Purposeful Play

04/02/2026

Recent research at Yale Child Study Center points to a new brain process that can inform treatment approaches for childhood disruptive behavior disorders.

04/02/2026

Happy . Occupational therapy empowers people to participate in the everyday activities that bring meaning, purpose, and independence to their lives.

We are celebrating the impact of occupational therapy and the professionals who help individuals and families around the world. Thank you to our OT practitioners! You are awesome.

04/26/2025

Prewriting lines are developmental: https://www.theottoolbox.com/free-download-developmental-progression/

04/26/2025

You can thank your executive function skills when you accomplish important things and reach new achievements in life!

Your executive function skills begin developing in infancy and become increasingly important in social and school settings in early childhood. Due to learning and life experiences, they continue to grow and change throughout your life.

Comment "EXECUTIVE FUNCTION" and we'll send our therapist-approved page all about executive function skills!

Remember: When you sign up (or sign in if you have an account) on our website with Baby's birthdate, you'll get personalized activities designed to support their development, including executive function skills!

04/23/2025

OT is OT, so why not just do it at school and make life easier, right? But here’s the scoop:

School-based OT is educationally driven.

It’s only provided if the child’s disability is impacting their ability to access or participate in their education. The OT’s job in this setting is to support function within the school environment, like:
• Holding a pencil to write
• Sensory supports
• Using scissors during class projects
• Organizing materials or managing transitions

It’s not about treating all developmental concerns—just the ones that interfere with educational access.

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Outpatient OT is medically based.

This focuses on overall development and function, not just how the child does at school. It covers:
• Sensory processing challenges at home and in the community
• Fine motor delays that may not affect schoolwork (yet)
• Feeding concerns, dressing, toileting, self-regulation, etc.

Even if a child doesn’t qualify for school OT (because their delays don’t impact school performance enough), they might still have real functional delays that need outpatient support.

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So why can’t school OT be used just for convenience?

Because it’s legally tied to educational necessity. It’s not meant to replace medical services, and schools aren’t allowed to provide therapy “just in case” or “to make life easier”—even if we wish they could!

05/01/2024

Love this, well said!

This dyslexic child can form every single letter in isolation accurately.

The student would score a 100% on any evaluation of isolated letter formation.

Especially in a novel, quiet, all the time in the world, just me and you buddy environment.

But when asked to write a quick letter this is what the student can produce in a 20:1, let's go, stop messing around, we do not have all day , emotionally charged classroom environment.

If your handwriting interventions are not leaving your therapy room... it is time to support the underlying executive functions needed for written expression.

Supporting executive function is not some mysterious new treatment area. It is very often the missing link to improving our current OT interventions.

I see it as one of those "once you know, you can not un-know" pieces .

Lets go...

Check out this weeks post and how we must level up our intervention to support executive functions.

Link to post: https://ot4adhd.com/2024/04/28/school-based-ots-role-in-executive-functions/

#504

12/22/2023

🌊🌊There will always be waves! Love this image on co-regulation from ! 🌊🌊

09/22/2023

Giving in to your kid too much can be harmful to their development. Take the 'Test of Four' to examine your relationship with your child — then find out how to say 'no' and enforce rules that stick.

09/15/2023

09/15/2023

Pencil grasp development...

Proper pencil grasp development for writing starts a lot earlier than you think in children. From the time your child starts grasping for objects with their hands, they are developing a grasp.

Read more here > https://www.growinghandsonkids.com/pencil-grasp-development-for-writing.html?utm_campaign=meetedgar&utm_medium=social&utm_source=meetedgar.com

08/31/2023

Little copycats take after adults around them.

08/31/2023

Why routines are important for kids: "When a child knows what to expect, their world is more comfortable, it makes sense."

https://handsonaswegrow.com/routines-important-kids/