Occupational Therapy (OT) provides evaluation and therapeutic activities to help foster safety, self-awareness and active participation in meaningful life roles and occupations.   OT services focus on all areas of daily living—social skills, emotion regulation, relationships, self-care skills, play, school, home, and work participation.   Occupational therapists make recommendations for modifications a child’s daily routine and physical environment at the residential program, home, and/or school settings to further support individualized needs and goals.

Many of the children and families seeking services through the Cutchins Programs have gone through traumatic experiences and the child’s development and the family’s ability to feel safe and form relationships may be impacted.   Additionally, a child or adolescent may be struggling with developing the underlying skills necessary to achieve success.  Some examples of skill areas evaluated by occupational therapists are:

• Safety awareness
• Emotion and behavior regulation skills,
• Sensory processing skills
• Body awareness
• Social and communication skills
• Fine and gross motor skills
• Motor coordination
• Cognitive skills

Areas of OT Focus are:

• Gross motor development
• Coordination
• Balance
• Physical confidence
• Safety awareness
• Fine motor development
• Hand skills
• Dexterity
• Eye-hand coordination

Sensory processing and integrated responses to information perceived through:

• Touch
• Sound
• Other senses
• Play, social, and academic skills

Engaging with people and the environment:

• Organization
• Flexibility
• Self-regulation
• Daily living skills
• Self-help skills for everyday tasks
• Appropriate social and communication behaviors

At Cutchins Programs, occupational therapists work as part of the team, to help children and families identify a family’s values, needs, and goals and to achieve their maximum potential.  In the residential programs, OT services focus primarily on the daily occupations of residential and home life including safe, active and appropriate participation in self-care and home-care, building self-awareness, emotion regulation, and social skills to increase self-confidence and enhance the ability to meet established goals.

In the school setting, OT services focus primarily on the daily occupations of school life.  Occupational therapists work with students who have difficulty in achieving school success in the classroom environment and may help with skills supporting focusing attention, studying, engaging in physical activities (e.g., gym), handwriting skills, social and self-care activities (e.g., eating lunch with peers).

Through the outpatient clinic, OT services focus primarily on collaborating with children and families to identify what may be hindering the ability to achieve optimal performance at home, school, and in the community.  Evaluation services (including the Sensory Integration and Praxis Test when indicated), as well as individual and small group sessions focusing on social, emotional, sensory processing and motor skills development are offered through the outpatient setting.  Services are available to families, schools, childcare centers, and host of other agencies.

Workshops and consultation services are also available for hospitals, schools, families, foster care programs, juvenile justice programs, healthcare professionals, and other agencies.