropriate times and not repeating sounds or words when reading out loud. This will help your child gain confidence and look forward to speaking in class.
Therapy with PediaPlex
PediaPlex offers occupational therapy, speech therapy, feeding therapy, and ABA therapy. Our therapists will work together to collaborate on your child’s plan of care and make sure we are all focused on the same goals. With locations in Frisco, Fort Worth, and Southlake, we are able to collaborate with school districts around us and keep teachers and counselors in the loop on your child’s progress. Communication is key when it comes to a child’s progress so we encourage you to have open communication between home, school, and your therapy center.
Don’t let these back to school challenges stop your child from having the best year yet! Let PediaPlex and our team of therapists help by filling out an intake form on our website today.
-The PediaPlex Family
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