What Does an Occupational Therapist Do?
Occupational therapists at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital help infants, children, teens and young adults achieve independence with daily activities, play, and school or work activities. An occupational therapist uses meaningful activity and exercise to help your child develop and strengthen fine motor skills, gross motor skills and self-care skills, and to be as independent as possible.
St. Jude occupational therapists provide a range of services focused on helping your child reach his or her maximum level of independence. Occupational therapy services are available throughout your child’s care and are available on both an inpatient and outpatient basis. If your child’s medical team thinks he or she may benefit from occupational therapy, an evaluation will be completed. We may evaluate and address the following:
- Activities of daily living and life skills including evaluating the need for adaptive equipment or assistive technology
- Cognition and visual-perceptual skills
- Fine motor skills and upper extremity use
- Functional vision skills
- Upper extremity orthotic/prosthetic needs
- Musculoskeletal issues
- Progression of developmental skills
- Sensory processing
At St. Jude, your child may participate in one or more of the following specialized programs through occupational therapy:
- Low vision program
- Individualized handwriting instruction
- Constraint-induced movement therapy
- Early intervention clinic
- Retinoblastoma developmental assessment and monitoring program
- Wellness programing and education
- Splinting and orthotics