Occupational Therapy For Children

COTI has been providing services for children for over 30 years! We are experts in the area of sensory integration but use other approaches and frames of reference depending on the need of the child. Please view the information below to find out more about evaluation and treatment. Also, if you would like to find out more about summer groups, Summer Sensations, check out our page.

If you are interested in getting started you can check out the video on the home page or go directly to the intake section under families to get started. In order to get scheduled for an evaluation you must complete a client information form and an age specific questionnaire and send them in to our office.

COTI provides occupational therapy evaluations of infants and children as well as adolescents and adults. We specialize in sensory processing and other developmental issues. Many of our therapists are certified in Sensory Integration and are trained in the use of Therapeutic Listening. At COTI we strive to provide services that meet the needs of the whole family while addressing the child’s immediate needs. Because of this, we include the parents in the process as much as possible. As part of our typical evaluation, we include a conference so that family members and therapists can share their concerns and so that the treatment plan reflects the priorities of the family.

Evaluation
The evaluation is typically completed over two sessions. Sometimes a shorter, one session evaluation is warranted either because the child has been evaluated before, the area of concern is very narrow, the child is very young, or the child is unable to cope with the demands of some of the testing situations. Typically, parents do not remain with a school-age child during standardized testing but may join the child and therapist for a portion of the evaluation time. If the child is young, however, the therapist may request that a parent stay with the child during the full evaluation. Copies of any prior testing by other professionals can be helpful in focusing the evaluation.

Most children enjoy our testing activities. Please explain to your school-age child that the therapist will be doing a variety of activities to find out what he/she is “good at” and what kinds of things are “hard.” For pre-school age children, the activities can be described as “play” (for example – puzzles, drawing, playing on playground-type equipment). If your child takes medication, please continue medication as usual.

Individual Treatment
COTI provides individual occupational therapy in our various clinic locations. We have offices conveniently located in Blue Ash and Anderson with satellites in Fairfield, and Newtown. In our clinics, through the skilled occupational therapy staff, children can be challenged and challenge themselves to gain mastery over skills that have been difficult. Children work with the same therapist each session so that there is more than the therapeutic techniques but also the relationship with the occupational therapist that can make the difference. Areas targeted for improvement may include:

   Motor development (fine and gross)
   Praxis (ideation and motor planning)
   Reactions to sensation (touch, movement, sound, vision, etc.)
   Play skills
   Social skills
   Organization of behavior (self regulation)
   Self-concept
   Attention
   Food aversion or eating difficulty

Individual occupational therapy sessions are usually provided at least once each week and last one hour. We schedule visits in such a way that once you are scheduled you stay in that same time and with the same therapist each week. There is no need to check the schedule and try to find a time that works for you every week.