Fine motor skills involve the use of the small muscles of your child’s hands. In occupational therapy, we work on grasping, holding, and manipulating objects in order to complete functional activities, such as playing, drawing, writing, and tying shoes.

Visual motor skills involve the ability to coordinate your eyes and hands. During OT sessions, we work on these skills to improve your child’s ability to independently draw, write, color, build with blocks, copy shapes, complete puzzles, copy patterns, etc. Increased function and participation is key, so we also work on these skills to increase cooperative and competitive play with peers, such as participating in sports, a game of catch, or board games.

Graphomotor skills encompass all the skills that are necessary for writing, such as hand strength, coordination, pencil grip, letter formation/construction, letter placement, letter spacing, etc. We work on these skills at The Therapy Hideout to increase your child’s independence with prewriting and handwriting skills!

Does your child seem weaker than other children of the same age? Does your child frequently drop objects or appear to become tired while playing or coloring? Does your child have difficulty sitting upright to complete tasks? We address strength and dexterity as these areas are extremely important for your child to independently participate in everyday tasks.

“Sensory Processing” and “Sensory Integration” refer to the way the body receives sensory information, processes it, and produces appropriate responses to the information. At The Therapy Hideout, we conduct sensory processing assessments and integrate results into treatment sessions. Families are also provided with treatment ideas, adaptations, and strategies to carry over outside of OT sessions to address sensory processing.

We work on all prewriting and handwriting skills with your child, including the ability to hold and use writing instruments, scribble, imitate, draw, color, print, and copy! We believe that a developmental approach to prewriting and handwriting is best (as opposed to a grade expectation approach), so we meet your child where they are in the developmental process and take them through the appropriate steps without skipping any!

Activities of Daily Living, or ADLs, are self-care and personal tasks that we do on a daily basis. Examples include self-feeding, getting dressed, brushing teeth, toileting, and bathing. ADLs also include related skills, such as completing fasteners (e.g. buttons) and tying shoes. At The Therapy Hideout, we address your child’s ADLs in a developmentally appropriate manner, in which we set expectations based on their current ability and skill level, as opposed to what is expected at an age appropriate or grade appropriate level.

Visual perceptual skills involve a child’s ability to look at visual information and correctly interpret it. Visual perception includes skills such as matching, the ability to remember visual information, and the ability to locate hidden objects. These skills are important for all functional tasks that we work on during OT sessions, including play, ADLs, prewriting, handwriting, and copying. We work on these skills to increase your child’s independence and ability to participate in age appropriate activities that are important in their lives!