Occupational Therapy For Adolescents

COTI has been providing services in the greater Cincinnati area for over 30 years! We are experts in the area of sensory integration but use other approaches and frames of reference depending on the needs of your child. COTI provides individual occupational therapy for adolescents in our Blue Ash and Anderson locations. Through the skilled occupational therapy staff, teenagers can be challenged and challenge themselves to gain mastery over skills that have been difficult. Please see below to find out more about evaluation and treatment.

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 a school aged questionnaire and send them in to our office.

Evaluation
COTI provides occupational therapy evaluation of adolescents as well as children 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. Family centered service starts at the time of evaluation through caregiver participation, when appropriate. A conference with the family following the initial assessment is an important part of treatment planning so that therapist and family can set goals together. As children move into the adolescent stage, our assessment begins to incorporate more discussion with the adolescent about individual needs,interests, and concerns. The adolescent may participate in the conference to discuss the plan for therapy.

The evaluation may be completed during one or two sessions, depending on the type of evaluation or your child’s ability to cope with the demands of testing. Typically, parents do not remain with an adolescent in the testing room.

The therapist will also be talking with your child about daily routines and what their concerns are. It is common by this age for the family to have very specific concerns that they wish to address in the evaluation/therapy process. It is very helpful to the occupational thrapist if you can provide detailed information about your concerns in the intake paperwork. Copies of prior testing by other professionals can be helpful in focusing the evaluation. If your child is on medication, the medication should be continued as prescribed during the evaluation.

Treatment
Your child will 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. The trust developed between your child and therapist can make finding solutions to more difficult challenges possible. 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
   Daily living skills

Individual occupational therapy sessions are usually provided inititally 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.